Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 71226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
I was so not prepared for winter.
“How’s he doing?”
“Terrified,” I admitted. “Tomorrow’s the big day.”
“Oh, yeah.” She sat forward. “I forgot that you had the day off.”
I grinned. “You’re going to die.”
She dropped her head back to the table. “I hate you.”
I giggled as I walked out the door. “See you the day after tomorrow, Bernie!”
“Don’t call me Bernie!” she yelled at my back.
Odin, Bernice, and I were close. As one would expect after spending every single day together since they’d opened the doctor’s office.
However, Bernice and I? We were practically best friends.
It felt really freakin’ nice to have her in my life.
She was a piece I hadn’t realized I was missing.
Another piece I hadn’t realized I was missing was sitting in the truck with his window rolled down talking to Ida Bell Pruitt.
She smiled at Dean and waved.
I walked up to her side and said, “How happy are you with your job?”
Ida Bell turned to me with her brother Boone’s eyes and said, “Actually, not happy at all. Have something for me?”
I blinked, shocked.
She worked with Koen.
Why was she not happy?
I opened my mouth to ask why, then closed it.
That was none of my business.
Not to mention, she was pretty private. I had known her for months now, and I still knew just as much about her now than I did when I’d met her.
“We’re looking for a receptionist slash office manager,” I said. “And you don’t even have to quit with King Construction. You can keep working there if you want. Maybe you can do both?”
“Definitely not both,” she muttered as she looked at the building behind me. “What’s the pay?”
“That I have no clue.” I paused. “Hold on, let me go get Odin.”
I hustled up the front walk of the medical examiner’s office and pounded on the door.
Odin pushed it open with a frown.
“What is it?”
“I have a prospect!” I cried out, pointing behind me.
Odin’s brows rose. “She works for Koen.”
“She says she’s not wanting to anymore.”
Odin’s eyes narrowed, then he pushed past me to go talk to Ida Bell.
He offered her his hand and Ida Bell shook it. “Hey. You’re looking for a job?”
She nodded.
“And you’re not working with Koen anymore?” Odin asked bluntly. “Why?”
Ida Bell’s face flushed. “Koen’s baby mama is back in the picture, and she’s helping run things. And I hate her. I can’t stand her at all, and being around her makes me want to shoot myself in the face. I have to get out of there for my own mental health.”
Ida Bell was in love with Koen.
You could read it plain as day on her face.
Poor girl.
“Pay’s twenty-two dollars an hour,” Odin said. “Hours are eight thirty to five every single day.”
She looked relieved. “I’ll take it.”
After a few minutes, Odin led Ida Bell into the office, and I climbed into the truck with Gentry and leaned over the console to place my mouth on his. His hand came up and cupped my chin, holding me to him slightly as he kissed me hard back.
“That’s so gross.”
We broke the kiss, and I looked into the back seat to see Dean staring at us with a small smile on his face. “Hey, buddy. How did today go?”
He wrinkled his cute nose, which made the dimple in his chin more prominent. “I’m just ready to get it over with.”
I didn’t doubt that.
I reached back and squeezed his hand. “It’ll be okay.”
A wet nose poked my hand and I smiled, reaching down to pet Neo’s head. “Hey there, buddy. I didn’t see you there.”
He was under Dean’s feet, practically invisible in the dark cab.
“Moral support,” Gentry said. “Can’t say the lawyers were too happy to see a dog there, but they understood when I said that he did better with him around.”
“Neo makes me calm.” Dean shrugged. “Plus, if Brooke ever attacks me, maybe he’ll bite her.”
Maybe indeed.
The night went quick, as it always did, and by the time the morning arrived, I was freaking out.
Today was the day that Brooke and Nadine would get sentenced for their crimes.
And Gentry couldn’t be there.
Not only did he have to work, but we’d also decided that it would be best for everyone if he continued to stay hidden from their view.
They didn’t need to know anything that was going on behind the scenes.
Plus, with Black there to testify, Gentry was needed to work in his place.
Strong arms curled around my belly and pulled me to a very hard body. “What’s the frown for?”
I sighed. “I don’t want to go alone.”
He nuzzled my neck. “You won’t be alone. My brother will be there. My club brothers will be there. You are not alone.”
“I know it’s not about me,” I found myself saying. “But I just have a horrible feeling something bad is going to happen.”
He squeezed my waist and let me go, turning me around to get a better look at my face. “What do you think will happen?”