Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Shasha ignored me and passed every single person that was standing there waiting.
Shasha held my hand and guided me to the front of the line, his chin jerking up toward the man in the back.
The man was in his late forties, early fifties, and had a scowl on his face that could rival Shasha’s. He came up to the front and grinned, completely transforming his face. “Hello, boy.”
Shasha shook the man’s hand and said, “Hello, old man. Miss me?”
The crowd behind us started murmuring in low voices, obviously wondering how the hell we’d been able to bypass a line that wrapped around the block.
The man rolled his eyes, then focused on me. “Who’s this?”
Shasha instinctively started to let my hand go, but I held on for dear life and said, “We’re engaged to be married.”
Shasha stiffened.
The old man’s eyes went from me to Shasha and back before he said, “I’m guessing it’s arranged based on how he’s acting right now. Don’t worry, he’s a good kid once you get past all the crust.”
My lips twitched. “I’ll remember that.”
“His mom tried to raise him correctly, but my sister could only handle so much,” the man continued. “Who are you?”
I held out my free hand to the man and said, “My name is Brecken.”
“Brecken,” he said. “Unusual name.”
“It’s actually the more tame of my siblings’ names, to be honest. My daddy is a rodeo man. All of his kids have a Western theme to their names. Mine, Brecken, is actually named after the town of Breckenridge, Colorado. Daddy tried to add the ‘ridge’ to my name, but Mom wouldn’t let him,” I announced.
His lips twitched as he shook my hand and said, “My name is Akim.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Akim,” I replied.
“Can you get us some food, quick? She has to be back at the conference center down the road in thirty minutes,” Shasha ordered.
“Sure.” He looked at me. “Go to the reserved table.”
Shasha didn’t ask for directions, instead taking me to a table in the back of the room that had no chairs around it.
I stood there, wondering how we were supposed to sit down and eat, when a kid came out from the back with two chairs.
He handed them over and left.
Shasha sat down, and I was forced to let him go.
The moment I did, I went to the bathroom to take care of my leaking problem.
When I got back, I took a seat at the opposite end of the table and said, “This is a cool place. I’m guessing it’s really good.”
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “Hence the line.”
I sighed. “You don’t have to be so grumpy all the time, Shasha.”
“You’re going to end up killed,” he told me bluntly. “I have a dangerous life, Kisa.”
Kisa.
Kitten.
Shit, that was sweet.
I wondered if he knew that I was taking it in a sweet way, and not in an insulting way—which was likely how he’d wanted it to sound.
“I’m an adult.” I shrugged. “You’re gonna die no matter what. Your way out of this life is already set in stone. Haven’t you seen Final Destination? You can’t escape fate.”
He studied me for a long moment.
So long, in fact, that I was about to start wriggling in my seat under the scrutiny of his face when a woman cleared her throat next to me.
“Hey.” The woman, Addy, smiled. “I thought you were going to that egg place across the street?”
“I tried, but they weren’t serving any food,” I admitted. “So my man here decided we’d come here.”
Addy handled the introductions with the men who shook hands with each other.
Tiago and Shasha were studying each other intently.
“Do you think that they have videos in hidden places in that building?” Addy asked, clearly wondering if she should be worried about her husband getting arrested for pulling a fire alarm.
“No,” Shasha answered. “The whole place is outdated. They’re talking about doing a complete overhaul this coming summer because of so many wiring and flooding issues. The cameras they do have only face more populated areas.”
“How do you know that?” Addy asked.
“Because we do a lot of business there.” Shasha shrugged.
For that particular reason, I’d be willing to bet. It allowed him to have privacy for his nefarious activities.
Kettle tightened his arm around his wife’s hips and said, “Enjoy your lunch.”
He pulled his wife away, and I turned to watch them go before returning to my previous position and said, “What’s his problem?”
“He’s sane,” Shasha said. “You’re the one that doesn’t react right.”
I shrugged. “I grew up with parents that were gone more than they were home. A gang of brothers that were much the same, and two sisters that didn’t want anything to do with their older sister because she was ‘lame.’ I don’t react because I’ve had to live on my own pretty much my entire life. I’ve quit wondering about what people think a long time ago, and the least of my worries right now is staying away from you.”