Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Kane looks at me for confirmation.
“Did either of these two touch you, baby?”
I shake my head.
“No—just the jerk you already threw out.”
“All right.” Kane nods at them. “Then you can go. But don’t ever fucking come back here again! And tell your friend he’d better learn some manners or someone’s going to fuck his shit up permanently.”
The other two men hurry out the door, apologizing as they go and keeping a wary eye on Kane who’s standing there at the door like the biggest, scariest bouncer you ever saw.
They help the guy who grabbed me up—whose name is “Gary” I guess. He’s still lying on the sidewalk moaning that he fell wrong. Possibly he twisted an ankle because they have to grab him under the arms and drag him, half-hobbling, towards the parking lot.
“Shut your whining—your big mouth almost got us all killed!” one of them snaps.
And then they turn the corner and I can’t hear them anymore.
Kane closes the door firmly and comes back to me and Cookie, who’s been standing there, watching the whole altercation with wide eyes.
“Thank you for handling that,” he says to my brother. “They were right—we don’t have any police around her for miles. It might have gotten ugly.”
“I wouldn’t have minded.” Kane still looks like a simmering pot just about to boil over. His jaw is tense as he looks down at me. “You all right, baby? Are you sure you don’t want me to go fuck them up. Because I’ll do it. I’ll be happy to do it.”
The intensity in his pale eyes scares me a little. But I’m not afraid of him—I know my brother would never hurt me. I’m afraid for the three men he just kicked out of the diner. And I’m afraid of what might happen to Kane if he takes revenge for me. I don’t want him getting sent back to prison.
“It’s all right—I’m fine,” I say quickly. “They were just jerks, that’s all.”
“Fucking assholes is what they were,” Kane growls. He puts an arm around my shoulders. “Nobody fucks with my baby sister.”
I feel a rush of raw emotion so intense I can hardly say what it is. I haven’t felt so protected and safe since my Daddy died. I can tell that Kane would be willing to fight or die for me and it’s a powerful feeling.
“Thank you, big brother.” I say and press myself against him for a hug. Which unfortunately, gets the front of my uniform wet.
“Uh, sorry. Got you wet,” Kane remarks when I pull away. “I was washing the dishes—the spray back there is fierce.”
“It’s okay—it’ll dry,” I assure him. “Oh, while you’re out here, I have someone I want you to meet.”
I take his arm and pull him over to table two, where Charles is still sitting, looking kind of sheepish.
“Who’s this?” Kane asks, looking down at him.
“Kane, this is Charles, my boyfriend,” I tell him. “And Charles, this is Kane—my big brother.”
Kane frowns and I can almost hear his thoughts. He’s wondering why my boyfriend sat by and let me get harassed without saying or doing anything. However he doesn’t say anything about it. He just holds out a hand to Charles.
“Good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Sunny’s letters,” he rumbles.
Charles shakes reluctantly, I think. He clears his throat.
“Likewise. She told me she was writing to you in prison. I just had no idea you were about to be released.”
“Yeah well—here I am.” Kane spreads his arms. “But right now, I’d better get back to the kitchen,” he says. He looks at me. “You’re sure you’re all right, baby?”
“I’m okay,” I assure him, though to be honest, I still feel kind of shaken up. If Kane hadn’t stepped in, we might have had a really nasty altercation on our hands and it wasn’t like Charles was going to do anything about it.
Though to be fair to my boyfriend, he’s only about 5’9 and those three road crew workers would have eaten him for lunch if he’d tried anything. Still, he could have at least spoken up for me, I think, feeling resentful.
“Okay well—good to meet you, man,” Kane says to Charles. He heads back to the kitchen and the other customers go back to eating. Show’s over, folks—we can all relax.
“Well!” I take a deep breath and straighten my shoulders. “I guess now I should finally put in your order,” I say to Charles.
But my boyfriend scowls at me as though he’s angry for some reason.
“Forget it,” he says shortly. “I lost my appetite.”
“What? Why?” I ask, but he doesn’t bother to answer. He rises abruptly from his table and pushes past me towards the door. “Charles?” I call after him, but he’s already gone, slamming the door behind him and making the little bell tinkle wildly, as though to announce his departure.