Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
I don't expect her to answer, but I want her to know that I'm not going to be in the room for a while.
"Usually lasts at least an hour," I continue as I open the door leading into the hallway.
I pull the door behind me, pressing my ear to it. Just as I suspected, it takes less than a minute before I hear the closet door open. A few seconds later, the lock clicks on the door I have my ear pressed against.
I feel a little better knowing that she'll spend some time in the bathroom with me gone. Maybe a shower and a little space to herself for a little while will help her feel better. I know she moved around the shelter easily enough, but I don't know how long that took once she arrived over a year ago. She could've easily isolated herself for weeks or even months before venturing out of her room. I could ask Em what she knows about the woman, but it feels like a violation of privacy.
As always, the kitchen is alive and full of activity. Several members sit at the tables with plates of food already in front of them as they chat with each other.
Hemlock, back from his shift keeping an eye on the new shelter location, sits off to himself with a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. Of all Cerberus members, he's the quietest. Boomer also usually only speaks when he has something really important to say, but he's gotten a little more social since he and Drake started dating. Drake is the life of every party, and he’s managed to rub off a little on Boomer.
I know better than to get a cup of coffee and sit near Hemlock. The man likes to be alone even though he's in a social setting. If I sat down near him, it would only take a few minutes before he got up and left.
I make myself a cup of coffee, not for the first time wishing there was an espresso machine here because I need the extra kick this morning. I grab a protein bar, picking the same flavor Brielle ate last night before heading toward one of the tables.
Emmalyn flags me over to the table she and Kincaid are sitting at before I can take a seat near Beth and Oracle.
I give her a kind smile as I join them.
"I just wanted to check up on Brielle," Em says as I settle into the seat across from her and beside my boss.
There's a battle inside of me because I know there's a fine line between the truth and a lie that would be tolerated. Although I know lying to either of them is never okay, I also have this urge to protect Brielle. I've somehow managed to get it into my head that I'm supposed to be the one to protect her.
"She slept in the closet," I confess before I give myself enough time to run through the pros and cons of not being honest.
Em frowns, a rush of disappointed breath leaving her lips.
I know she isn't upset that Brielle chose to stay in there, just that she was more comfortable there than any other place in the clubhouse.
"Maybe I should go speak with her," Em suggests. "She could stay with us. She'd have her own room, and she wouldn't have to worry about the folks that come in and out of the clubhouse at all hours."
I bristle some, but I know Em is just trying to figure out where Brielle will be the most comfortable rather than hinting that the clubhouse is too busy for someone in her position.
Other than Hemlock and me, everyone else is in a committed relationship. I've never brought a woman back to the clubhouse, and it's possible Hemlock doesn't even know what to do with his dick. He won't smile long enough to even look approachable to women. It's not like the clubhouse is a revolving door of women. I've heard stories of what it used to be like many years ago before the Cerberus curse nabbed everyone and convinced them that although they've always seen themselves as being single and playing the field their entire lives, they seem to end up in a relationship not long after they arrive. I'd argue that it's not possible, but all it would take is a glance at the other tables and the endless happy couples chatting the morning away to prove the theory correct.
"I don't think she'll stay in there long," I tell Em, wondering what Kincaid's look at the side of my face means.
I don't turn my attention to the man, and, for some reason, he doesn't open his mouth to voice his opinion either.
It’s equally as possible that he's annoyed I countered something Em said as it is that he's staying quiet because he doesn't want Brielle in his home.