Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Doc is here,” Linc announced.
I immediately eased. That wasn’t Thaddeus. There was still time to fix this.
Jayda was handing Lace a glass of water and talking to her near the patio doors. I watched them, wondering if maybe Jayda could talk some sense into her. Fuck knew I had failed at every turn.
“You gonna make this difficult?” Mal asked, and I tensed. I knew that question was directed at me.
And that cleared up why so many of us were here. Linc thought he needed backup in case I decided to stop it. I should find humor in the fact that he thought it would take almost all of them. Normally, I’d make a quip about his being afraid he couldn’t handle me alone. But I wasn’t feeling like it. Not today.
I slowly swung my gaze from Lace to see Mal sitting on the far-left end of the sofa with a cup of coffee in his hand, studying me with amusement.
“I’d hate to make it easy after Linc went to all this trouble to call in the calvary.” I smirked.
Mal chuckled and shook his head before taking a drink from his cup.
“I don’t want to have to go back to fucking Ocala to try and save your ass this time,” Hale said.
“Me neither. Considering it wasn’t any of you who saved Ransom’s,” I replied. And it hadn’t been.
Blaise hadn’t given a fuck that we were all there. It was his wife who had saved Ransom. Well, her and his woman for having the balls to go there in the first place.
“They aren’t here to control you,” Linc said, sounding annoyed. “We are dealing with a delicate situation that the boss wants handled with care. The more witnesses, the better.”
“She wants to go, right?” Mal asked. “Should be an easy delivery.”
Linc said nothing, but his eyes stayed on mine. The silent warning didn’t go unnoticed. He knew I wasn’t okay with this.
When the doorbell chimed, Jayda left to go let Doc in. Why he was here I didn’t know, unless Linc had brought him to inform Thaddeus of all Lace’s injuries so that could be passed on to her father. As if the bastard cared. He hadn’t even made it public that she was missing. He’d wanted it quiet. That in itself told me he had something to hide.
“You think her father cares what injuries she suffered?” I asked acidly.
Linc’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve already had Doc send me the paperwork on her injuries and treatment. I don’t know why he’s here. I didn’t call him.”
It would be nice if he sided with me on this, but I knew better. Burl wasn’t going to piss off Linc. He’d disagree in silence. Maybe he was just coming to check her injuries before she left. That sounded like something he’d do.
I shifted my gaze to the arched entryway, waiting on Jayda and Burl to appear. It was better than looking over at Lace. That only made me more enraged, and I had to remain calm. She wasn’t mine to protect. Hell, I didn’t want some female to protect. The truth was, when she was gone, it would be better for me. Get her out of my sight.
I should start looking at it like that and not focus on her refusal to save herself.
“Burl,” Linc said when he walked into the room.
Doc’s gaze drifted over the room nervously before he stopped on Linc. He swallowed hard, causing his Adam’s apple to bob.
Why was he acting odd? Maybe he had come to try and convince them not to send Lace back. If so, then he’d grown some fucking balls. Ones he needed to chop off because that was a bad idea. I’d have to step in and save him if that was the case.
“I, uh…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to come unannounced, but this was time sensitive.”
Linc raised an eyebrow, as if to challenge him. He didn’t like the thought that something might hinder his plans to get rid of Lace. “Okay,” he replied.
Burl took a deep breath, and then his gaze swung to Mal before moving back to Linc.
Had Mal done something? Why the fuck had Doc looked at him? I’d assumed this was about Lace.
“I, uh…do you want to discuss this in private?”
Linc’s brows drew together this time. “Other than Miss Halsten, it’s family. If this is something that doesn’t concern her, then, yes, we can go to my office.”
Doc pressed his lips together for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh. “It concerns her.”
“Burl, if this is concern for her safety, then you should turn and leave.” Linc’s tone was laced with warning.
Yep, I was going to have to save the damn doctor. Fucking hell, Burl.
“It’s not her safety—well”—he paused—“it is, but not the way you’re thinking. I’m not questioning your decision. I…I got back something on her DNA.”