Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“He didn’t want kids?”
“I don’t think he even saw the pregnancy as his. He just saw the situation as the end of my virality. He wanted me to terminate. And, I mean, I debated it. But I just… I wanted her. Even if it meant my career would take a backseat. I thought we were in a good place to have a baby. Travis clearly had a lot of money.”
“But he wasn’t on board.”
“As soon as I said I wanted to have the baby, he kicked me out. Practically dragged me out of the house while barking at his assistant to tell him to pack my things.
“It wasn’t until I got to a hotel room that I checked my bags and realized that Jake had only packed the things I showed up to Miami with. All the new clothes, the electronics, the jewelry, even my one decent pair of shoes weren’t packed. Thank God I never sold my car like Travis suggested. It might not be much, but it’s the only thing that allowed us to survive.”
“Fucking hate the deadbeat dads. You made it, you take care of it. Even just financially.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But it seems like a lot of men don’t feel that way. Travis. Brooke’s and Tasha’s exes. The list goes on.”
“You didn’t want to force him to pay, knowing he has the money?”
“I was worried he would use her against me,” she said, glancing down to where I was rubbing my hand up and down Lainey’s back while she slept. “And, worse yet, would exploit her for views when she got a little bigger.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“I have… enough leverage that I think I can prevent him from trying to take her sometime in the future.”
“Blackmail?”
“Something like that. But chances are, he will forget all about us. He already replaced me. She was even wearing my swimsuit when I went over there.”
“Real prince.”
“Yeah. I ended up just… storming out without a place to stay or money. I just couldn’t be near him. He made Lainey startle twice.”
My jaw clenched.
“What’s his name again?”
“Travis.”
“His full name.”
“Why?” she asked, shooting me a knowing smirk.
“Might want to have a talk with him.”
“The same kind of talk that blackened your eye and bloodied your nose?”
“Nah. No. A much more in-depth talk than that,” I said, getting a little laugh out of her.
“Coast, what should I do about these guys? Do I go to the police?”
“I can’t tell you not to go to the cops. But shit gets complicated with you not having reported the crime you witnessed originally. And even if you don’t tell them that part, the chances of them being able to find them are kind of low. And the best they can do when it comes to protecting you is to have a cruiser pass by the motel every now and again.”
“What then? I need to uproot? Move? How far?”
I could hear the silent question there: How much is that going to cost?
Because if money wasn’t an issue for her, she would have been long gone. She and Lil’ Bit would be somewhere safe.
“How about you stay here?” I suggested.
“I can’t ask—”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
“Can you do that? What about your president?”
“It’s fine. You would be safe here. And I can work on figuring out the next steps to deal with these fucks.”
“I don’t—”
“Just say yes. I can go collect your shit from the motel. Maybe give Brooke a warning about what is going on, so she is keeping an eye out. But if you’re not there, I don’t think they’re in any sort of danger.”
She wanted to say yes.
She just needed a push.
“You need to keep Lil’ Bit safe.”
Her kid was her Achilles’ heel.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Okay. Thank you, Coast. Really.”
“How about you take Lainey up to my room? The playard is in my closet. I’ll go get your shit, so you can feed and change her if or when she needs it.”
She got up, reaching to peel Lainey off of me and press her to her own shoulder.
“Hey,” I said, grabbing her hip and leaning forward to press my forehead to hers. “I’m gonna handle this. You aren’t alone anymore.”
It wasn’t until after Zoe pulled away that I noticed we weren’t alone.
Velle was standing in the doorway, keen eyes taking everything in.
“I have to run out,” I told him. “I’m taking the club car. Zoe is gonna be staying here for a while.”
“Sounds good,” Velle said, nodding at me, seeming to understand the situation with no explanation at all. “Do you need any help with anything, Zoe?” he asked as Zoe grabbed for her keys, passing them to me.
“No, thank you. I’m just going to go put Lainey down.”
She made her way up the steps.
Velle was silent until we heard her moving around in my room.