Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
She couldn’t finish.
But I knew what she wanted. She needed me to leave her alone.
And I’d do that.
I’d fuckin’ do that for real.
What I wouldn’t do was stop keeping an eye out for her. Not ever.
“Okay,” I said softly. “Let’s get your Nonna taken care of, then I’ll leave you alone.”
I unzipped the bag and blanched myself at seeing the usually vibrant woman so pale and gray.
“I love you, Nonna,” Shayne whispered. “I’ll miss you so bad.”
My stomach and heart landed somewhere around my knees as I listened to her say goodbye.
When she was done, she walked away without looking back.
Leaning my hands on the metal table, I stared at the woman who’d loved me despite my letting her granddaughter go.
Why hadn’t she told me?
I’d thought we’d had a great relationship.
But I adored the fact that she’d chosen her granddaughter over me.
“I’ll take care of her, Nonna. If it’s the last thing I do,” I whispered darkly.
Pulling away, I left the bag as it was, then walked back up to the man who’d just said goodbye to Shayne.
Shayne disappeared outside into the parking lot, and I stopped at the man’s desk.
Looking outside, I spotted her dropping down into her car.
I waited for her to shut her car door before I turned to the man who’d taken delivery of Nonna’s body.
“I want the nicest fuckin’ urn you can find to put her in,” I said. “When she’s done, you call me. I’ll hand deliver her back to Shayne.”
The man nodded.
“Thanks,” I said and handed him my card.
His eyes lit as he said, “Gang division?”
I nodded.
“I used to be in a gang,” he said. “Some officer got me out. Told me I was wasting my life away. Told me I had so much I could offer this world.” He looked up. “Germaine Carter. You know him?”
I nodded, tapping my own name badge. “Quinn Carter. Germaine’s my dad.”
He flashed me a smile. “Your dad saved me. Tell him thank you again.” He looked up. “I wouldn’t own this place right now if he hadn’t.”
With that, I gave him a nod, and then I left.
When I got outside, it was to see Shayne’s car still in the parking lot.
She was crying her eyes out.
I forced myself to go to my cruiser and stay there.
I didn’t leave until she did.
And every fuckin’ tear that left her eyes ripped my heart out.
It was as I watched her swiping away tear after tear that I made a decision. I would fix this.
If she let me.
I had tried. I tried and I tried and I tried. And failed to convince her to give me a second chance.
She never gave it, but I was going to try harder now. I had nothing left to lose.
If he pauses to grip your face during a kiss, just know that it’s about to be real disrespectful.
—Shayne’s secret thoughts
SHAYNE
The calls kept coming.
They were happening every couple of hours, like clockwork.
I tried and failed to be mad at Quinn.
I liked that he was being persistent.
I liked it even more that he was stopping by my Nonna’s place and checking on me, even if I never answered the door.
Speaking of the devil, my phone beeped, and I reluctantly picked it up to stare at it.
Quinn.
Again.
The old man that was going to be my pilot for the day finally made his way out of the hangar, smiling and waving when he saw me. “You ready?”
“I’m more than ready,” I said, patting my parachute harness. “Just waiting on you to get here, Tom!”
Tom and I had first met when we’d shown up to fly out of the private airstrip.
He’d been flying a crop duster, while I’d been flying a small Cessna to get some flight hours in.
We’d talked for a couple of hours, and he’d told me that he would love to take me flying, and that I could jump out of his plane anytime.
From then on, I’d bummed a ride out of him any time I had time to spare, then paid him a few bucks for gas a couple of times a month.
He gestured toward the plane, and I climbed inside, excitement starting to fill my veins.
When we got to the cruising altitude a couple of minutes later, I was practically bouncing in my seat.
“Never seen a woman get so excited about throwing herself into dangerous situations,” Tom chuckled as I started to check everything once last time.
“It’s in the blood,” I declared as I unbuckled my belt. “You ready?”
Tom gestured to me to go, and I did just that, throwing myself out of the plane and waving as I fell.
The adrenaline that hit me sent shocks of excitement through my veins.
When I was freefalling through the air, all of my worries seemed to melt away.
No more worries about bills, my grandmother dying, my brother being a dumbass, or Quinn were able to penetrate the high.