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)
Jensen leaned over, whispering. “I’m not taking on anyone. I’m staying because I need to talk to Harlow, you massive fucking ass.”
“I’m not going to apologize for falling for her. You sent me in to make sure she was okay. You were worried she was in the same city Hamilton was attempting to build a base in, and you wanted someone watching over her. Or is she right and you wanted me to make sure she remained virginal and pure so she didn’t fuck around while you were off doing what you needed to do?” He wasn’t letting Jensen off the hook. He knew he should have talked to him, but it wasn’t like Jensen was easy to get hold of these days.
Jensen seemed to stop, the words making him think. Sometimes his best friend had to take a punch to the gut to figure out what he was doing. “I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
“So I wasn’t supposed to keep all the men off her?”
Jensen sat up, a frown on his face. “Well, I didn’t think you would be one of them.”
Niall had been considering this all damn night. “Because I wouldn’t fall for the gorgeous, smart, funny, tough chick? How many times, man? How many times did we go out to a bar and hit on the same woman? How many times did we argue over who got to go after her?”
Jensen sighed and sat back as the phone rang and the blond guy picked it up while Harlow’s other dad was trying to talk Sherlock down. “A lot. I should have known, but I thought you would at least talk to me about it. I guess in some ways, I knew you would care about her. I guess I was counting on it.”
But he hadn’t been counting on Niall acting on his inevitable attraction. “I did not sleep with her for two reasons, and neither of them were I didn’t want her. I couldn’t without telling her the truth, and I wanted to talk to you. We have been friends for more than half my life. When you wanted to go into the military, I went with you. When Tommy died and you needed to leave, I gave it up. I would have gone to LA with you.”
“It was a one-man job,” Jensen said tightly. “I didn’t… I couldn’t risk you. Like I couldn’t risk her.”
He’d known it at the time and been forced to honor the decision, and Jensen couldn’t possibly know how alone that had left him. Back in their shitty small town without the Wiley brothers. He’d mourned Tommy, too. “All I’m saying is I’ve never let you down before. Not even once. The truth is if you make me choose between you and Harlow, she’s going to win.”
Now Jensen’s asshole smirk came out. “Back at ya, buddy. And after tonight I don’t think she’s going to choose you.”
“Oh, you think she’s running back into your arms?” Something was going on in the background. The big guy was pacing and Harlow’s dads were arguing, but Niall was focused. “After what you did? You know she’s been healing from that for a long time.”
“I know the minute I offered to work with her, she was putting you back on the shelf. She agreed to dump your ass and come back into the club where we were going to make a connection the employees would find believable. She was going to be my acknowledged sub by the end of the week.” Jensen studied him carefully. “Yeah, there it is. She talked to you, didn’t she?”
He wasn’t particularly good at hiding his emotions. Oh, he could, but he never had to with his best friend. A knot formed in his gut. It had been after the meeting with Jensen that she’d talked about how they could just be friends. He’d thought it was about her feeling insecure because they hadn’t slept together, but what if there was another reason?
“She loves me. I can fix this,” Jensen said with confidence.
“Or you can fuck her up more,” Niall shot back. “I can’t believe you were going to take her back in.”
“Well, it’s take her back in or watch her blow everything up,” Jensen replied. “With you sitting there. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking she had a job to do. You never bothered to tell me what club you were working at. You didn’t even mention it was a lifestyle club. I thought you were a bouncer at a nightclub or something. Is she not supposed to work? Am I not supposed to back her up? You know I was actually doing exactly what you sent me in to do.”
“I did not send you in to fuck her,” Jensen snarled.
“No, you wanted her alone and miserable so you could hopefully manipulate her back into a relationship with you. Tell me something, Jensen. What happens to her if this mission of yours kills you? Should I make sure she’s alone so she can enter the afterlife pure for you? Same question, but this time you’re in jail.”