Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Walking to the door, he jerked his chin at Ramsey. “Let me hurry these guys along. It’s too early for this shit.”
Ramsey, with Nora in tow, was at my side immediately. “You okay?”
“I think so. Neither of you two are in cuffs. I’ll chalk it up as a win.” I tried to joke, but my voice cracked, revealing my true emotion.
He caught me at the back of my neck and pulled me face-first into his chest while Nora occupied his other side.
We didn’t say anything for a long time. I listened to Ramsey’s heart and Nora’s sniffles while we waited for the cops to finish up and allow us back inside. Ramsey’s hand never stopped soothing up and down my back, and as messed up as everything was, it felt like I finally belonged somewhere again.
Going toe-to-toe with Jonathan Caskey wasn’t how any of us had wanted to start our day, but for the first time in what felt like forever, the three of us were a family. Ramsey wasn’t angry. Nora wasn’t the middleman. I wasn’t the elephant in the room.
We were all emotionally drained and fighting our demons, but we were a family nonetheless.
“Thanks for dealing with that.” Ramsey smiled and shook Lee’s hand.
“No problem. Thanks for not having any drugs. That is a mountain of paperwork I did not feel like filling out.”
“You sure I can’t get you some coffee for the road?” I asked from the kitchen while I put away the stacks of dishes.
Our house was a wreck. Everything from my bedroom to the garage had been flipped on end. If we were lucky, we could get the place put back together before the end of the weekend. When the police had finished, Nora had gone straight to her room, muttering something about going back to bed. She’d been up late—as we all had—so I couldn’t blame her. I also didn’t try to stop her in hopes of buying myself some time before she launched her what’s-going-on-with-you-and-my-brother inquisition.
Ramsey walked Lee to the door. “Do I need any kind of paperwork for the drug test today?”
“Nah. I called it in. Bring your ID and they’ll have everything else you need when you get there. Don’t bullshit me. Is that thing going to bounce back hot?”
Ramsey’s grin stretched and he rubbed his stomach. “I’ve never touched a drug in my life. As long as you aren’t testing for cheeseburgers, I’m pretty sure I’m clean.”
“Good to know. Eat a vegetable, Stewart.”
Ramsey laughed and opened the door. “Will do.” Then he stood at the door, smiling with his hands shoved inside the pockets of his sweats.
I had to give it to him. For a man who had looked like he was on the verge of imploding when the cops had shown up, he was dealing with everything a hell of a lot better than I was.
Or so I thought.
No sooner than he shut the front door, Ramsey’s entire handsome face turned green. He bent over and then all at once collapsed to his knees.
“Ramsey,” I called, dropping a stack of plates on the counter and rushing toward him.
He lifted a hand to stop me and put his chin to his shoulder, his chest rising and falling at a marathon pace.
I threw on the brakes and allowed him the space, despite my hands aching to comfort him the way I’d been denied for too many years. “It’s over, honey. Everything’s fine now.”
With his hands on the carpet, his muscular back rounded with a gag. “It’s not,” he choked. “I’m always just one misstep from getting sent back.”
The broken shards of my heart clattered at my feet. “You’re not going back.”
“You don’t fucking know that.”
I inched closer. “Yeah. I do. You’re not going to do anything to break parole. You have nothing to worry about.”
His head snapped up, incredulous bewilderment carved into his features. “You think I really have to do something to get sent back? With Caskey roaming around, waiting for his moment to fuck me over, we’ll be lucky if I make it another six months.”
Panic pooled in my stomach, but I shook my head vehemently. “No. I won’t let that happen.”
He settled on his ass, propping his back against the entryway wall, his knees bent and his hands hanging between them. “If I’ve learned anything over the years, Thea, it’s that anything is possible. And after today, it’s not just possible, it’s likely.” And then Ramsey tried to break my heart all over again. His eyes sparked like the boy I’d once known. “I never wanted you to be a part of this, Sparrow. I tried to let you go so I didn’t drag this kind of filth into your life. But you just wouldn’t listen. Fuck. Why won’t you ever listen to me?”
“I do listen, but sometimes I just don’t care.”