Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 137310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
What I was sure of was, if Babić made his play, I did not have the skills to counter it.
These guys might not either, but it was evident they’d be better equipped than me.
Shit.
“Let’s go meet Suzette,” I muttered.
Hugger glowered at me.
Man-bun grinned.
Tall guy looked to his boots.
Other guy let out an impatient breath.
I turned and led them down the hall to my door.
3
WE EAT IN AN HOUR
Hugger
Hugger was pissed right the fuck off.
There were many reasons for this.
First, Diana Armitage was traipsing around this hot-as-shit, sun-drenched, parched fucking city—a place no one in their right mind would willingly choose to live—and she was doing it in high-heeled gold shoes, driving the smallest, most unsafe car he’d seen in his life, all while being tailed by two gun-toting henchmen of a local mob.
Yet she did it like it was just any other day. She was just going where she needed to go, like two gun-toting henchmen of a local mob weren’t on her ass.
Which meant she was either bravely stupid or stupidly brave, but neither was smart.
Second, the bitch was gorgeous.
Lots of tits. Lots of ass. Perfect makeup. Sparkling green eyes. Long, thick hair any man would get a hard-on to have his fingers in and have it spread all over his lap when she was blowing him.
She had sass. She had attitude.
And she was messed right the fuck up, considering she inserted herself into this situation because she had a beef with her pops, and that was so fucking dumb, he wanted to turn her over his knee and spank some sense into her.
Third, she had a tight-as-shit crib.
It didn’t take a behavioral scientist to call her favorite color was blue, considering the color of her car, and her pad was mostly white with a lot of blue. It was crisp, stylish, comfortable-looking and feminine.
Even if it wasn’t his gig, he liked it. It looked good. It suited her. It was feminine without being girlie, and that was her to a T. And he dug she knew herself well enough she could stamp her space so clearly with her style.
He was on a mission.
He did not need to want to bang this woman.
But he seriously wanted to bang this woman.
Last, Suzette Snyder showed after having a brief conversation with Diana in a room down a hall.
When she showed, her arm was in a sling, she had a limp, and there were still stitches in her lip and across the cheekbone under the end of her left eye. The bruising hadn’t all disappeared either, even after three weeks.
But she couldn’t be taller than five three. She couldn’t weigh much more than a hundred pounds. And she looked about thirteen years old, even if he knew she was twenty-six.
It meant Babić didn’t bother picking on someone his own size and he might have some pedo shit going on.
For the first time in his life, Hugger understood what “it made my blood boil” felt like.
Suzette didn’t come close to looking any of the men in the eye. She also didn’t come fully out into the open. She lingered at Diana’s back, just to the side, and she had her fingers wrapped so tightly around Diana’s forearm, Hugger could see the white come out around the beds of her nails.
That hold was going to leave bruises, but Diana didn’t flinch or give that first indication she even felt it.
Hugger partially understood this, considering his vibe was joining the other men’s when they caught sight of her, and these were not happy vibes. He wanted to control it, but the state of Suzette, he was finding that impossible.
The other part he understood was that a man did this to her, so men freaked her.
“This is Hugger and, uh…” Diana started to introduce them.
“Eight,” Eightball grunted.
“Muzzle,” Muzz said.
“Cruise,” Cruise put in tightly.
“Like I told you, they’re here to help us keep things steady and cool while the DA builds his case and then…” Diana trailed off.
“Stick until Babić is locked up,” Eight bit out.
“So, um…for the long haul,” Diana concluded.
Suzette said nothing.
Diana turned to her, pried her hand off her forearm but held it in hers, grabbing the other one too.
“They need to know you’re okay with that,” she said gently. “So now you’ve met them, you and I’ll go back to your room and talk about it. Okay?”
Suzette nodded, let Diana go and nearly sprinted back down the hall.
Hugger’s hands closed into fists.
Diana shot them a look and swiftly followed her.
Hugger concentrated on her ass swaying because he needed that goodness to chase out the bad.
“That motherfucker…” Muzzle gritted.
“Cool it,” Cruise murmured.
Hugger needed some air, even if that air was dusty, dry and hot as fuck.
So he walked to the sliding glass door that led to a balcony, which had patio furniture that was mostly blue (the cushions and pillows) but also white (the frames).