Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Careful not to wake Emmanuell, I extracted myself from around her. She murmured in her sleep, turning over and patting my side of the bed. I moved my pillow down within her reach just to see what she’d do, and she latched on to it, pulling it close and putting her head on it as she inhaled deeply. Then, with a sigh, she settled. I took the blanket from the bottom of the bed and pulled it over her. The breeze coming in off the ocean had cooled things off considerably. At least for the night. She’d wake if she got too cool.
After tucking the blanket around Emmanuell, I looked at her for a long time. The moonlight shone on her face like a beam from heaven. I’d noticed her beauty right off, but not like this. She was gorgeous. Vulnerable. Before I realized what I was doing, I leaned down and kissed her cheek.
She murmured in her sleep, smiling. “Gideon…” Then her face relaxed, and she slept on.
I was so fucking fucked.
I was also determined to figure out what the fuck was going on with her father’s lawyer and how he played into her whole ordeal. If I was right and the fucker had put Beaner up to killing Emmanuell, I was gonna kill him slowly. It wouldn’t look like an accident because no one would ever find the fucking body.
When I entered the room where Beaner was being held, the rest of the club was already there. Beaner had been there for four or so hours, and I could see the strain around his eyes and mouth. No one had started on him, but it wouldn’t be long.
“Ripper.” Havoc acknowledged my entrance. I’d stopped by my office to check the information I’d gleaned that wasn’t sent directly to my phone. There was no money trail from Goldstein to Beaner, though I had found where Goldstein had slowly siphoned from a multitude of different sources. Likely it was for cash to pay someone.
“I found a bunch of purchases all over the Midwest from Emmanuell’s debit and credit cards, but I can’t confirm who made them. I’ve got a program running for facial recognition on the ATMs from banks I’ve already hacked into. Sooner or later, I’ll find concrete evidence who used her card.”
“You got dates?” Thorn sat back in his chair looking calm and collected, not like this whole mess could bring down hell on our club.
“Oh, yeah. Some of them coincide with Beaner’s absence.”
“I wasn’t gone for six fuckin’ months. I’ve been here and done all kinds of stuff for the club! I’ve gone everywhere you asked me to go! Done anything you asked me to do!”
“Uh-huh,” I said. “I’m still collecting data. Can only match you up with a few of those transactions so it could be coincidence, but give me time. I’ll find the proof I need to nail your balls to the fuckin’ wall.”
“I don’t even know the bitch!” Beaner snapped, looking at me like he’d love to kill me. Too bad he was tied to that fucking chair.
“Bullshit.” I was surprised to find Dazz was the one calling him out. Glad he did, though. I didn’t want it to look like I was making up circumstances to fit the crime just because Beaner had pissed me off. “I was there when you first laid eyes on her outside the gate. You know her.”
“Which makes Miss Stanton’s story all the more believable.” Thorn crossed his arms over his chest. “So we’re here to find the truth.”
Beaner lifted his chin and gave Thorn a mulish look. Which earned him a sharp backhand from the president.
“You don’t ever try to stare me down, you little fuck. Especially when you’ve bein’ a lyin’ sack of shit.”
“Ain’t lyin’,” Beaner muttered. Which earned him another backhand.
“Yes, you are. We’ll find the truth with or without your help, but we know you’re lyin’.” Thorn didn’t look angry. It didn’t seem like it was personal to him. Thorn presented the front he needed Beaner to see. Right now, all Beaner knew was that we thought he’d taken Emmanuell away from her home, knocked her up, then left her defenseless. Beaner had no idea what Thorn was really after. If he did, he’d own up to Emmanuell and point to the fact that she was still alive as proof he had nothing to do with Goldstein or Emmanuell’s father’s death.
“You have anything else concrete, Ripper?” Thorn raised an eyebrow at me. He knew I didn’t, but it was all a mind fuck for Beaner. This whole thing was going to take some time, and he needed Beaner off balance.
“Not yet. Only been workin’ a few hours, though. If I can’t find anything soon, I’ll get help from our sister club. Data, Zora, and Suzie are good at this sort of thing.”