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)
Elliette’s mouth dropped open.
Hell, so did mine.
I was unaware of any meetings happening regarding this particular topic.
Though, I was extremely glad that it had.
“I will not leave!” Elliette snarled. “Tim! Do something!”
Tim stood up, caught Elliette’s arm, and guided her out of the office without another word. He whispered to her in the hall, urging her to control herself or face a very real possibility of jail time, and then said, “Go gather your things.”
Elliette did, gathering all of her things and heading down to the locker room after her desk was cleared out of the gang division’s shared space.
Boseman, Assman, and Ameer all watched with placid looks on their faces.
The moment she was gone, Austin walked to the middle of the room and said, “I want her replaced by the end of the day. You’re now two short in your division, and I want more eyes and ears on my roads.” Austin turned to me directly. “That kid you nearly got killed by this morning?”
“Yeah,” I said warily.
“Good call.” He gave me a grudging look of respect. “Kid was a board member’s grandson. It didn’t go unnoticed, and they appreciate your respect and understanding in the matter.”
Then, without further words to any of us, he left the room.
“Man,” Assman said once the stomping of Austin’s boots could no longer be heard down the hallway. “That man scares the bejesus out of me.”
“Same, kid,” I said as I headed out of the room. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to collect the donuts I promised y’all. While I’m gone, will y’all please look into the candidates on the desk?”
“Donuts?” Assman perked up.
“Donuts,” I confirmed.
I found my donuts, and my woman, right where I’d last seen her.
This time, she was eating a cherry iced donut, however.
I caught her, and the donut, up in my arms. The moment I was close enough to the donut, I took a huge bite and groaned.
She pulled the half of the donut that was in her mouth away from her lips and laughed.
“Quinn!” she cried out. “This was the last cherry iced one!”
I leaned forward to take another bite, but she held it up high over my head.
“You know that I’m taller than you, right?” I teased, leaning forward and licking a stray flake of glaze off her lips.
“Yes,” she paused. “But I was thinking you wouldn’t be willing to let go of me to reach for the donut.”
She was right.
I wasn’t.
“You’re right,” I confirmed, pulling her in tighter.
She brought her hand down and held the donut to my lips.
I shook my head. “I know you like those the most. I’m not eating it if it’s the last one.”
Her eyes went soft. “There are three more. I was just teasing you.”
I took a bite, groaning at the taste. “Gosh, this baker can bake.”
“I know.” Her eyes were sparkly with mirth as she said, “I think your chief saw me bringing these in. He took one look at the bakery boxes as he held the door open for me, and I thought he was going to slam it in my face.”
I scrunched up my nose and finished chewing before saying, “I wish I knew what his deal was, but seeing as I try very, very hard to stay out of the chief’s business, I won’t be digging any further into it.”
Auden grumbled something under his breath, making me turn toward him.
He had a blueberry scone in one hand and a glass of milk in the other.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he grumbled, glaring hard at his scone.
My other brother, Quincy, who was double fisting an orange muffin and a chocolate chip cookie, said, “Auden has a crush.”
“Fuck off and die, Quincy,” Auden grumbled.
My brows rose as I glanced at Quincy for a quick beat and then said to Auden, “That was rather harsh.”
“That was what it was,” Auden grumbled as he took a large bite of his scone.
Atlas, his twin, snorted under his breath. “If you wanted them to butt out, you should’ve never mentioned anything.”
Atlas had a point.
“What are y’all doing?” Quaid said as he walked up. “And why are you hoarding all the baked goods?”
Quaid bent over for the donut box, and I stopped him. “This one is for my guys. You can have anything else.”
Quaid nodded and went to the brownies.
“We’re talking about Auden and his crush on the baker.” Quincy took a bite of his cookie, looking smug and amused.
Shayne patted Auden’s thigh. “If it makes you feel better, I think she feels the same way. She asked about you today.”
Auden perked up. “She did?”
“She did,” Shayne confirmed before turning to me and brushing the glaze flakes off my chest. “How long are you working tonight?”
“Well,” I admitted, “I have no immediate plans to leave work anytime soon. The chief tasked me with hiring two new people. I guess I have to get a couple of interviews going.”