Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“What am I doing? What the h-hell are you doing?” she cried, lowering the bat slightly.
Then he lumbered to his feet and she tensed. She wasn’t sure what sort of mood he was in, but experience had taught her that when he came home after days away he was generally in a foul one.
So she watched him warily as he moved toward her.
“What are you doing? What are you looking for? Where have you been?” she asked.
“You need to shut the fuck up,” he told her, jabbing a finger in her direction.
God, she felt terrible. Her head was swimming and she needed to lie down before she fell down.
But first she had to work out what the hell to do about Derick.
Call me when he returns.
Vega’s words swam through her mind. But what did he want with her father? And what would he do if she did call him?
Nothing good, she was certain.
But what happens if you don’t call him?
What if he hurts you instead?
Better Derick than you.
Oh God. What to do?
“Derick, where have you been? People have been here looking for you.”
“Who?” He rushed to the curtains, carefully pulling them back. “Who has been looking for me?”
Did he think they were out there right now? What the heck had he done?
What sort of trouble was he in? And how was that going to come back on her?
Oh God.
Maybe she should call Vega, perhaps she could be done with Derick once and for all.
But how would she live with that on her conscience?
“Vega.”
“What the fuck? Vega? Shit.” Her father looked terrible. He had bloodshot eyes and his shirt was covered in stains with old sweat stains in the pits.
God. He stunk so bad that she could smell him from here.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing! I didn’t do fucking anything! Their games are rigged is all. Rigged. I was winning for a start, but then I don’t know what happened . . . my luck changed. No, it’s their fault. They did it. They got me hooked and they rigged it so they won.”
“You’ve been gambling? With what?”
“I have to pay them. Went to Mars, but he wouldn’t help. Said he’d already given me a loan and because of Rohan, he would give me more time to pay him back. But that he wouldn’t lend me anything more. Can you fucking believe that? Rohan is one of his . . . and he couldn’t give his old man an extra loan?”
“You w-went to Freddy?” she whispered.
She didn’t like Freddy much. He’d always had this weird vibe about him. But Rohan insisted that they were friends. And she’d been grateful to him for paying for Rohan’s lawyer.
Not that things had worked out
Still, she couldn’t believe that Derick had gone to Freddy for a loan. And he’d already given him money?
God. He wasn’t going to see that again. And how would Freddy take that? He might be Rohan’s friend but he was also a bad guy who couldn’t just let things like that slip.
Jesus.
This was worse than she thought.
“Not Freddy. Lucan.”
“You . . . you went to Lucan Mars?” she asked, stumbling over to the sofa to sit.
She couldn’t stay on her feet any longer. And not because she was exhausted.
Because she couldn’t believe the stupidity of this man. How was she related to him? She really wished she wasn’t.
“So you’ve been gambling and you need money to pay those debts. You’ve already b-borrowed from the Scorpions and you thought that it was a good idea to go back there and ask for more?” Damn stupid stutter. She hated how it came when she was worked up.
“They owe me! My only boy is in jail!”
“How do they owe you for that?” she asked in bewilderment.
“Because if he was here he’d keep his old man safe.”
“No, he wouldn’t,” she replied incredulously. “He hates you.”
“He does not!” her father roared.
Crap.
“Why does Vega want to talk to you?” she asked. “Why did he help you home the other night?”
“Vega? Well, uh, he offered to help me home after I lost a whole lot of money at a place run by Satan’s Sons. Yeah, that’s why I was with him.”
Satan’s Sons? Holy shit. That’s who he owed money to?
But why did he sound so odd? Like he was lying? Or leaving something out?
“You do know that Vega is a bad guy, right?”
“Don’t pretend to know shit about this. I need money. Where is my stash? It was under the sink! You moved it!”
“I didn’t move any money,” she said. “You probably removed it and forgot.”
“I didn’t fucking move it, girl!” He swung toward her and she was too sluggish and tired to move.
Smack!
The back of his hand landed against the side of her face. Pain engulfed her and she leaned over with a groan, trying to protect her face in case he came at her again.