Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“What?” Leith held the masculine figurine, letting it pivot between his fingers.
“I texted you.” I gestured to the open door.
“Bull! I drove three hours. Laguna Niguel isn’t exactly a hop, skip, and a jump away, bràthair.”
“You can stop calling me brother. I don’t need your help any longer. I had a team. They pulled out too.” Everyone does. I’d do the job myself. Exfiltrate Jordyn. I’d done it a thousand times in the Marines.
“A team?”
“Yes!” I took the figurine from his hands and put it back. Although the house had a masculine flair, I’d gotten it redone recently. Redone … for Jordyn. She’d need a landing pad while figuring out the next steps for her life.
“Listen, I got your message about someone named Rocket purchasing your”—Leith made a gagging noise—“I’m sorry. But yes, I got that message early this morning.”
“Early?” I gritted. “That ought to have prevented the inconvenience.”
“No.” Leith said, “The only person inconvenienced is you! Tell me about the team?”
I caught his arm as he strolled toward the bright lights from the sunny day at the back of the house.
“Can I at least take a leak? Maybe have a jeely piece? It’s a PB and J, if you recall.”
Without a reply, I let go and gestured to the nearest bathroom. I went into the kitchen and slapped together the ingredients for the jeely piece. Ahem, sandwich. Reminder: Avoid further Scottish pronouncements.
The laptop pinged as I slid the sandwich across the smooth surface.
“Woah.” Leith walked to the room and glanced at the marble island. “You could fit twenty in here.”
“What?”
“Och, I mean the twenty-plus people Mam invited over to the house last Saturday to meet the prodigal son. We had enough fireworks to bring about Armageddon.”
“Nope. Not discussing you all blindsiding me.”
“Okay.” Leith picked up his sandwich, glancing over the messy work. “Wanna tell me about this team? I thought the team comprised of me and you? You didn’t need my help … at all?” Leith’s eyes narrowed. Instead of anger, devastation washed over the man.
“Nae!” Drat. I coughed lightly to clear my throat. “No. While my team handled the extraction, your task was to challenge your parents’ honesty. Should’ve known you wouldn’t. While the idea that humans fail each other is subjective, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve depended on the MacKenzies.”
“Glad I know where we stand.” Leith bit into his sandwich. “No, first things first. I intended to help you get the girl. Then I’d address Da. I wanted to know more about her. Get her story. I’d present the facts, which I assumed my insensitive younger brother would grasp. My aim was to show them the impact on Jordyn’s life. Not just spout accusations.” He put the sandwich down.
Oh, goody. Leith would hop on a soap box.
And he did. “Clan MacKenzie might have some shady operations, Jamie, but our parents always had you in mind. Never did a thing without you in mind!”
“Don’t you think I know that? They saved me”—I slapped a hand against my massive chest—“at the detriment of the other kids. They retaliated against the gang who took me while leaving babies! Babies, Leith! To be used like a friggen snot-rag.”
“I’ll not believe that. Kick me out of your house right now, but I refuse to believe our da, our mam”—Leith’s voice broke—“saved their son while not rescuing the others.”
Made no sense. No. That’s not what matters, Jamie. Jordyn matters. She was all that mattered to me. My mission. And the same way the MacKenzies let me down all my life, I’d done that to her. Practically all her life. No. Worse. One single day in the hell that I’d called abduction was like a million lifetimes; I’d lived seven. Jordyn lived all of those lifetimes. I owed her everything.
“Maybe our parents didn’t know about the other children. They were distraught. It wasn’t just you. We all huddled around the hospital room for Camdyn.” Leith tried on a smile, though tears shone in his eyes. “His arm got pinned in the vehicle.”
“Yes, I know. The same abductor who’d sat inside of the playground castle while waiting for Ma—your mom to attend to Baby Jake dragged Camdyn half a block while he tried to save me.”
“The nurses all looked weary. They’d never seen so many Scots in their lives. Then Uncle Nolan brought you home. We all had your back, Jamie.”
Yeah, Uncle Nolan brought me home. “Doesn’t matter.” The laptop pinged near where I stood with my fisted hands on the island countertop.
“We need to discuss this matter with our parents. We need—”
I tuned him out, staring at the screen.
REPRESENTATIVE
I would like to apologize for the misinformation you received, Mr. Mack. The product is still available.
The blood in my veins tingled. I typed back a message.
ME
No problem.
No sooner had I hit send to create another message about payment, I received a reply. Pushy, are we? That was good.