Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“He doesn’t exactly look like a man that has been sleeping on the couch the last five nights,” Faith whispers as he slips around the corner into the kitchen.
I don’t confirm or deny her suspicions, but when she laughs again, I know I’m not fooling my friend.
We spend the next half hour having an entire conversation without mentioning Will Varon or anything serious at all. I didn’t know how much I needed to get out of my own house until I sat down with her.
Several other Cerberus members arrive, making me think they’re gearing up for something.
“Are they getting ready to leave for work?” I ask when Grace, Grinch’s woman, sits down beside us with a wicked grin on her face.
She shrugs. “Not that I know of.”
“Dominic, Tug, and Griffin are here,” I say to explain my suspicions.
Faith places a hand on my arm. “The guys are always here. They come and go all day even though many of them have their own houses. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“It’s only when they all disappear into the conference room that we know things are serious,” Grace explains.
My eyes fall in that direction, the wide, solid doors still standing open from when I left the room earlier.
“I think we need to have a girls’ night,” Ivy, Griffin’s wife, says as she approaches. Jasmine, Tug and Max’s woman, is right behind her.
“A girls’ night in,” Grace clarifies.
“We can turn the indoor pool into an oasis,” Jasmine adds. “You’ll come, won’t you, Sylvie?”
I nod, if anything to avoid a harder conversation about why I just don’t feel like I deserve a night to relax and enjoy the company of the women in this room. Aren’t they aware of what I did or didn’t do that led to a little girl being hurt and a woman murdered?
Chapter 30
Spade
“Where are you going?” Aro asks when I walk toward the door leading into the living area of the clubhouse.
“It’s fucking stuffy in here,” I complain. “All you fucking mouth breathers are making me uncomfortable.”
Ugly chuckles as he stands from the table. “More like he doesn’t have eyes on his woman.”
I don’t argue. Getting defensive would only rile them up even more, but my refusal to play along doesn’t keep them all from following me out of the room.
We join Tug, Dominic, and Griffin in the far corner of the room. Each of the guys has a beer in their hands, but I turn down the offer to grab one from the fridge when Aro asks.
He eyes me like he can read my mind, but I just look away from him, unable to be in the room a minute longer without looking toward Sylvie.
A handful of women are sitting on the sofa across the room, each smiling and laughing as they chat. Sylvie is right in the middle of it, but I can see that she’s not having as good of a time as she’s trying to convince everyone she is.
Faith isn’t fooled by her behavior either, but she’s also not the type of woman to call her friend out on it in front of mixed company.
Today was the first day Sylvie mentioned wanting to leave her house. I’d hoped that being here with her friend would help, and maybe it has some, but it’s definitely not a quick fix.
The woman still feels guilty, and there’s nothing I can do to take that from her, despite wanting to own it all myself. She’s going to have to work through it the same way we all do. I can only hope it doesn’t drag her too far down because I miss the way her eyes smile when she’s genuinely happy, and the way she gets fired up and feisty when she’s annoyed with me.
My back straightens when she nods her head before standing from the sofa. Her eyes search the room, finding mine, and I do my best to ignore the way my chest tightens when we lock gazes. I have this unexplained need to tuck her under my arm and pull her into my side when she approaches.
“Hey there,” Aro says in a tone I’ve heard too many times at Jake’s to confuse his meaning.
“Hi,” Sylvie says, but she keeps her eyes on mine. “Are you ready to go?”
I don’t bother with goodbyes as I walk away with Sylvie. I know they’re going to talk shit and make predictions the second we leave. But even knowing that doesn’t bother me, because the second we’re outside, Sylvie tangles one of her fingers with mine, and it affects me greater than some women have standing in front of me completely naked.
Taking a chance, I let my hand brush down her hip after opening the passenger side of one of the SUVs for her. Her teeth dig into her lower lip as she settles inside.