Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Alex.
Wonder what I’d sound like saying his name while he shows me who he really is.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“I’m sure Alex is behind all of this.” I bit off a piece of bacon as Jayson rubbed a triangle of pancake in a puddle of syrup on his plate.
We were sitting in the hotel café. I’d decided last night, after hashing things out a bit more with Jayson, that I was going home. There was nothing more I could do here. Plus, I was in danger now. If I showed my face to Alex or any of his family again, there was no guarantee I’d make it out a second time.
“You should’ve seen the way he talked to his sister.” I shook my head with a scowl. “It looked like he was going to hit her or something until Damian intervened.”
“And Damian is the other brother?” Jayson asked.
“Yes. Damian is Rory’s biological brother. Rory and Damian are Black, but she says they were adopted by Alex’s mom, who I’m sure was a white woman.”
“Oh.” He took a gulp of orange juice. “It just doesn’t make sense though. If Rory knows something or assumes her brothers are behind it, why would she be talking to you and feeding you information?”
“I don’t know.” That’s what I was trying to wrap my head around. It was obvious Rory loved both Damian and Alex, despite how gruff both men were. She seemed like the type to protect her loved ones. Then again, I didn’t know much about her and could’ve been reading her all wrong.
“Well, fuck them.” Jayson set his fork down. The metal clattered on the plate. “I can drive over there if you want me to. Ask which one of those motherfuckers pulled your spark plug.”
“My God, no.” I laughed. “Let’s just get back to Charlotte. I’m tired of being here.”
“Alright.” Jayson nodded, then pushed back in his chair. “Let me hit the men’s room and we’ll get outta here.”
I watched him go as I picked up my coffee to polish it off. My eyes dropped to Eve’s purse next to my belongings. I grabbed it by the strap and placed it on the table, shuffling through it again. I don’t know why I bothered. It wasn’t like anything new was going to magically appear overnight. I looked through the inside pockets, finding a variety of lip gloss and some coins. The bigger pocket had a strawberry scented hand cream, a pack of gum with only three pieces left, and hand sanitizer.
I grabbed her wallet and unzipped it. Her ID was still inside along with a few credit and debit cards. Old coupons were in one of the small pouches, a crumpled car wash receipt, and more coins. I slid each card out of their slots. One of them made me pause. This one didn’t have her name on it. Instead, the name was Victor E. McDonnell.
My mind circled back to the night before, the call with Nico and Lincoln. He said someone else had driven to the cabin. Could that have been this Victor person? I grabbed my phone and sent Nico a text, asking him to look into this person next. He was likely asleep and wouldn’t see my message for another couple hours. I hoped he wasn’t sick of me at this point.
Jayson returned just as I pushed Eve’s wallet back into her purse. “Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I stood, about to collect my bags until Jayson scooped them up, slung them over his shoulder, and winked at me. I couldn’t fight my smile.
Sunlight streaked through thick clouds as we left the hotel, presenting me with a slightly brighter day. Brighter day, new beginnings. Perhaps I needed to take that as a sign to leave since it’d been so gloomy the day before.
Jayson walked with me to my car and placed my things on the back seat. Once I started the engine and checked the dashboard, I cursed.
“What is it?” he asked, one brow inclining.
“I need gas,” I muttered.
“Okay. No big deal. I’ll follow you to the nearest gas station.”
I drove away from the hotel to the station across the street. Once again, Jayson swooped in, this time with a credit card and a hand on the gas pump next to my car. “I got you, baby.”
I blushed. At this point, I think he really was trying to win me over. To busy myself, I removed some trash and gum wrappers from my car to toss them in the nearest trash bin. Jayson was still pumping when I climbed back into the driver’s seat and closed the door behind me.
I looked to my right at two men chatting in front of the station. Then my heart dropped. It was James and Alex Reed. Alex was frowning as James spoke. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but it was clearly a serious conversation happening. When James pointed past Alex, he nodded and turned around to march to his vehicle. I watched him drive away, then turned my gaze to James again, who now had his phone pressed to his ear.