Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Her eyes go wide. Then narrow.
“Gardening,” she says, flat and dangerous.
I smile, helpless against her, against this, against everything. “Want to see my orchids?”
“I, ah”—Teddy tilts her head—“think your orchids might be bleeding.”
“We came to help garden,” Lily says, standing up taller. “Where are the shovels?”
“Lily, don’t volunteer us to dig holes. It’s really hard. It’s the absolute worst part of gardening.”
“Right, shit,” Lily mutters.
I glance over to Killian, who is watching them too with an amused expression. “Oh, and we’re mad at them!” she suddenly remembers. “They didn’t want to trauma bond with us.”
I don’t know what the fuck they are talking about, but I can’t help but smile.
Killian and I often operate in the darkest of places. These girls are the light we’re both desperate to catch.
Chapter Twenty-Four
LILY
How is he always saying I’m a mess? Sure, I throw shit everywhere but not like this.
I stare at the blood on Tristan’s hands and shirt. It’s even smudged across his jaw like he wiped some away.
“You have very aggressive orchids.” I giggle. “Why does he kind of look like that right now?” I ask Teddy.
“You’re drunk,” Tristan says. Not accusing. Stating a fact.
“And you’re a psycho stalker.” If we’re stating the obvious. The crown slips over one eye, and I push it back up. “Happy drunk girls don’t ask questions about blood. Happy drunk girls go home with their captors and make dinner.” I wiggle my brows at Tristan.
Teddy snorts behind me. “Tradwife Lily. I’d watch that show, but we should keep the fire department on scene.”
I mean, I might have daydreamed more than a few times about married life with Tristan.
“Shut up.” But I’m smiling, swaying toward him. “Take me home, Tristan. I want to be a good little wifey for you.”
Tristan stands there not moving, bloody and beautiful, watching me like I’m a math problem he can’t solve. “You’re not going anywhere alone tonight.”
“Then come with me.” I grab his hand, sticky with whatever happened in that greenhouse. “I need supervision. Clearly.”
“Go,” Killian says. “I’ll handle... gardening.”
Tristan starts to lead me back to the house. “Teddy!” I should be spinning back around. I almost fall, but Tristan catches me.
“You got blood on me,” I huff. “At least it doesn’t have a tracker in it.” He narrows his eyes on me. “Yeah, I know allll about that, buster,” I say, poking his hand and chest and then starting to rub.
“What!” Teddy shouts back. Oh right!
“Tell Reginald I said good night. I’ll miss him.”
“Who the hell is Reginald?”
“Oh, I can’t tell you that. Reginald gets his feathers ruffled when you talk about him and he’s not there.”
“He won’t give a fuck about his feathers when he’s dead.” I snort a laugh. I keep it to myself that Reginald is already dead. A girl has got to have her secrets, secrets that annoy the shit out of her man.
“Oh noes.” I stop.
Tristan nods curtly and pulls me toward the door.
“What do you want for dinner, husband? I could make... toast. Or cereal. I’m very domestic.”
“You’re very drunk,” he says, but his voice has that soft edge. The one he uses when he’s pretending not to care.
“I could help you wash.” I reach over and finger the blood dried on his collar. “You’ve got someone else’s DNA all over you. Don’t have any of mine. You’d lose your mind if I had another man’s DNA on me.”
“Lily.” He shakes his head at me. “It was a man, not a woman.”
“That’s what I said! If I had another man’s DNA on me.”
“That’s not happening. Now, in.” He opens a truck door for me.
“What’s happening? My room is that way.” That’s where I thought we were going.
“We have to go to my place. I’ll need clothes after I shower.”
“Your place?” I ask. “Wait?! Your place! Where the hell do you live?”
“Get in and I’ll show you.”
“Oh, you bet your ass I’m getting in.” I hop into the truck. “I can’t believe I’ve never seen your house. You’ve been sneaking into my room all this time, but I don’t even know where you live.”
“Lily, you used to live with me.”
“Don’t change the subject.” I fold my arms over my chest. “I’m a concerned tradwife. I should know about your home.”
“If you’re my wife, then that means you live with me.”
I ponder this. “You got a safe with a gold bar?”
“I can get one if you’d like, princess.”
“Ahh, you pet-named me.” I adjust my crown. “Hold on,” I say when we pull out of the gate but don’t get far down the road.
“Stay put.” I don’t get a chance to ask; Tristan hops out, moving bushes around to reveal a dirt drive.
“What’s happening?” I ask when he pulls through but hops out again to put everything back.
“Couldn’t let you know how close I was.”
“You were next door! All this time!” I say way too loudly. He pulls up in front of a small but cute house. “You know, you’re not the worst stalker,” I tell him. He doesn’t half do it. Tristan is all in with it.