Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
My brother’s eyes went wide. “Oh no. That watch means everything to you, Reno.”
“I know, but don’t worry. I have a plan for getting it back. I’m going to spend the day emailing every jewelry broker, pawn shop, auction house, and so on in the Bay Area with a description of the watch. Then I’m going to visit every bar in San Francisco with what basically amounts to a stack of old-timey wanted posters, and I’m going to find this guy.”
Romy asked, “Can I help? Maybe make a few calls?”
“Thanks, but I’ve got it. I have pure, unadulterated rage to fuel me.”
“Are you going to file a police report?”
“No, I’m handling it myself.”
He frowned and told me, “I’ll never understand your distrust of law enforcement. I get that you’ve been known to break the rules from time to time, but you’re the victim here. They could help you find this guy and recover your watch.”
Saying I broke the rules occasionally was the nicest possible way to describe me. In reality, I was a criminal who made my living in illegal gambling. Or I used to, until a thug named Mario Greco decided to move in on my territory. When I pushed back, he came after me so hard that I ended up bailing out to San Francisco, just until I could figure out what to do about Greco and his crew of sociopaths.
“You have a point,” I said, “and I’ll think about filing a police report.”
Romy was still frowning. “You won’t do it, but whatever. It’s your choice. And I’m really sorry this happened to you.” He paused before asking, “You’ve hooked up with other guys since you and Ford broke up, right? It’s been six months. Please tell me that wasn’t your first time back out there.”
“Sadly, that was the first guy I’d slept with since my four-year relationship crashed and burned. I think the universe might be trying to tell me something. I know it’s not demented enough to try to get Ford and me back together, so I guess the message I’m meant to take from this is to give up and die alone.”
My brother sat up straighter and shook his head. “No! Absolutely not. You’ve just had a setback, but that’s not enough of a reason to give up on love.”
“That’s awfully optimistic, since you told me you yourself had given up on dating.”
“We’re not talking about me,” he said. “We’re talking about you, and it’s a totally different situation.”
“Uh huh.”
He ignored that and told me, “Even though the guy from last night ended up being a terrible person, I’m still proud of you for putting yourself out there and giving it a shot.”
“He wasn’t a terrible person. At least I don’t think he was. I definitely have some questions for him, though. Mostly, I need to know if he came home and slept with me while fully intending to rip me off afterwards. Or was it that he saw the watch and made an impulsive decision? I can maybe understand the second one. But if robbing me was premeditated, then god help this guy once I find him.”
“You wouldn’t really hurt him, would you?”
I’d almost forgotten who I was talking to, until I looked at the screen and saw my kid brother’s worried expression. He tried so hard to believe I was a good person, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Of course, I’d normally beat the hell out of anyone who screwed me over the way Jack had, just as a matter of principle. But I meant it when I said, “I don’t know what I’ll do once I find him. It depends on his answers to my questions.”
“Maybe it really was an impulsive decision. Or maybe he desperately needed some money,” Romy said. “I’m not condoning theft, obviously, but there may be extenuating circumstances that you should consider.”
A waitress arrived with my brother’s breakfast just then, and I poured myself a cup of coffee and kept chatting with him while he ate. At the end of the meal, we promised to do it again the following weekend. Then I disconnected the video call and went to get dressed.
I had a thief to find.
4
Jack
I liked to think of myself as a pretty self-sufficient guy, someone who really didn’t need a lot of people in my life. There was my mom, and my best friend Wyatt, who I’d known since high school, and that had always been enough for me.
But after spending nearly a week in the pink Victorian with this amazing group of people, I started to think that maybe my life was a little lonely. It would probably wear off once I was back in my world, but for now it was weighing on me.
Not that the self-proclaimed Pink Victorian Crew excluded me or anything. Just the opposite. Since I’d taken up temporary residence on their couch, they’d let me be a part of their game and movie nights, cocktail hours, late-night conversations, and family dinners—because that was what they were, a family.