Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“Yes,” he tells Ollie. “I told you I won’t lie to you, and I won’t, so yes, I’ll have Rory and maybe Dean look into him. Not because I don’t trust you, but we live in a really dangerous world, and it’s important that I know who you’re spending time with.”
Ollie’s brows draw together. “That’s not something I thought about.”
“I’m sorry,” Cillian answers.
There’s no doubt in my mind he’s being real right now. He does feel bad, but what he’s saying is absolutely true. We learned this lesson from what went down with Dean—not that we would have discovered his true identity had we looked into him, but it showed us how easy it is to be fooled. “It’s because he loves you, Bunny.”
“I know. It’s just…new.”
“I’m sorry,” Cillian reiterates. “It comes with the territory when you’re mine. And make no mistake, there’s not a chance I won’t make sure he knows who you belong to.”
Heat flashes in Ollie’s gaze, and he shifts on my bed. “God, I can’t believe you’re jealous,” he says, choosing to focus on that rather than yet another way his life will change because he’s with Cillian. “And why is that so hot?”
I laugh. Bunny surprises me often.
“That’s because you’re a dirty boy,” Cillian says, then shoves off my bed and lifts Ollie into his arms. “I’ll be back, Ror.”
“Have fun.” I grin, watching them go, knowing he’s about to lose himself in Ollie’s body.
I pull on my clothes, glad to have something to do. First stop, I’ll have Dean work his magic online, finding me everything he can on this Shai.
*
Turns out, Shai’s past is scrubbed, buried, or he’s changed his name. From everything Dean’s been able to find—starting with his full name when he hacked into the Pizza Palace—Shai Burrows has popped out of thin air when he moved to Ashford. That puts me, Tiernan, and Dean on high alert, but we decide not to tell Cil about it yet. He left for Michigan to meet Ollie’s dad, and he’s already nervous as shit about it. It’s not every day the son of a Mafia boss meets his boyfriend’s family, and we don’t want him to have to worry about anything else.
“Follow him. See what you can figure out,” Tiernan tells me, then to Dean, “Keep digging.”
“Bet,” I reply. I’ve always liked to be the one to follow people—stalk them, I guess you could say. Another thing on a long list of shit that helps fulfill that rush I’m always looking for but have never sated.
CHAPTER SIX
Shai
It’s been a few days since Ollie left to go home for the holiday. I wonder how things are going with his boyfriend meeting his dad. It’s not something I should think about or give a shit about, and really, it’s not that I care. I’m just curious. I can tell Ollie’s a good guy, but even though I haven’t met this boyfriend of his, I have a bad feeling about him.
I could ask some of the others at work. I’m sure there’s a way I could bring it up without looking like a creeper, but I don’t. It’s none of my fucking business, really.
So I keep my head down, do my job and earn my measly paycheck, when all I want is to get the fuck out of here and, well, if I’m honest, do something reckless. I don’t know why I thought getting my mom away from my sex-trafficking father would make anything different with her, but it hasn’t. She doesn’t know how to be a mom any more than she did before, not that I need her to be. I’ve never needed that. We basically grew up together, and at some point, I feel like I surpassed her—but then, I’m also in the new habit of holding people at gunpoint and stealing their money for fun, so who am I to judge? And she might still be drinking like crazy and letting men pay to fuck her, but at least she isn’t getting her ass beaten every other day.
They have me on the register tonight at work, which I fucking hate. Not that I’m a fan of making pizza, but it’s better than dealing with the customer is always right, especially when the customer is mostly spoiled college kids.
I’m folding boxes, with my back to the register, the sound of cardboard on cardboard like nails on a chalkboard, when someone clears his throat behind me. Fuck. I do not want to deal with people right now.
A sigh falling from my lips, I turn around—and freeze. My heart starts beating like crazy, my ears echoey as I take in the person standing in front of me.
It’s him.
Cherry.
The motherfucker whose gun is locked in the trunk of my car and who promised to kill me.
He slips his hands into the pockets of his coat and smiles. “Can you help me?” He cocks a brow, and I realize I’m just standing there staring.