Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Are you supposed to be here tonight?” I reached for his sleeve.
Colton brushed me off, gesturing to his friend. “Monk thought it’d be fun to come see my dad’s big party.”
Monk was the one with the tequila. The ringleader then. I didn’t know how Colton didn’t see that he was bad news. He was dressed nice in khakis and a polo with boat shoes, but Colton had more sense than to be fooled by private school flunkies. Where was all of his New York City smarts?
“Hey, man,” Monk said, offering his hand.
I just glared at him.
Monk slowly lowered his hand. “Lame party anyway. Come on, Colt. Let’s get out of here.”
Colton shrugged. “Whatever.”
My hand came down hard on Colton’s shoulder. That wasn’t happening. “Who drove?”
Colton pointed at another kid. “Chet has his license.”
Chet was a tall, scrawny kid who looked high as fuck. He had a joint tucked behind his ear. The third guy was smiling like an idiot, as if he found all of this to be a huge joke.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Colton tried to free himself from my grip with no luck. “We’re just having a good time.”
“You’re smarter than this.”
He seethed at those words. “I don’t need your help.”
“Colton Wright!” A voice cracked across the divide.
Colton and I winced at the same time. We both recognized Jensen’s voice from a mile off. The other guys should have known what was coming, too. They all should have gotten out of there while they could. This wasn’t going to be pleasant. I’d done what I could to try to save Colton, but there wasn’t going to be any saving once his dad took one look at him.
“Dad,” Colton said, finally jerking out of my grip.
“What are you doing?” he asked, striding toward us with all the power of a man who always got his way.
He was dressed like the mayoral candidate in a black suit and tie. None of the familiar good ole boy who wore jeans and drove a pickup truck tonight. Colton wasn’t just getting the enmity of his dad; he was getting it from the man who would own the city.
“Just heading out,” Colton said.
“Out. You are supposed to be at home.”
He shrugged. “I was bored.”
“Bored,” Jensen said softly, dangerously. His eyes flicked from his son to the three losers he was standing with. He took in the scene in an instant.
Eve put her hand on mine, as if to say we should leave. Jensen should handle this. But, fuck, I felt sorry for the kid.
“I can take him home,” I offered.
Jensen turned back to me, as if processing that I was there. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Sir, I think—”
“I said, that won’t be necessary,” he all but snarled.
He was barely clinging on to control. My presence was only making it worse because, now, I was a witness.
I glanced back at Colton, but he wouldn’t even meet my gaze.
“Just go,” he ground out.
It felt wrong. I should say more. Colton Wright was fifteen and drunk and making every wrong decision. He deserved whatever was coming to him. He’d deserved being sent to Lubbock as punishment for getting arrested. And yet I felt for the kid. Growing up with no rules, with a father so far away, I could empathize.
Jensen’s dad had died when he was in college. He’d had to come home and help raise his younger siblings, take over the company. He might have gone through it, but I was sure he was judging his own son on a different scale.
Jensen pushed open a door and pointed at it. “The four of you, inside.”
“We were just…” Monk pointed back to the elevators.
“Now!”
All four boys snapped to attention like they were in the military and grumbled as they strode into the open conference room. The door swung behind them, and Jensen sighed heavily. The frustration vanished, and in its place was a concerned father who had no idea what to do with his little troublemaker.
He held his hand out to me. “Thank you. For looking after him.”
“Of course.”
He smiled at Eve and offered her his hand as well. She shook without a word. “Glad you two were here.”
Then, he nodded at us and wrenched the door back open. We watched his back disappear.
I’d done my best. I couldn’t save a lost cause. Colton would have to learn this lesson the hard way.
“Come on,” I said, reaching for her hand.
But she was still frozen, staring at the closed door. Her eyes were distant. Somewhere very, very far off. Like I’d have to cross a desert to reach her in that moment.
“Eve?”
She blinked and came back to herself. “Sorry.”
“You okay?”
“I’m glad he has you to look out for him.”
I scoffed. “Little good it’s doing.”
“More good than you know.”
“Doesn’t feel like that.” I ran a hand down my face. “He deserves better. I know his parents care about him and they’re doing the best they can. But he needs…a friend. I don’t think any of the shits he knew in New York fit that bill. And those idiots he’s with certainly don’t.”