Total pages in book: 174
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
“Fuck you, Matthew.”
Matthew surged forward and gripped Cash’s shirt in his fists. “You have to do this for me, Cash. You don’t understand. I am literally dead if you don’t. They told me it’s my last chance.”
“Who? I’ll talk to them.”
Disjointed laughter toppled out of Matthew. “You’ll talk to them? You don’t talk to these guys, Cash. You just have to do it. For me. Please.”
Cash had found out where Matthew went to make his bets. Guy’s name was Jaimie. Cash was sure he could talk some sense into him.
“There’s no other way,” Matthew told him.
“How can you ask me to let my team down like that?”
Let himself down like that?
“I’m your brother. I’m the one who got you to this place, remember? It’s one game, Cash. One fucking game. Can’t you at least give me that?”
One game?
It was the game.
“Please.” A sob broke out of Matthew.
Fear and hate throbbed inside of Cash. Rage billowing high that his brother would do this to him.
How could he fucking ask this?
There had to be another way.
“Please, please, just this once, and I’ll fix it later. Pay back Mom and Dad everything I owe them. Get my shit together. But I’m not going to have a chance to do that if you don’t do this for me.”
Disgust burned in Cash’s chest. It clashed with the love and fear he had for his brother.
It couldn’t be as bad as he was making it out to be, could it? It seemed impossible.
Ridiculous and exaggerated.
Cash’s jaw clenched. “If it’s so bad, then go to the police.”
Matthew choked. “Are you joking? Then I’m really dead.” Matthew’s features pulled taut. “These people are monsters, Cash. You don’t understand what they’re capable of.”
Cash looked back at his team, who laughed and joked as they boarded the bus. Excitement blazing from their spirits.
Guilt constricted.
Making it difficult to breathe.
How could he do what Matthew was asking? Guilt nudged his conscience.
How could he not?
Reluctantly, he turned back to Matthew and gave him a tight nod. “Okay.”
FORTY-THREE
DAISY
I woke up to a door slamming and a clatter of activity. Squeals of my children’s voices interspersed with others.
Excitement in the air, while I felt as if I’d been sucker punched.
My sleep had been chaotic. Tossing and turning in a toil of the confessions that Cash had made last night.
Now, I was uncertain of where we stood.
He’d been so certain that he would be the source of our affliction. That he was nothing more than a servant of pain.
His ghosts so powerful and profound they had become his master.
I mean, okay, it scared me that he basically got off on inflicting violence. But he said these people weren’t innocent.
That gave him a lot of points, right?
Or was I making excuses?
Eva squealed before there was a riot of pounding feet.
What in the world was happening?
Blowing out a sigh, I slipped off the bed, padded to the door, and pulled it open.
A bit in a daze as I tried to process what was happening in the great room.
Charleigh, Emery, Piper, and Raven were standing inside. Raven held a giant garment box and the rest of the women were loaded down with bags. The entire flock of their children minus Baby Luna held hands and ran around in a circle with mine, the six of them overjoyed at seeing each other again.
Their little faces lit up with excitement.
Addy caught sight of me first, and she spun around to where I loitered in the doorway. “Mom! Guess what?! Since you’ve got to go marry our Grumpy Giant, after the wedding, we get to go to Finn’s house to have a big sleepover party with all our new friends! Can you believe it?”
“But that means you’re our family since our uncle Cash is going to be your dad,” Nolan said with an emphatic nod of his head.
My stomach twisted.
Oh no.
Is that what they thought?
Crap, I really hadn’t thought this whole thing through, had I? I thought this whole ceremony thing would be swept under the rug.
Done in the darkness.
A quickie marriage that no one would notice.
“But family is really just who you love most,” Nolan added. “And we already love you, so we got a good thing.”
Was it?
Was what I was doing a good thing?
Teasing my children with the hope of this when it was only fake? Temporary?
That or wholly permanent if something awful were to happen to me.
Sadness spiked through my consciousness at the thought, but it was assuaged by a bare whisper of comfort.
At least they would have this.
This amazing family.
A whole bonus that I hadn’t anticipated.
My gaze drifted to where the group of women grinned these knowing grins while I stood there completely clueless.
“Uh…a sleepover?” I finally managed.
We were going to the courthouse.
No ceremony.
No guests.
No frill or pomp.
We were fighting for our lives here, not getting fancy.
“That’s right.” Raven jutted her shoulder as she strolled deeper into the house wielding that giant box. “It is your wedding day, which means we had to make arrangements for your wedding night.”