Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
I shake my head. “What tale?”
“Your dad’s friend stole it. Then your dad stole it but didn’t want to use it. So they just hid it for years. Later…” He shakes his head. “She figured out how to use it.”
“You helped her use it, you mean,” I say.
He laughs grimly. “You think you’ve got it all figured out?” His gaze moves to the TV unit and then to the drawer. He looks at it for a moment, then at me, then back at the drawer. I try not to show any fear. I don’t have to be afraid of this man. His gaze returns to me. “In any case, it’s gone. I’m currently having a new one made. It should be a decent replica. In the meantime…”
He takes out his phone, swipes a few times, and then hands it to me. “I managed to get you this.”
I eagerly take the phone, ignoring the strange shimmer that travels up my arm when our fingers touch. Mom is standing in a kitchen in front of the sink. Her clothes look dirty, and her hair is pulled back and greasy, but I don’t see any injuries.
“Hey, little pattycake,” Mom says, and I almost cry, blink hard, and feel the tears stinging against my eyes, but they don’t fall. I push them back. I have to be strong. “I’ve got myself into a bad spot. I love you. I’m not hurt. They’ve told me Jamie is looking into this. You remember Jamie, right?” Mom smiles, her eyes getting that excited shine they used to when he came back.
How evil is this? I can’t even watch a video of my mom, seeing her alive, unharmed, without getting jealous. It’s pathetic. It’s immature.
“I’ll be with you soon. I know I will.”
The video ends. I replay it and watch it again, looking for any details.
“Can we track this?” I ask.
Jamie shakes his head, idly stroking Demon on the top of the head. He won’t look at me—Jamie, not the Great Dane. Jamie is staring off into space. It’s like he’s purposefully avoiding my gaze.
“How much money was in this wallet, then?” I ask, wondering if he’ll tell me something, at least.
“One and a half million.”
I gasp. “What if he checks the wallet? What if he realizes the money’s not on there?”
“The money will be on there,” he grunts, “but there are programming tricks I can play. He won’t get a dime, and we’ll get your mom back. If he comes looking for you after that, I’ll put a goddamn bullet in his head.”
The sudden confession shocks me. He stands quickly and stares down at me for a few moments. His hands are shaking. It’s like he cares about me. It’s an insane thing even to let myself think, but what else can I think? He’s looking at me like he’d die for me.
I want to let him. I want to follow this energy if I’m judging it correctly. It’s not like I’ve ever done anything like this before. “When will the replica be ready?” I ask.
“Tomorrow evening. That’s when we’ll do the handoff. Until then, you’re staying here. I’ll pick you up some clean clothes tomorrow.”
He marches off toward the corridor. My stomach drops, and I almost call him back here. We’ve got hours left, with nothing to do but sit around, think, and wonder if our kids will have those sharp blue eyes.
Demon grunts and walks over, laying his chin on my knee. I’m sure there are worse prisons than this.
CHAPTER TEN
Jamie
It’s midnight. She’s probably asleep. I logged into my laptop and checked the activity log. She must’ve recorded my voice. She spent hours going through my photographs and then tried to log in to the site. I wonder what she was thinking as she looked at me, Mom, and Jack.
I’m not thinking about family now. I shouldn’t be here, slowly opening the guest bedroom door. My cock is hard, just like in the elevator. I’m solid through for her.
I can see her shape in the bed. She’s on her side, on top of the covers. Oh, hell. I’m a bad man. Her curves are perfect as a silhouette, but I know she’ll look even better with the light on. She’s a scared twenty-year-old woman. Her mom is in danger. I shouldn’t be doing this. I’m taking advantage.
“J-Jamie?” she whispers.
“Don’t turn around,” I grunt fiercely.
“Is it Mom?”
“No. I’m going to save her for you, but this isn’t about that.”
“What’s it about, then?” she says softly, but I can hear the nerves in it.
“You were snooping today.” I walk right to the edge of her bed. From the window, a patch of light falls across her. She’s wearing a tank top and her underwear, nothing else. Her gorgeously thick thighs are on display just for me. She was made for me. “Only a bad girl does that.”