Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“Why?”
“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”
He narrowed those damn eyes of his at me again, and I mimicked his expression.
“How do you contact friends, your dad? There are no texts on here other than Glenda, Grissele, and the one you deleted that was sent from Bane’s cell. I’ll deal with him later.”
Telling him why I didn’t talk to my father or have friends wasn’t happening either.
“I don’t.”
“Why?”
“Again, not your business.”
His nostrils flared as he looked at me, and I could tell I was pissing him off, but I didn’t care. He set the phone down, then grabbed the chair and moved it under the air vent.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, afraid his moving furniture would wake up Glenda.
“Looking for cameras,” he replied standing in the chair. He took the vent cover off and began feeling around inside.
“Cameras?” I asked, my eyes going wide.
He put the cover back on. “Yes, cameras,” he replied, then moved over to inspect a lamp shade, the curtains, and the light fixture.
I just watched silently in horror.
“At least they didn’t invade your private space. There will be cameras in other areas of the house though. Hopefully, I wasn’t caught on one.”
He turned to look back at me.
“Do you like working for Glenda?”
I nodded. “Yes, I do. Very much.” I liked the security that I felt, although it had been snatched away from me in a matter of minutes.
“Fine. Then stay. I’ll … handle it.”
“What do you mean by handle it?” I asked him.
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Exactly what it sounds like. I’ll find out who placed you here. And make sure you don’t get any more fucking threatening texts.”
“I didn’t come back here for you, if they think that’s why I’m here. I came for other reasons. I thought you were in Alabama.”
His jawline grew sharper as he clenched his teeth. We said nothing while staring at each other a moment more before he started for the door. He was leaving. Relief should come with that, but there was the urge to call him back. Ask him to stay. I wouldn’t do that though. He needed to go for both our sakes.
The door opened and closed silently. He was gone. The room felt colder than before.
Ten
Kash
The strip club we had frequented long before we were of legal age hadn’t changed much. Sure, the dancers were new for me, but other than that, it was the same. This wasn’t a job that had longevity. It was a high-end establishment, and their requirements for the dancers were hard to meet once they passed their mid-twenties or got knocked up.
Gathe had wanted to come tonight because he had a thing for one of them. I needed to get my thoughts off Cressida and what I’d learned in her room last night. I hadn’t confronted Bane about the text he’d sent her, simply because I was afraid I’d be back in Alabama before nightfall. Since I’d made it all day without Linc calling me out, I hadn’t been caught on any of the hidden cameras they had planted in Glenda’s house. That was a relief. Truth was, if they ordered me to go back to Bama before Christmas, I wasn’t sure I would obey. And that was concerning.
There was a lot Cressida hadn’t told me last night, and it was driving me fucking crazy. Like, for example, why was she in Madison, working as a sitter for the elderly? I liked Aunt Glenda, but Cressida was too talented to be doing that. She’d had specific goals, dreams of starting a theater arts program for kids. One that was open to all kids, with scholarships for those who couldn’t afford it. I’d loved to sit and listen to her talk about her ideas. And of all the different scenarios I’d imagined for her over the past four years, what she was doing now had never been one of them. I wished I didn’t care. It would make life easier. But I did, and that was the fucking problem.
“You’re quiet tonight,” Forge said, eyeing me as he took a drink from the bottle of beer he’d ordered.
I shrugged. “What do you want me to say? We’re looking at tits and ass. Should I comment on them?”
He wasn’t amused.
“She’s up next,” Gathe told us, not taking his eyes off the stage. “Just wait till you see her tits. They look so fucking good with my cum all over them.”
“Yeah, that’s what I want to be thinking about while she dances,” I drawled.
He glanced back at me and smirked. “I marked my territory. Thought you should know.”
I wasn’t interested. But we both knew if I was, I’d be able to snatch her away if I wanted to. We’d played that game when we were younger, and I’d always won.