Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57707 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57707 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
He grits his teeth. “Don’t be dramatic. We just want you to know. We see you.”
“Just get off my property.”
“We see your sweet momma, too,” the man says.
“Get away!” I yell.
“Keep your voice down,” he grunts, “or this will get worse. Don’t worry. I’m not here to hurt you.”
“I have nothing to do with that cage-fighting crap, okay?” I snap.
“If the Marine’s interested in you, sweetheart, you’re involved now. So you tell him, hello, okay, sweetie? Just tell him we send a kind hello, and we sincerely would like him, you, and that sweet momma to have a happy time together.”
You’re pathetic, I want to hiss, but I can’t afford to be brave or to piss him off. I just need him to go.
“Maybe you ought to be careful, though, sweetie pie,” the man says, making my skin crawl. “You might end up like poor Vanessa if you spend too much time with the Marine.”
“Vanessa?” I spit, despite myself. “What are you talking about?”
“The last time the Marine showed any affection, let’s just say it didn’t end well.” The man laughs coldly. “Go on. Ask him. He doesn’t know we know, but the world’s a small place.”
“You’re wasting your time here,” I say. “You’re in the wrong place. Tristan and me, it’s not what you think.”
This hurts to say on some level, but I need to think about Mom’s safety.
“Vanessa wouldn’t say that.”
He turns and walks away, whistling. It’s like insects are crawling all over my body. After a minute, I leave the phone and look at the porch. The garden’s empty. The man’s ugly words twist through me.
Who is Vanessa?
I’ll have to tell Tristan about this, obviously, but part of me doesn’t want to add the last part, the Vanessa part. I don’t want to make things awkward. Is that just completely ridiculous? We have a date. It’s supposed to be special.
Once I’m sure the man’s gone, I text Tristan. It’s not like he’ll be able to do anything now. If that man wanted to get in here, he’d be here. I keep to the facts, but I don’t mention the Vanessa part. I just say he threatened us.
I think they want you to know they know about me. That’s all.
That’s all, I write, as though none of this is a big deal. Returning to Mom’s room, I try to stay awake. If anybody busts in and tries to hurt her, I need to keep her safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
TRISTAN
Ialready have half the cash in the stash under the rear seat, but I’m not happy about it. As I drive through the night, sighing, I lament I’ll never be able to get a dog of my own thanks to all this crap with the Mob. That’s always been in my head, but I can’t take time for self-pity. I’ve got to dump Raffie’s shit before I get serious prison time.
My phone buzzes. I glance at it. Fuck. It’s my Maya. No, it’s Maya, I correct myself. Cold, calculated, focused.
I pull over, checking the phone. I’m wired, tired, and on edge, but her words light me up, but not in a good way. Some guy came by the house. He didn’t break in or anything, but he was pretty intimidating. He was hinting that he was watching us. Anyway …
She finishes with, “That’s it,” and that gets my blood boiling, dammit. It shouldn’t be easy to push away her feelings and not care.
When I pull away from the curb, I turn in the opposite direction. My body’s sore from a long day cleaning the kennels, now this crap. Raffie’s going to be in serious shit if anything happens to her.
It’s not like I can leave her after learning all that. Maybe she won’t appreciate me showing up with a trunk-load full of this filth, but it’s better than leaving her alone at night, her and her ma, leaving her without me to protect her.
Do I think it’s my job or something? That’s Tank sneering in my ear. I love that man like a brother. We served together. We survived together, but sometimes he makes me want to bash his teeth in with that crap.
I get another text from Raffie. How’s it going?
He was erratic when I left, jittery, looking at me with his red, high eyes. “Just get rid of it, bro. Please.” Then he shoved my fight purse into my hand. I couldn’t help but see that little kid again, despite knowing what he’s done, who he is, and what he tried to force me to do.
When I’m almost at Maya’s street, I slow the car down, not wanting to wake up the neighborhood so late. I do a quick scan but don’t notice any cars with people in them. Maybe they’re hiding, but more likely, Maya was right. They just wanted her to know they were there.