Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Her eyes widen comically. “You think we’re gonna have a shoot-out?”
“Not now, or I wouldn’t be bringing you here.”
“Okay, you don’t have to growl.”
“I didn’t growl.”
“See, growling is such a natural part of what you do that you didn’t even realize it. But you were one hundred percent growling. There you go again!”
“Okay, alright, I was growling. So sue me if I hate the idea of bringing you to a potentially dangerous situation.”
“You’re so romantic in your own way,” she says on a sigh.
I love her quirky ways.
“So tell me about your conversation with Savannah.”
She tells me everything and finishes just as I pull down the long, windy drive that brings us to the warehouse. “And you were right,” she says happily, her pink cheeks nearly glowing. “You were so right.”
I’m glad she’s put this to rest. I squeeze her hand. “I’m proud of you.”
She looks at me in surprise. “I don’t know if anyone’s ever said that to me before. Thank you.”
God, I can’t imagine no one ever saying that to her.
“Okay, listen. This is an informant, and I want you safe, so I want you to stay as quiet as you can. Don’t talk to her. At all. Got it?”
She nods. “Got it. Wait, her?”
I give her a stern look. “Yeah. And I mean it, Cosette. I swear to God, if you talk to her, you’re in big trouble. I will literally bring you right back here and put you over my knee and then no more palmier.”
“Lyam,” she says, abashed. “You wouldn’t!”
“Oh, I would.”
I check my gun and slide it into a holster, fill a second and check that as well.
“Also hot,” she says on a moan.
“What?”
“All those guns. Please promise me you’ll take me shooting again soon.”
I shake my head. “Done. Hawaii, guns. Got it.”
Cosette may be perfect for me.
Camille Rousseau sits at a table in a darkened corner of the room. She joined the police force at thirty years old, a late bloomer. Her father knew ours, and the rest is history. She’s been working for us ever since, and we pay her well.
“Mr. Gerard,” Camille greets. I’m glad she’s in civilian clothing. I hate what the sight of a uniform does to me. “And to whom do I owe this pleasure?”
“No names,” I snap. Camille smiles. She’s a professional liar so I don’t trust her.
“Alright, then. How do I know I can trust her?”
“Because you trust me, and where she goes, I go,” I tell her. I take out a wad of cash and put it on the table, careful not to bother hiding the metal I’ve got packed.
She takes the cash eagerly and shoves it in a black duffel bag.
“I have no more details on who was behind your abduction. I wish I did. All I can tell you is that the chase earlier did not involve any actual police. They were impersonators with a mission, and I suspect they were hired by a politician. I’ll get you more information as soon as possible. I’m sorry,” she says with a grimace. “They’ve hidden their tracks so well.”
Which makes them actually fucking impossible to track.
“But I do know that someone in Montague’s office was behind it. For all I know it was Montague himself but I can’t say for sure. Whoever it was wanted you to think it was the police, but I can assure you, it wasn’t.”
“Right. So you know for a fact Montague or one of his cronies is behind this?”
“Yes.”
“I figured as much.”
She gives some more pertinent information. Cosette looks pale and wan.
“You okay?” I ask her.
She shakes her head and clutches her belly. “I feel sick.”
I stand. “We’ve got to get her home. I need to know all the details you can find. What you’ve told me is a good start, but not enough. Get me more, and I’ll double what you just got.” Her eyes gleam like full moons.
“Tomorrow morning. Come tomorrow morning and I’ll have more answers for you.”
I nod and take Cosette’s hand.
I reach for my gun and check outside before we leave.
“What was that all about?” she asks.
I blow out a breath. I tell no one anything, but I’m going to ask this woman to marry me. It’s about time I tell her more of what makes me who I am.
“You know I was taken prisoner. Abducted.”
She nods as I open her door and let her in. I reach in and on instinct buckle her belt.
“And you know why.”
“Right.”
I go to my side of the car and give one more look around. The back of my neck prickles like we’re being watched, but I see no signs at all that anyone else is here. Just to be safe, I pull out my gun and take a stance.
Leaves stir in a bush behind us, but no one’s there.