Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 24
Save the bees. Plant the trees. Clean the seas. Titties.
-T-shirt
HANNIBAL
“You know what you need to do?” I asked Gustavo and Albert.
Both nodded. “Then see you later.”
They left, giving me time to say, “We need to go to the bathroom so I can get my hands washed. I don’t mind having you on my hands and all, but if I’m going to schmooze, I would feel wrong shaking people’s hands. I don’t want to share you with anyone. Not even that way.”
Her eyes were sparkling as they met mine.
God, she was pretty.
I was stunned with how good of a job they’d done.
She looked like she was wearing no makeup at all, to be honest. But her hair. It was in gorgeous ringlets that made me want to wrap my fingers around them just to pull them down and watch them bounce.
Not that I didn’t love her actual hair. Because I really did.
Long, black and straight, it was gorgeous. But like this…she looked like she was about to get married. And it was giving me these ideas…
Ideas like getting on a plane and flying to Vegas.
It would be a short flight...
“Let’s get it done then,” Hades whispered.
I caught her hand in mine and led her to the bathrooms.
They were separated in men’s and women’s, but I wasn’t about to leave her outside by herself.
“Come on,” I said, pulling her to the handicap bathroom.
The door closed behind us, and I said, “Fuck, there are a lot of people here.”
“Yeah there are.” She was shaking her head. “Benji did like a good party. I’ll bet every last person that’s here is someone he knew once upon a time. The more people to celebrate him, the bigger his ego gets.”
I snorted as I washed my hands, then dried them with a fuckin’ napkin.
A fuckin’ napkin.
A cloth fucking napkin.
“This is gonna be a long night for whomever is having to clean and restock this bathroom,” I said as I pointed at the already overflowing basket holding the spent towels beside the door.
She eyed it and shrugged. “Seems like an added expense that wasn’t needed. But kudos to them for helping save the planet.”
Grinning, I caught up her hand again and opened the door, unsurprised to find people already waiting.
With the amount that were there, there would be lines at the women’s restrooms and the men’s.
An elderly woman eyed the two of us with a knowing smirk before pushing past us with her walker into the bathroom.
I ignored the look and led us deeper into the shadows so we could look around.
“Anyway, what is our plan?” she asked.
I’d waffled a bit on the actual plan.
My first instinct was to confront the little prick before his wedding and hopefully show his soon-to-be wife what she was getting herself into.
Then I found out that the wedding had already taken place, and that all this would be was a reception.
“Did Folsom get ahold of the slideshow?” I asked quietly, looping my hands around her and pulling her into a dark corner.
“Yes,” she answered. “She’s just waiting for the go ahead from us.”
“Tell her to go ahead,” I said.
Funny enough, Folsom was able to get the itinerary for the wedding.
That was how we’d figured out that they were getting married prior to the wedding reception that everyone had been invited to.
But we did know when the cake cutting would be. When the slideshow was happening—during the first dance. Oh, and when the sendoff would be.
Our hope was to be meeting them before the sendoff so that we could discuss a few things.
His wife needed to know the man she married.
And Benji needed to know that if he continued doing what he was doing, he wasn’t going to like what happened.
Keene was there to help where needed, to smooth the way if necessary to get them to talk to us. And the two men that worked for me were there because I didn’t trust anything to ever go the way I planned it.
If I needed backup because Benji decided to go crazy, then they’d be there waiting.
I explained to her my thoughts, and she nodded, turning and putting her back against my front.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her in tight.
She dropped her chin to rest on my forearm and brought her hands up to latch around my biceps.
We watched the room and waited.
Keene found us an hour in.
“Show time?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Folsom just texted and said they were getting the slide show pulled up,” Keene whispered. “Where do you want me to go?”
I didn’t know.
Benji was an unknown.
I wasn’t sure what he would do.
My hope was that after this slideshow his new wife would pull him into a room and I’d get to slip in there with him.
Have my discussion and leave.
“Here,” I said. “Stay here. If I can slip away and get the talk done, then that’s what I’ll do.”