Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
“Oh. I’m sorry, Northie. You’re right.” Her face fell and he felt like the biggest asshole in the world.
He glanced over at Jared, hoping he’d know how to fix this. Because he hadn’t meant to upset her. But Jared just shrugged.
Great.
Some help he was.
“We can bake some more,” he told her.
“No, no, you’re right. It made a mess.”
“There’s nothing wrong with making a mess,” he told her.
“You hate mess,” she told him.
“You really do,” Jared said. “Although you should learn to like it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with making a mess, Northie. Except the fact that you have to clean it up.”
“Yes, I know that. I just prefer things tidy.” He turned to place some bowls in the sink. “However, I’m sure we can bake neatly and cleanly if we stick to the recipe—argh!”
As he turned back to face Angie, he got a handful of flour right in his face.
Holy. Fuck.
What the hell?
“What do you think you are doing?” he gritted out as she burst into laughter.
That. Brat.
He used the towel to wipe his face as he stared at Angie. She was bent over, tears streaming down her face as she laughed.
And beside her, Jared was staring down at her with a strange smile on his face.
He looked younger, softer.
And North paused for a moment. Their girl was laughing like she didn’t have a worry in the world.
She was carefree. Happy. Safe.
Which he always wanted her to be. So he secretly scooped up a handful of flour and flung it at Jared. Some of it landed on her but most of it hit the side of his face.
Jared slowly turned and North smirked at him. Shock filled Jared’s face. Then he grinned back.
“Oh, it is on.”
Angie didn’t think that she’d laughed so hard in her life.
Jared had sat her safely down at the table so she didn’t get hurt. But watching her two men engage in a food fight was utterly hilarious.
Of course, by the time they finished, Jared had North in a headlock and was grinding his cock against the other man’s ass while he bent him over the kitchen counter.
Hot.
Freaking hot.
The kitchen was a disaster, though.
“It’s going to take you guys a long time to clean all this mess up. And we still haven’t baked a proper cake for the tea party.”
Both men shot their gazes to her and straightened.
“It’s going to take us a long time?” North drawled. “You participated in this. In fact, some might say you started it. So perhaps you should be the one cleaning up the mess.”
“I can’t. I’m too Little.”
Jared folded his arms over his chest. “Little girls need to clean up after themselves.”
She let her lower lip drop out on a pout. “But I’m injured, too.”
Jared and North shared a look.
“I’ll clean it,” North said.
Jared nodded. “I’ll help.”
North raised an eyebrow. “Since when does the boss help with clean-up?”
Jared shrugged. “I’ll expect payment later.” His phone started ringing before they could begin cleaning.
And she did intend to help, she had just been pretending.
He frowned as he glanced at the screen. “Zander? What is it? What are you talking about?” Jared moved to pick up the TV remote. He turned on the TV mounted to the wall, flicking through the channels.
Angie gasped as the news reporter started to speak.
“Two bodies have been found buried in a forest near Stugley, Wyoming,” the reporter said. “Police are not speculating about the identity yet, but it is believed that they could be the bodies of two women that have gone missing recently.”
Several photos came up. There were two women missing near where she’d lived?
All of them blonde. All of them small.
And all of them looked like . . . her
“One piece of information that we have discovered is that the bodies were not intact. The heads were found first, buried separately.”
“Fucking hell,” Jared said.
“I’m going to be sick!” she cried.
North scooped her up, carrying her into the bathroom off Jared’s office. He set her down on her feet and held her gently around her middle as she vomited.
The stitches on her side pulled and her stomach screamed in pain as she vomited. But she couldn’t stop. With his other hand, he held back her hair.
“N-north,” she said, teeth chattering as she finished.
He flushed the toilet, closing the lid then turning her so she sat on it.
“I know. I know,” he said as he wet a cloth and wiped her face.
“Those women . . . they were beheaded. Like Rex. Like Antony.”
“I know they were, Angel,” he soothed. “I know.”
“Is that . . . is that field where they were found? Is it close to where I was living?”
“It is,” Jared said grimly from the doorway. “Are you all right, baby?”
She shook her head, sobbing. “Those women looked like me! And they were beheaded.”
“Yes,” Jared said. “And if there is a connection, then it seems that the person who killed Rex and Antony may not have been after me. The threat may have been toward you. I’ve just been talking to Zander and he thinks the same. I promised to call him back as soon as you’re feeling well enough to talk.”