Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Who the hell was she here for? Who sent her in?
How was she looking at him like he was nothing to her?
Because you dumped her without warning. Because you picked revenge over her when she would never have done that to you. Not ever. She had the chance to get her client out and stayed to help you.
She would have gone to Mexico and given him cover and done whatever he asked because her love was worth something.
His wasn’t.
He was in the wrong and acting like a massive asshole. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it done. Are you here for one of the subs? They aren’t really, you know. They got hired with the promise of big tips and were given almost no training and thrown to the wolves. It’s not bad right now because the club is pretty new and mostly tourists and couples. But at some point they’ll be expected to serve at a private party.”
She nodded. “I remember how it went.”
She’d taken a job to get close to her target, and only Jensen coming in and claiming her had saved her from being asked to serve at one of those parties.
“Is it one of the girls?” he asked. He was worried about a couple of them. “Please tell me it’s Miranda because she’s getting moved up, and you know what that means. You already know the truth. Hamilton is coming into town, and he wants to expand into Houston. I need a couple of weeks and this is all over. I’ll help you if you’ll trust me this much.”
“I don’t trust you at all, but it doesn’t matter. After tonight I won’t come back. My partner and I can handle it all from outside the club,” she promised. “Now can I get back to my boyfriend?”
There it was again. That hesitation around the word boyfriend.
“I want to meet him,” he said. “We walk out into the lounge. You first, and then I’ll follow. I’m the dungeon monitor so no one will think twice about me introducing myself to the new couple.”
“There’s no need for that,” she replied. “Like I said, we won’t be back. I shouldn’t have brought him in the first place. I should have taken a bodyguard, but they’re all close to my dads. The last thing I need is my father showing up here to make sure I’m safe.” She went pale in the low light. “Or worse. My dad bringing my mom here and going undercover. They might actually do that, and Reasonable Dad would come along. Mom always says she would be good undercover.”
He loved when she talked about her family, when she joked and told stories about how weird they were. They were odd but loving from all the stories she told. “Harlow, I need you to let me help.”
“The last time you helped I woke up in a prison infirmary. I think I’ll deal with it myself.”
He had to find a way to make her see reason. “You know I’m the best shot at getting Hamilton. I realize you don’t like why I’m here, but I can take him down and save a whole bunch of people who’ve fallen into his schemes. I can map out the whole organization. But I can’t if you blow my cover.”
“Getting Hamilton isn’t my job,” she said.
But he knew her. “You want to take him down as much as I do. You can’t stand the thought of all the lives he’s ruined, and if you get the chance, you’ll do anything to bring him to justice.”
“You don’t want justice. You want revenge.”
“What if I was willing to do it your way?” He couldn’t quite believe what he was saying and yet he also couldn’t stop. She was here, and while she was upset as hell with him, there might still be a way to save this. She hadn’t walked out. She was still standing here and he wasn’t blocking the door.
She was unsure of this “boyfriend” of hers. Did this man even exist? If she wanted to save face with him then he had to consider a scenario where she was lying about not caring about him.
“You’ve been planning on killing Cliff Hamilton for years. You’re not going to give up on it.”
He moved closer. Carefully. Like she was a deer he would scare away if he moved too fast. “What if I did? What if I agreed to give you everything I have if you’ll let me work with you. What if I decided sending him and everyone he works with to jail was enough?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
A little closer. She refused to cede space to him, and he could use that stubbornness to his advantage. “Any number of reasons. I’ve been doing this for years, and I’m sick of it. I want to have some kind of life. Because you’re smarter than I am and have way more connections. You’re right. My plans only work for revenge. If I kill Hamilton, I cut off the head and another one grows back. If I work with you, we can take down the entire organization and save all those kids he fucked over.”