Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 66480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“Wait. What?”
“Wren is a wild child. You’re exactly the type of man she goes for. At least on the surface.”
“Tori , after all these years, please don’t make me finally give in and kick your ass.”
He laughed, sounding genuinely amused. “Look, just be careful with her. Is she clinging? Getting too obvious with her interest? I’ve been waiting to read Bloody Jack into what we’re doing until I’m ready for him to move, but I can tell him to have Ghost lock his daughter down for a week if I need to.”
“That’s kind of the problem, man. It’s been three days. I finally gave in and texted her. Much as it pains me to admit it, I’m not sure I made that big of an impression.”
“If it wasn’t your safety in the balance here, this would be funny as shit.”
“Swear to God, Tori . I will steal every last Mars bar you have if you tell anyone about this.”
“No promises.” His chuckle said he was telling his brothers first fucking second he got. “How’s everything else?”
“Well, so far so good. I’ve got a file I uploaded to the server. Have Gabriel look it over. The patterns are unmistakable. My only question would be the fact that they are so clear. It’s almost like they want to get caught.”
“Or they’re careless.”
I snorted. “If you look up ‘careless’ in the dictionary…”
“You get a picture of a Copperhead next to it.”
“Smart these guys ain’t, Tori. At least all of them but Acid. He’s intelligent but lazy.”
“Same as being stupid,” Tori muttered. “I’ll get Gabe on it. In the meantime, do you think you can salvage anything with Wren? She’s the quickest way for you to get in touch with Jack if you need out because he’s not going to wait by the phone for you or even my brother.”
“But he’ll pick up for Ghost’s daughter if she calls. I get it. Honestly? I’d have to actually speak with her to gauge where I am with her. It was a one night stand. I gave her my number and she still has it because she answered, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“You need anything?”
“You mean besides bleach for my brain? No. Once you have what you need to follow the trail on this skin highway, I want to be the one to take out these fuckers.”
“That can be arranged.” I heard ice clinking in a glass in the background of the phone call. Bastard probably had premium grade Scotch. “Any particular reason?”
“Yeah. I can’t unsee some of the shit they do to women. I try to redirect the bastards when they get too rough, but I can’t free these girls until I’m ready to get out unless I want to die. And, information you need or not, you’ve got another week at most before I say fuck it and take care of business.”
“Use your own discretion, Rocky. You know I trust you.” There was a pause. “Just don’t let your dick get you killed.”
“Bastard,” I muttered before I disconnected the call to the sound of Tori’s laughter.
Chapter Seven
Wren
Day four of Operation Find the Truth About Rocky, and all I had to show for it was three empty cups from Perkatory for every day I’d been working, and an entire pack of cinnamon gum chewed to oblivion. OK, so maybe there were more Perkatory cups than three a day because I had a serious addiction. Also, I had a sore ass from sitting in my car for hours and a new zit forming on my chin from stress or sugar. Or both.
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, staring through the windshield at the faded brick storefront across the street. Inside, Rocky nursed his usual breakfast. Black coffee and two plain bagels. Who ate plain bagels? If he hadn’t given me the most fantastic sex of my life, I’d have to seriously reconsider being his friend over plain bagels. I didn’t think he knew I was following him but I knew I needed to be careful.
Honey would have lost her shit if she saw me now. The night she wrung the truth out of me, she’d made me swear I’d do recon before contacting Rocky again. Fine. I was nothing if not a woman of my word. But if I’d known how fucking boring stakeouts actually were, I’d have lied and taken my chances with Ghost or Bloody Jack. At least they’d get results. They’d also get Rocky dead and I didn’t want him dead. At least not yet.
From my current vantage point, I watched Rocky through the coffee shop window. And yes, Perkatory was aptly named. The coffee was the strongest in the entire state. And the most sought after. Shit was heaven and hell, and I loved every glorious drop of it. He sat with his back to the wall, never facing the entrance. Every so often, he glanced up from his phone to scan the room. I saw him check the parking lot a few times, too. If he made me, he didn’t show it. Maybe he just looked over his shoulder out of habit, or maybe I was better at surveillance than I thought.