Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
She wasn’t even clear on what Keane had been arrested for. She probably wouldn’t even know except her friends always had her back. She looked to her papa. “Were you even going to tell me he was in jail?”
“I mean, yes,” her papa hedged. “Someday. In the future.”
Her mother waved a hand. “Baby girl, do not scare your papa. You save all that angry goddess energy for the one who can handle it. The one who deserves it.”
Papa turned to her mom. “I thought you would be the one kicking Jack’s ass like you did when he threatened to have Nicole hauled in.”
Her mom waved him off. “Well, that was Josh and Grim. They’re never going to properly put Jack in his place. And Nicole was pretty shy at that point. Livie is not. Really, she’s been waiting for this day for a long time. I can sit back and know I taught her well.”
Olivia started for the station again, Gigi and Miranda hot on her heels.
“I hope they don’t think he stole Gabe’s truck,” Gigi said, opening the door. “We can clear that up.”
“I’m pretty sure they think Keane’s the one who put that stuff in her drink,” Miranda said as she walked through. “How would he even do it? I didn’t see him around the drink, and I was only in the bathroom for a few minutes. It was surprisingly uncrowded.”
“I think they found some half-assed evidence and decided to railroad the new guy.” It was kind of how things worked in this town. “They’ll do it faster if my father is on their ass. If my dad is putting the pressure on, they’ll do anything to placate him. Does anyone know if Garrett is in there? Keane needs a lawyer.”
Garrett wasn’t at the hospital, so she had to believe he was here trying to get Keane out. Which is exactly what he should do. After he called her.
Oh, she understood that asshole who drugged her also took her phone and her purse, but he could have called Gigi or Miranda or Gabe. She made sure they all exchanged numbers days ago.
She had to wonder if they were going back into their shells. It was hard for her men to trust after everything they’d been through.
“I think he is, though I don’t know where they are in the process,” Gabe admitted. “I’ve already got a call to come in and give a statement.”
Why? Gabe hadn’t seen anything. He’d been on the dance floor, though so had Keane.
She made it up the steps and through the glass doors. She stepped up to the reception desk where Tanya Hallway sat. She was roughly three hundred years old and formed one of the hearts of the Willow Fork gossip center. Tanya didn’t mind spending half her work time calling and letting her friends know who was being arrested and for what.
“Olivia.” Tanya stood. She was a tiny woman with big eyes and a steel helmet of hair on her head. “We thought you were in a coma after all the drugs. You know those city boys always have the drugs.”
“I’m fine. It was one drug, and I’ve metabolized it.” Apparently she hadn’t gotten a full dose or she would be asleep for hours. “What do you know?”
It was always best to go to the center of the information world when one needed the story. Best to cut to the chase.
Tanya settled her glasses and nodded as though this was a report she’d known she would have to deliver at some point. “I know your daddy is mad as hell at your uncle. When he walked in he was spitting bile at Lucas. On the phone, of course.”
Why would her dad call Lucas? Maybe she should call Lucas herself. Garrett was a good lawyer, but he loved Keane. Lucas could make practical decisions. “What was Keane Rollins brought in for?”
Tanya frowned. “Well, for attempted kidnapping, of course. And then there’s the drug violations. It’s a lot of serious stuff, Olivia.”
So she had her work cut out for her. “What kind of evidence do they have?”
Tanya didn’t even hesitate. Her true loyalty was to gossip. If that woman had been born elsewhere, she might have joined the CIA. And then probably gotten fired for telling state secrets. “They have the surveillance footage for the bar. I saw it. It shows that man of yours standing in front of the bar. It looks like he’s waiting but his arms move and I think the sheriff is saying that’s when he spiked the drink.”
“They have him on camera with the drugs?” She wouldn’t believe it until someone told her it wasn’t AI. Someone she trusted. Ruby Lockwood’s day might not be over yet.
“Not that I could see. I think he was just standing there and then he looked at his phone, but the sheriff says criminals always do crimes, so it must be him.” Tanya leaned over. “He has a record. A nasty one.”