Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 94205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“You’re mine now, pretty girl. And you’re never getting away from me.”
Good thing she never wanted to.
30
“What are you doing?”
She jumped and stared up at Butch in shock. “Holy heck. Way to give me a heart attack.”
“Hmm, I called out to you from the door. Should I be worried that your reaction means you’re up to no good?”
“Why, Mr. Malone, how dare you insinuate that I could ever be up to no good.” She batted her eyelashes at him for good measure.
He huffed out a laugh. “Now, I definitely know that you’re being naughty. Spill it, and maybe I’ll go easy on you.”
She shifted around on the bed, reminding him of the spanking he’d given her this morning. It was the balance of what he’d owed her. She’d argued that the slate should be wiped clean.
Nice try, not happening.
“Well?” He tried to peer down at the laptop screen. She must have borrowed it from Mia. “What are you looking at? Porn?”
“What? No! Jeez. I’m just looking for a job.”
His eyebrows rose. “A job? Why?”
“Um, because I need money to live.”
“But you have money.”
“I do? Where?” she asked.
“In my bank account. I’ll get you added to it. And get you your own bank card. See, problem solved. No need for a job.”
Her phone started ringing as she gaped up at him.
“That reminds me, we need to go into Freestown tomorrow and get you a new phone.”
She’d been at the ranch for five days now, but he hadn’t had the chance to take her in to get a new phone. Tomorrow, he’d take the day off, sort shit with the bank, and take her to buy whatever stuff it was that she needed.
He hated shopping, but for her, he’d try to last at least half an hour. That’s all she’d need, surely.
She answered the phone. “Hello? Yes, that’s me. Yes. Wow. Really. Who was it? Okay, no, I don’t know the name. Yes, sure. Okay. Thanks.”
“Who was that?” he demanded. “It wasn’t your mother or Chandler, was it?”
“No. It wasn’t Mom.” She frowned.
He knew she was worried about her mom. Chandler had fled town in the middle of the night with Emily and Margo and no one had heard from them. Or had any idea what was going on.
The whole town had imploded. It was freaking chaos. Most of the businesses had shut down. It was like no one knew what to do without Devout ordering them around.
And he was nowhere to be found.
“It was the police from Freestown. The guy who broke into my motel room, well, he was arrested a few counties over for driving under the influence. His fingerprints came back as being the same ones that were lifted from my motel room. When he was questioned, he confessed to being the person who broke into my room. Turns out that he was the guy that nearly ran me over. He said he thought I had complained about him to the cops, as they’d turned up to question him at work. But it must have been someone else, maybe one of the witnesses.”
He drew her in for a hug. Well, that was one thing off his mind. Thank fuck.
She drew back to glare up at him. “But we need to talk about this job stuff. I’m not using your money to live, Butch Malone.”
She tapped her finger against his chest.
He scowled down at her. “Yes, you are.”
“No, I am not.”
“Yes, you are. You don’t need a job, and I don’t want you getting one away from the ranch. End of story.”
“Well, I’m getting a job. I’m going to go find one today!” She walked out of the bedroom.
“And how are you going to get into town?” he asked as she started down the stairs.
“I’ll find a way.” She was muttering as Alec walked out of the study, followed by Mia.
“What’s going on?” Mia asked.
“Butch just told me that I don’t need a job because he’s going to take care of me.”
“And that’s an issue?” Alec asked.
“Of course it’s an issue!” Mia said, moving to Lara’s side. “If she wants a job, she can get one.”
“But she doesn’t need one, so it makes no sense,” Butch argued. “She’ll be driving each day into Freestown or Haven. That’s dangerous. And tiring. She should stay at home.”
Alec nodded his agreement.
“And do what every day? I can’t just sit around and wait for you to come home.”
“I didn’t say you had to do that. You have your music. Isn’t that what you really want to do?”
“Yes, but . . . I . . . argh.” Lara couldn’t really argue with that. Composing and singing were what she loved to do. But it wasn’t going to pay the bills. And she needed to do something. “It’s not enough. And it’s not your place to tell me that I don’t need a job.”