Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
What I did for this kid. God, I didn’t want to see Wes again. I definitely didn’t want to mess things up for him. Seeing Remy was hard enough. And giving her back? Heart breaking. But Wes really was going to panic when he couldn’t find her. He had enough to worry about right now. I could, at least, get her back safe. One less thing on his big, broad, sexy shoulders.
As I stepped up on the back porch with Remy, I could hear the deep voices of Wes and maybe Rob Wolf, as well as the nasty bite of Soraya’s voice.
“...mate or not, she’s human. I don’t want my child raised in a mixed home.”
The knot in my stomach tightened to epic proportions.
Please let Wes win this battle.
“Go inside,” I whispered to Remy.
But the child refused to let go of my hand, bursting into tears and wrapping her little arms around my leg.
Eek. I didn’t want to interrupt their meeting.
“The council does not like to separate children from their parents,” a man said. “Wes, perhaps you could return to–”
“I’m not leaving my mate,” Wes exploded.
“See?” Remy turned her blotchy face up to mine.
My nose grew hot.
“Joy is human, that’s true. She’s human, and she’s perfect. She’s brighter than the sun, bringing happiness and love to everyone she touches.”
My throat constricted.
It sounded like Wes was choked up, too. “She’s perfect for me, and she’s perfect for Remy. She cares about Remy. She cares so much she was willing to walk away from us since you insisted, so I could keep my little girl.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“No!” Remy dashed forward and threw open the back door. “This is my real mom,” she declared loudly to the room, sweeping her arm toward me before I could disappear. “And you can’t make her leave!”
33
WES
Joy. She was here.
Fuck me, my mate was here.
My wolf howled with, well, joy.
I walked swiftly forward to scoop Remy up, then went to Joy and pulled her into me. I kissed her forehead, in front of her messy bun. She smelled like sunshine and my mate.
“I’m sorry,” she began. “I didn’t meant to inter–”
“No. No one’s going to make Joy leave,” I said, cutting her off. She had nothing to apologize for. “And no one is taking Remy from us.” I put alpha command into my voice.
Joy didn’t feel it, but a shudder ran through Remy’s body, and Soraya froze. “We’ll see what the cops have to say about that,” she said, when she’d recovered.
“This is a waste of my time,” Rob said to Parker. “My enforcer has some data of our own to share, if the council member will listen.”
The look Rob gave him said he didn’t have a choice. He really didn’t, actually. Council members heard both sides of a problem.
“Very well,” Parker conceded.
Soraya huffed and tapped her foot on the floor.
Johnny stepped forward. “I offer you my condolences, Soraya, on last week’s death of your father.”
Parker’s head whipped to Soraya.
“I should also offer you condolences on the fact that you didn’t receive a dime of his vast fortune as owner of Stanton Oil. The will states that his granddaughter, Remington Sparks, is Martin Stanton’s sole beneficiary.”
Johnny had dug up this information since I called him yesterday. His network of enforcer connections came through. Thank fuck.
This was the real reason Soraya had suddenly shown up to claim Remy. She wanted to get her hands on that money. When we learned that detail yesterday, I was equally relieved and fucking furious. The conniving, heartless bitch.
“Is this true?” Parker asked Soraya.
If looks could kill, we’d all be dead with the fierceness of Soraya’s glare. “Yes,” she pretty much snarled. “So?”
“It’s interesting, Parker, that a mother who has had zero interest in her child until that child becomes a billionaire.”
34
JOY
Billionaire? Holy shit.
That made so much sense. God, I felt bad that the man had died, but giving everything to Remy? He must have loved her or hated his daughter. Maybe both.
Johnny ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I also collected some stories about how the two of you are, shall we say, shacking up? I think we can all say we smell her on you.”
My eyes bugged out of my head. Soraya and, based on his clothes and appearance, the fake outdoorsman, were an item? I couldn’t smell anything, but I was only human.
That guy shifted uncomfortably, and Soraya pursed her lips and made a very unattractive face.
Then she stomped over to me, poked me in the chest. “You. You don’t get to enjoy my inheritance! I’ll end you before that happens.”
My eyes widened in surprise.
Wes pulled me away from Soraya and halfway behind him. As if she’d have to get through him to get to me. “My mate has nothing to do with your conniving, scheming ways.”