Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“I’ll keep that in mind. See you at nine-thirty. And Major?”
“Still here.”
“Thank you.”
She disconnects, and I leer at Talon. “Not sure how Ford will feel about you flirting with Rowan.”
“Then he needs to get off his ass.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
“Let’s hit the road. I need to get home and spiffed up for my lady. Can’t look like I’ve been working all night. Or maybe that’s exactly what he needs to think, that I’ve been working Rowan.”
“Jesus.” I grab my things and stand. “Come on, Romeo, let’s get you spiffed up.”
There’s one thing for sure; whatever Craig’s intent, he’s about to meet his match.
And it’s going to be fucking entertaining.
My blood boils as I watch Jewls lift a bucket filled with cleaning supplies out of her trunk and stuff a rag in her back pocket. Her hair is in a messy knot and face free of make-up. She’s wearing cut-offs and an oversized shirt tied at the waist. When she pulls out her mop to complete the ruse of impersonating a cleaning lady, the veins in my neck tick.
She glances my way, her expression a mask of indifference, and walks straight into Rowan’s house.
A house currently occupied by Rowan, Talon, and an unhappy Craig Johns.
As suspected, he drove up in his expensive foreign car and waltzed up like he owned the place. When Talon opened the door, Craig’s expression turned bitter, and he huffed up like the stuffed pig Rowan predicted.
One minute after he walked in, Jewls sped to the curb and now is inside. I call her, forcing myself to stay in my truck.
“Hey, honey! I can’t talk, just got to work. I’m cleaning a house right now. It needs a good ole’ scourin’.” Her accent is laid on thick.
I drop my head back, praying for patience. Ace chuckles from the back seat. Ford’s features stay locked on the house.
“Get your ass out of that house right now,” I snap.
“You can’t afford a decent car, but hire a maid service?” Craig bellows from somewhere. “And, Jesus, where’d you find her? Hillbilly Housecleaning?”
“Oh, honey, I was born in the country, not the hills,” she sasses back with a deeper country twang.
“Do not antagonize this guy,” I bite out.
“Gotta go. This place needs my magic touch,” Jewls says tersely.
“And this place looks like a homeless shelter,” Craig goes on.
“Do what you came to do and get the fuck out,” Talon orders.
The abrasive barb in his tone has us on alert.
“Jewls, put your phone in your back pocket and leave it on. Stay close to Talon,” I advise.
Talon wouldn’t hesitate to lay the asshole out if he gets out of hand. But now he’s protecting two women. I want ears on the inside in case we need to move.
“I don’t take orders from you,” Craig spews. “Who the hell are you? Her bodyguard?”
“Call me what you want, but know this—I take care of what’s mine. And you have about four fucking minutes before I become your worst fucking nightmare.”
A low, menacing grumble comes from Ford, and I glance in the rearview, catching Ace’s eyes. There’s our confirmation.
Ford’s interest is beyond casual.
A loud choking cough follows the sound of aerosol spray. “For fuck’s sake, do you have any sense?”
“Oh, does the smell of furniture polish bother ya?” Jewls drawls out sweetly.
“What kind of maid are you? We’re in the middle of something here. This house it’s a pigsty. Start in another room.”
“Craig, that’s enough,” Rowan snaps, the three of us jolting at the sharpness in her tone. “Do what you came to do and get out of my house.”
“Open the safe,” he demands.
“Already done.”
“Where is it?”
“The same place.”
“You haven’t moved it?”
There’s the tell. Craig may be a massive dick who thinks he has control, but he can’t disguise the curiosity in his question.
“No, Craig, go see for yourself. Your watch isn’t here.”
His heels clack across her hardwood, and I imagine him kneeling to check the contents of the safe Talon planted earlier.
“All that’s in here is some junk and a few hundred dollars.” He sounds disgusted.
“Well, now you know for yourself the watch isn’t here.”
“Where’s your jewelry?”
“None of your business. Time to go,” Talon responds.
“Tell me again who you are and why you’re here. This isn’t your concern.” Craig’s back to snarling.
“Anything to do with Rowan is my business.”
“I’m checking the house. The watch is here.”
“That’s fine, Craig. Tal can escort you around.”
“Tal? Jesus, what’s happened to you? You’ve let yourself go, you’re living in filth, there’s a redneck who can’t speak cleaning your house, and you're fucking a muscle head named Tal?”
“That’s it, I’m done. You’re an asshole. Not just any asshole, but the supreme asshole of epic proportions. You think intimidating women with force makes you strong, think again. It’s pathetic. You’re pathetic. These two people in my living room have more class and dignity than you ever will. Get out of my house.”