Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“I think I like it here,” she sings.
“You better.”
“Best husband ever.”
I chuckle and shake my head. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not loving the constant sex. I can’t see going back to the way things were.
It’s like we’ve been making up for all the lost time. I’m always in her pussy. Anytime I can’t have her, I have an attitude for the rest of the day or night.
Yep, I know I love it here. I don’t care about the past. This is my future.
Chapter 49
The Shooters
Alexis
I look across the table at my Uncle Marvin. He looks older and somehow more powerful. That may be just in my head since I know he’s the governor now.
I wasn’t expecting him and Ven to come over today. I had planned to hang with Ant until he had to leave for work. However, these two showed up on our doorstep and now Ant and AJ are at the park.
“I know it’s taken me a minute to come over, but I’ve wanted to talk with you since Mayven told me about your situation. I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I. I didn’t know if I was truly placing you all in danger or not. I thought I did what was best.”
He nods. “I think I understand that. However, if anything like this ever happens again, I want to be your first call. I would have helped.”
I tilt my head. “Even when my father was alive?” I say more harshly than I mean to.
“Especially then. People look at my relationship with your father and misinterpret it. I know what’s being said about us, but that’s not entirely true. It’s what we allowed.”
I narrow my eyes. “What does that mean?”
“Vander City is full of optics. If you don’t know what to look for, you can lose sight.”
“Here we go with the riddles. Daddy, please. I want to know what really happened with Uncle Lester. I think Lex and I deserve that,” Ven says in exasperation.
Uncle Marvin purses his lips and frowns. I roll my eyes, not expecting a real answer. I’ve been getting the runaround since we were little.
Uncle Marvin sighs. “Your father was once the man to see like Pit. If you wanted to know something that went on in Vander or Bridge Lake, you went to see him.
“I hadn’t known he was your aunt’s little brother when I got involved with her. I don’t think that would have changed much. Your father had a charm about him that allowed him to straddle the worlds of our ecosystem.
“Blake and his father liked him. He and Nicky were best friends. There was a third Knight brother, but he drowned when he was seven. He’s the reason his twin was able to alter his life.
“Nicky’s twin changed the future of Vander. When the vacancy was left, Yannis Knight turned his eyes on Lester. He became like a son.
“There were others who thought the spot should have gone to another family, not an outsider. Especially not one who didn’t come from our money. Lester found out some things that he never should have known.
“When your mother was murdered, he snapped, and his loyalty to the syndicate vanished. The Knights and Jennings were the only families not involved in the decision to allow the hit.
“Nicky and Lester went after them all. Nicky lost his life and they tried everything they could to make Lester look like a junkie who had lost his mind.
“I was going to deny it all and call them out, but my ear was pulled by a friend. We all had bigger plans. Plans that wouldn’t bring our loved ones back but would be sweeter than anything else.”
“But Auntie Monica told me a totally different story,” Ven demands.
“She told you what I fed her. What we needed her to think. Monica was always meant to be a senator. She didn’t need to know the workings of Vander.
“I’ve done all I can to protect my sister from that. I wish I had done a better job with you three girls. Somehow the three of you found your way right in the middle of this mess.”
I furrow my brows as my brain races. If it was all lies, I ran for nothing. There was nothing to pin on Ant and his family if it was all fake.
“I see what you’re thinking. While I don’t believe they could have pinned anything on anyone, there were things your father did.
“You’ve seen things with your own eyes. What I’m telling you is Lester didn’t have your cousins kidnapped. Your father is a good man.”
I feel like a weight is lifted. That part of me that always hated my dad for putting my cousins in danger fades and I’m left with heartbreak. I wasn’t as close to my dad because I couldn’t learn to trust him.