Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
True enough. He and his friends were done eating too, but they hadn’t left the table yet. Everyone was lost in their phones.
“Kit?” I waited until he looked up. “Colt’s leaving for the day.”
“Okay. Be right there.”
I nodded once and returned inside. On my way to the kitchen, I passed Tate and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Thank you very much for the breakfast, pet.”
“Anytime, Sir.”
I didn’t make it to the kitchen. Colt reappeared in the lobby with a go-cup and asked me to hold it while he went to take a leak, so I accepted the mug and told him I’d wait for him out front.
The shade on the front porch offered a sliver of relief, compared to the patio in the back. It was going to be another hotter-than-hell day, and I had every intention of staying indoors where the AC hummed. Call it my soundtrack for today’s news quest.
When I spotted Ty and Lane’s truck coming in hot, I wasn’t at all surprised they ignored the carport and drove right up on the front lawn. We’d been doing it all week, giving no fucks about tire tracks in the grass.
I’d decided it was going to be my first laugh when Reese came home and exclaimed something along the lines of, “Who the hell fucked up the lawn?”
I missed hearing him bitch about the little things.
Both Ty and Lane climbed out of the truck, and it was nice to see Lane had returned so soon. No bulky hoodie today, just shorts and a tee. How he hadn’t expired from the heat in Ty’s hoodie last evening was beyond me. The nights weren’t exactly cool. They were…muggy and sticky and almost as bad as daytime.
“Mornin’,” Ty said.
“Good morning, you two,” I replied.
I noticed Lane was clutching a notebook, and he glanced hesitantly at me.
“Good morning, sir.” He cleared his throat and came up the porch steps. “Could I ask a favor?”
“Of course.” I tilted my head.
“Um.” He fidgeted with the notebook. “I was wondering if you could ask the others to maybe write down memories and messages—something Shay can read when he comes home again?”
Oh, that was very sweet of him. “That’s a wonderful idea,” I answered. “I could leave it in the club area, and people can use it as a guest book, but for memories and well-wishes.”
He smiled timidly and nodded once. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Ty came up on the porch too.
“Are you sticking around, or…?” I asked Lane.
He glanced up at Ty, then shook his head. “I gotta get some work done for Corey, and I’ll focus better in Ty’s office.”
So he was going with Ty and Colt to MadCo. I was glad he wouldn’t be alone.
“But we’re gonna try to come out for dinner later,” Ty said. “Walker’s promised us that Macklin ain’t cookin’ again till Shay’s home.”
I exhaled a laugh, and Lane smirked ruefully.
“You’re in luck,” I said. “Santiago and Nora are making their version of spaghetti Bolognese for dinner. Tate wanted to make his ham and cheese pie, so we’ll be having that tomorrow.”
“Damn.” Ty draped an arm around Lane’s shoulders. “That sounds like somethin’ we want in on, doesn’t it?”
Lane nodded. “I guess I gotta eat anyway.”
“You sure do,” Ty replied.
Greer Finlay
After placing the bowl in the microwave, I set it for two minutes and pulled out my phone. It was the last of the leftovers from Santiago and Nora’s dinner a couple of days ago, and it was fucking mine. I’d hidden a container in the back of the freezer. I had a piece of ham and cheese pie stashed for a rainy day too.
Safe to say, I didn’t lose my hunger in a crisis.
While I waited, I pulled out my phone and reread Cullen’s last text.
No update yet, but keep an eye on news coming outta Europe.
I had read something this morning, but if this was connected…? Christ, shit was about to be global news.
I’d only told a select few that my nephew was in Italy—and that several of his colleagues were in Spain.
Spain, where they’d had an explosion yesterday. At the port of Valencia, to boot. Valencia came up frequently in my search for European drug routes, so for every hour that passed, I became more convinced it was connected. Somehow.
Meanwhile, River and Reese were still in California, so I hoped that meant Shay hadn’t been smuggled out of the country.
Once my food was ready, I brought it outside to the patio. A handful of brats were hanging out in the pool, and I needed to be around smiles for a minute. Chasing news stories was fucking exhausting, and the world was a dark place.
Cam and Lucian sat at a table with an umbrella, so I joined them. Fuck the sun when it was this hot.
Cam looked up from his phone as I sat down across from them.