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)
A sob escaped.
“Um, oh, don’t worry though,” Liam added quickly. “Gwen is very good at her job. I’m sure she will get your brother out soon.”
Devi drew back and let Hayes wipe her nose and cheeks again.
“Thank you,” she said in a croaky voice.
“You don’t have to thank us, sweetheart,” Kent told her gently.
“But I do . . . you could go to the police and get me in a lot of trouble.”
“I think the police have bigger things to worry about,” Kent told her. “And even if they didn’t . . . Stein was a terrible person. Under the same circumstances, any of us would be angry at him.”
“But you probably wouldn’t send him threatening letters that scared him so much he hired bodyguards.” She winced. “I do feel bad about scaring Sondra. I just . . . well, I didn’t expect him to hire protection. I never intended to hurt him. I just wanted . . . well, I think I was just angry and looking for an outlet.”
“You won’t do anything like that again,” Hayes told her firmly.
“I won’t. I promise. No more breaking the law.”
“I don’t care about you breaking the law except that it put you in danger. Do you know how much trouble you’d be in if the cops had caught you? If Stein had? You won’t be putting yourself at risk like that again.”
Wait.
Was he upset because he was worried about her?
“You’re not upset that I wasted all of your time?” she whispered, looking over at Kent.
To her shock he just smiled. “I get paid whether the threat was real or not, sweetheart. Just means that my guys were safe. I’m guessing you had no intention of blowing up Stein’s house so he ended up in a million tiny pieces.”
She winced. “I was particularly upset that day.”
“In all seriousness, though, you cannot tell anyone that you did that. It doesn’t leave this room. I won’t be telling anyone else. Because if the police did discover what you did . . . you’d be in serious trouble.” Kent gave her a stern look.
Devi nodded. “I won’t. I promise. I don’t want to go to jail. I just . . . I wasn’t really thinking about that. All I wanted was to make him hurt the way I was. Didn’t think it all through and I certainly didn’t expect him to hire bodyguards.”
“I get it. But no more revenge, okay?” Kent said to her.
“No revenge at all? On anyone?”
“Well, I meant toward anyone involved in your brother’s case. I’ll let Hayes talk to you about any other revenge.” Kent’s lips twitched.
“We’ve heard about the salt in his coffee incident,” Liam said, studying her. “I might consider doing that when someone annoys me.”
“Don’t even think about putting salt in my coffee,” Kent warned him.
Liam just raised his eyebrows. If he was hoping to look innocent, he failed.
“We’re going to get rid of this evidence. We’ve also gone through the trailer and there wasn’t much to salvage. But what we could find of yours is in a couple of bags we brought by earlier.” Kent waved over toward two roller bags that looked brand new. They certainly didn’t belong to her. “I’m afraid that Liam and I need to get back to JSI. I’m obviously leaving Hayes here. He wouldn’t come with me even if I tried.”
Hayes grunted.
“I’m also leaving Donovan. Gwen and Dominic are still here as well. Dominic’s main focus is Gwen’s safety, but if he’s needed, he can be here quickly. Zander and some of his team are here too. They’re hunting the guys that took your father.”
“Do you still think they’re a threat to me?” she asked nervously.
“It’s hard to know,” Liam told her. “They might be angry because you went to the police. But they let you go after you saw their faces. That was a foolish move on their behalf. Perhaps they didn’t think you would survive your injuries. I suppose if you weren’t found so quickly, then you might not have.”
Well. That was a cheery thought.
“Won’t Hayes and Donovan be in danger being around me? Maybe you should take them with you?”
Hayes grunted. “Not fucking happening. We’re staying.”
“They’re well-trained,” Kent told her. “They can protect themselves and you. So long as you do what you’re told.” He walked over to squeeze her good hand. “Nice to meet you, Devi. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
He would be?
He reached the door before she remembered something important.
“What about the cost?” she asked.
Hayes tensed.
Kent simply turned and smiled. “Family never owes family.”
The door shut behind them and she frowned in confusion. Why the heck did he keep talking about family?
Hayes settled her back in the bed, tucking the blanket around her before sitting, facing her.
“What did he mean?”
Hayes shrugged. “Who knows what that crazy bastard thinks. The scary thing is that in his family, he’s the sane one. His brother thinks everyone who lives on the Ranch belongs to him. And his sister . . . well, she belongs to Zeke and he has his hands full.”