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)
“Yes,” she said with a bright smile. Like he got it and she was pleased.
She was going to give him a heart attack. “Harlow? Come on.”
“Okay, but it’s kind of what I need to happen. Look, from what I can tell, nothing really bad goes on until they get shipped to the upstairs business, which I have to believe is the one Daisy sort of took out part of. I think an American group was working with a Mexican group, and we only found the ones with cartel connections, leaving a man named Hamilton to continue his work. I need to take this guy down, and the best way to do it is from the inside.”
What had she said? “Hamilton?”
The name hit him like a sledgehammer. Cliff Hamilton. The man who killed Tommy Wiley and sent his best friend into hell. Surely she was talking about another Hamilton. There had to be more than one asshole named Hamilton in the world. There was more than one who had been based in LA and moved to Dallas. That happened every day, right?
Because if she wasn’t talking about another Hamilton, then who was the man she met tonight? The one she was planning on working with?
The one she knew from before. The one who sent her into a quiet spiral.
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “He’s a dirtbag. Cliff Hamilton. Former thief turned drug dealer. I can’t tell you all the shit he’s done. I think that’s her. Keep the car going. I’ll help her get her case in.” She was halfway out the door when she stopped. “Crap. I should have known he would show up. Uhm, you’re about to meet my asshole ex. Don’t worry. He won’t jeopardize our mission. He wants Miranda out, too. Don’t punch him. He’s a dick, but I kind of need him.”
Jensen.
Jensen was the ex. Jensen was the one she met tonight right before she started trying to gently break off their relationship. Jensen was the one she was going to work with. Jensen was fucking here?
He watched as a man stepped out of his truck and crossed the street, making a beeline for Harlow. There was no way to mistake the swagger of the man or the broad shoulders. His hair was longer than it had been the last time he’d physically seen him a couple of months before.
Harlow stopped in front of the car, crossing her arms over her chest and saying something to him.
Jensen. There he was. He was talking to Harlow, his hands out in apology. They both looked ghostly in the headlights. Harlow simply shook her head as though she didn’t care.
She was going to care. She was going to care a lot when Jensen took one look at him and figured out what had happened between his best friend and the woman of his dreams.
He should have found a way to call him.
Fuck. This was going to go to hell and fast.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there kind of frozen and wondering exactly what to do, but when he finally took a deep breath and started to get out of the car, Miranda came into clear view.
She dropped her suitcase and started running.
And that was when he heard the gunfire.
Chapter Seven
Harlow wished the man didn’t look so fucking delicious. Jensen strode over to her, stepping in front of Niall’s Jeep.
I’m serious about us. I’m serious about you.
Niall had said the words and they meant everything to her and yet here she was breathless at being so close to an asshole who betrayed her. Maybe Deranged Dad was right and she made bad choices.
“I’m sorry. I got caught up in some crap at the club,” Jensen said. “I knew you were picking her up, and I wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.”
“You shouldn’t have come. You could freak her out,” Harlow said, keeping a careful distance between them. The last thing she wanted was her current boyfriend to think she was going to fall back into her old boyfriend’s arms. Which she wasn’t about to do. No way. No how. “And you should know my boyfriend is here. I expect you to treat him with respect.”
His eyes went soft. “Of course. Harlow, I’m not here to wreck your life. I’m here to help.”
“You’re here for you.” And she shouldn’t forget that. She didn’t buy his whole “I’ll give up revenge for justice” speech. It was bullshit meant to get her into a position where she would help him. Where she would spend time with him. She wasn’t foolish. The sex had been spectacular.
But it wasn’t worth her soul.
She had to keep reminding herself that she had a good man now. She had Niall. She didn’t need a gorgeous asshole who could rock her entire world because that was exactly what Jensen Wiley would do. He would drive her crazy with pleasure and then send her into a shame spiral because he wasn’t a man who could love her.