Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“No. He’s not. But we are. And Charlie used us to get this property not figuring that you’d stumble upon that boneyard and blow everyone’s cover up there on the hill. But you did and now they’re all panicking.”
“That’s my guess.”
“What are we gonna do about it?”
Collin laughs. “We’re gonna use it, Amon. We’re gonna blow that mine open and take what’s ours, that’s what we’re gonna do about it.” He winks at me. “Ryan’s locked and loaded. We start blasting tomorrow at dawn.”
Then he gives me a little salute and starts walking up the driveway.
But I see it just before he turns.
That little glint in his eyes.
That little gleam.
A sparkle, almost.
And when he starts whistlin’ ‘Ring Around the Rosie,’ that’s when I know… he’s back.
I didn’t know Collin well before we joined the marines together, but that’s not the Collin I’m referring to. I’m talking about the Collin I served with. The Collin who had my six, and the six of many others, over the past decade. The Collin who started a secret black-ops military at the request of Charlie Beaufort and under the direct orders of more five-star generals than I can count. The Collin whose name never even came up in official testimony during the congressional hearings. The Collin who didn’t spend a day in prison and made sure the rest of us didn’t either.
That’s the Collin walking up the Edge driveway right now.
It was a close call, that possible prison sentence. We could’ve been charged with sedition. So that Collin took a little vacation while everything cooled down and we came home to start over.
But Edge Security just added one decommissioned underground military base to the long list of weapons in our arsenal, so I guess things might be heatin’ back up.
And even though I really couldn’t say I’ve missed it, I do get a weird sense of satisfaction over this revelation.
“Rosie? Hello? Earth to Rosie?”
I turn towards Lowyn and smile. “What?”
“Did you hear me? I’ll be pickin’ next week. I asked if you’re still good to mind the store while I’m gone.”
“Oh, sure. Yes.” I close my eyes and shake my head a little to clear it, and when I open them again Lowyn is smirkin’ at me. “What?” I ask her.
“You.”
“Me what?”
She tsks her tongue. “You’re swoonin’. This is about Amon, I gather?”
Despite my best efforts to rein in my happiness, it simply can’t be done. So I smile even bigger. “I’m fallin’ for him, Lowyn. Like off a fuckin’ cliff fallin’ for him. Do you know what he did yesterday?”
“I can’t even begin to imagine. Tell me. I’m dying for details.”
“He came to my printshop in Bishop and walked me home to my cottage.” I’m sitting at the front counter on a stool, and just saying this out loud makes my whole body weak. So I prop my elbow up on the glass counter and slide my chin into my palm with a sigh.
“To the cottage, you say?” Lowyn raises an eyebrow at me. “The one where you take off your Bishop clothes and change into Disciple ones? That cottage?”
“The very same.” I’m smirking now too.
“And?” Lowyn is rolling her hand at me to keep going. “Tell me what happened!”
“He happened, that’s what happened.”
Lowyn comes over to the counter and stands in front of me with both hands flat on the glass. “Rosie Harlow. I want details! This is the first time you’ve ever dated a man I knew. And boy, talk about goin’ for the golden ring! Amon Parrish is kind of a dream, isn’t he?”
I click my tongue. “Let me tell you, what he did to me yesterday felt pretty dreamy. Let’s just say that his mouth is very talented.”
Lowyn giggles. “Is he dirty?”
“Dirty how?”
She shrugs up one shoulder. “You know. Like… does he talk dirty to you and get you all down on your knees and stuff?”
“Well”—I aim a pointed look at her—“I was on my knees for a time. But only after his face was between my legs.”
“Keep going.”
“But… he didn’t talk dirty to me. He said really sweet things. And then we did the ultra-slow fuck.”
“Were you on top?”
I grin. “I was.”
“Yeah,” Lowyn sighs. “The ultra-slow is fun on top. But he doesn’t talk dirty to you?”
“Dirty how, Lowyn? I mean, clearly you have something in mind, so give me an example.”
“You know, like…” Her eyes roll up like she’s thinking. “Like… asking you questions. ‘Do you want me to do this or do you want me to do that?’”
“Well, don’t leave out the good parts, Low. What did he want you to do? Because obviously, we are talking about Collin!”
Her eyes dart around, looking for teenagers. They’re on the other side of the showroom, so then she leans forward and says, “You know. ‘Do you want me inside you, Lowyn? Do you want me to lick you, Lowyn?’”