Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“Sorry, all out. But if you give me your address, I can have something personally organized for you,” she deadpans. “You know, exceptional hospitality and all.”
Hawke looks away, trying to hide his smirk. If the fucker wasn’t snorting like an idiot, encouraging her, perhaps she would better be able to read the precarious position she’s in, but I still think she’d be unfazed. Does this woman have a death wish?
Fuck me, even Ford seems mildly amused.
“I have a feeling you already know it,” Ford says, shrugging. “I’d prefer if you start with kittens and puppies. That’s where I started anyway.”
Her jaw drops, and he looks up at her with a flat expression.
“That was a joke,” he clarifies.
She scrunches up her nose, not entirely believing him. His humor is so dry that I’m not even sure if he’s joking.
She sighs and props the tray on her hip casually. “I see Will was able to track me after all.”
I lean in, intrigued by this beautiful and lethal woman. And I should not find anything sexy about a woman who leaves dead rats in my drawers.
“So you’ve done your homework.” She does everything to not look in my direction. She’s smart enough to know the twins work for me, but it doesn’t make them any less evil or intimidating.
“Why do you sound impressed?” Hawke says out loud. He does that a lot—says shit in front of people he shouldn’t.
“Don’t be so flattered. It’s part of the job. Do you think I’m truly dimwitted enough to involve myself in any way with the most powerful family in New York without doing research?” That irks me. She didn’t say me, but my family. Aren’t I her only target? If it’s anyone else besides me that she’s after, that changes this entirely, and I won’t let her out alive. As if feeling the lethal tension beneath the surface, she looks me up and down with a frown, as if disapprovingly. “Now, if you would so kindly place an order before my other asshole customers start to complain, that would be great.”
“I want a burger with extra bacon,” Hawke says. We all look at him, and she seems shocked that he actually ordered. We all are.
She shrugs and says, “Okay, anything else?”
“Sit,” I tell her, nodding to the empty seat in front of her.
“No,” she replies with a sickeningly sweet smile. “And anything for you?” she asks Ford.
“Cake,” he says. As I go to speak again, she turns her back on us and walks away, her heels clicking as she goes to the kitchen.
“You ordered fucking cake?” I bark at Ford, unable to unleash this rage within me from her ignorant behavior. “We didn’t come to fucking eat; we came to interrogate her.”
“Hawke ordered a fucking burger,” he says defensively. “And you had the chance to interrogate her two nights ago and let her go free, so unless you plan on gunning down everyone here for more alone time…”
The elderly woman behind us gasps in shock, and I roll my eyes.
“Come on, it’s not that bad, and besides, I’m hungry,” Hawke says, tapping his belly and rubbing it. The man has the appetite of a fucking beast because he lives in the gym and eats everything in sight. “Don’t get your panties in a twist because your woman won’t do as you say.”
The moment my gaze lands on him, he realizes he stepped too far. “I’m sorry, boss.”
Fucking idiot.
“What else did Will find on her?” Ford asks, once again pulling his dumbass brother out of the line of fire.
I clear my throat, reiterating that this is a serious matter. She’s got a hit on me, for fuck’s sake.
So why the fuck didn’t you kill her?
I’m irritated by my own logic.
“She’s been on her own since she was a teenager, and her father was a sniper for the Air Force,” I tell him, distracted as she walks back out with a tray of food and delivers it to the table next to us, not once glancing our way. The old woman who overheard our conversation is quick to ask for the bill and a to-go bag.
Jewel doesn’t seem affected by our presence, and that irritates me more than I thought it would. Men fear and revere me. Women worship and throw themselves at me. This woman treats me with such contempt even with the knowledge I could and should kill her. Shouldn’t she be more grateful to me?
“Oh, look, pretty boy made it,” Hawke exclaims dryly as Dutton enters the restaurant. Dutton looks around the place as if it should be blown up immediately, and admittedly, I share his sentiment.
“Why are we here?” he asks, taking the seat Jewel was leaning against. The chair looks far too small for his broad shoulders.
“And she’s back,” Ford mumbles as Jewel comes over with a slice of chocolate cake and sets it in front of Ford.