Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“I’ll place two officers at the front of your building. If he so much as sneezes too loudly, they’ll break down your door and put him in cuffs.” He halts my interruption by holding his finger in the air. “Don’t test my knowledge of the law. There was a big upshift in what is classed as a deadly weapon since March 2019.” He twists to face me. “Or have you forgotten how you weren’t allowed to leave your home in your country unless it was for exercise?” He pffts before returning his eyes to Angel. “I’ve never seen so many poms eager to get fit.”
Angel appears lost for barely a nanosecond. Then her smile turns blinding. “How is our favorite ex-pat Aussie?”
The brunette jumps into the conversation. “She is missed like crazy at Ravenshoe Private but settling into her tree change well.”
She looks set to say more, but a call over the radio shifts her focus. “Officers, please be aware of a 10-64 in progress on the corner of Traite and Edmonds. Multiple units are involved and requesting 10-33.”
“10-4.” She shifts on her feet to face Angel and me before continuing. “This is Officer Isabelle Holt. The 10-62 we were assigned is a 10-24.”
“10-15, what is your ETA?”
Isabelle’s eyes lock with Ryan’s, and she waits for him to nod before she answers, “10-26 is two minutes. We’re one block away.”
The dispatcher officer thanks her for her offer of assistance before the radio crackles into silence.
“We need to go.” Isabelle stores her notepad in her Ravenshoe PD-assigned vest before locking her dark-brown eyes with Angel. “We will have a unit on standby, but if you’re uncomfortable with them being outside, I can ask the security officers downstairs to station themselves closer to your apartment.”
Angel considers her offer for under ten seconds. “It’s okay. I can take care of myself.” She whips out a massive dildo from her box of tricks. “I’m sure this will keep him in line.”
Isabelle doesn’t look the slightest bit intimidated by the size of the wang Angel waves around. She laughs before reminding Angel of Ryan’s earlier reference about dangerous weapons. “Armed with intent to cause harm could be valid in this situation.” She looks at me and winks. “Unless he once again seeks inconspicuous consent. Then you’ll be in the clear.”
“That thing isn’t coming near me,” I reply before a single thought can formulate in Angel’s head. “Consent is not given.” When the officers walk to the door, leaving me defenseless to a woman set for revenge and a box overloaded with gigantic life-size dicks, I follow them. “Did you hear what I said? Consent is NOT given.”
“Did you hear something?” Isabelle asks Ryan, doubling his shit-eating grin.
He shakes his head. “Not a damn word.”
“I said consent isn’t given.”
As Ryan twists to face me, he acts as if I didn’t speak. “Damn cicadas. They’re almost deafening at this time of the year. And a little daft.” I follow his amused gaze when he lowers his eyes to the tip of my shoe creeping over the tiles separating Angel’s apartment from the hallway. “Are you sure you want to do that? The instant you leave the premises, we could construe that you’re declining Angel’s offer of lodging.”
“What the hell, Ryan?” Angel shouts when his warning sees me stepping back from the opening of her apartment. “I thought you were on my side.”
“I am,” he replies, grinning. “But I think Izzy is right.” His chest puffs like a rooster. “Sometimes we need a little push to send us in the right direction.” His eyes flare with viciousness as he strays them to Isabelle. “Why do you think I rile Isaac so hard?”
“Because you have a death wish?” Isabelle answers on Angel’s behalf.
“Perhaps,” Ryan agrees, continuing down the hall. “But don’t act like you’re not getting any benefits from my—”
Their conversation is interrupted by them entering the elevator and riding it to the lobby.
Since we’re alone, the burn of Angel’s glare is unmissable.
She’s pissed, and it takes everything she has not to respond with violence.
“If I hadn’t already sold these, this”—even in a box, the dildo’s wobbles are unmissable—“would be so far in your fourth hole right now.”
What the fuck?
The fourth hole belongs to me?
11
ANGEL
“Are you sure he isn’t gay?”
Danny, my new neighbor, places a personalized invitation on the kitchen counter before he peers around the corner. If he thinks he’s being discreet with his long gawk of Christian’s semi-naked frame, he needs to take acting lessons. He is as slim as a bean pole and just as tall, but he doesn’t cozy up to the framework like I have numerous times over the past three hours to hide his perve. He unashamedly stares.
“He has the perfect hairstyle for a tiptoe into Candy Man Land.”
I move to the coffeepot I’ve refilled a dozen times today to ensure it hasn’t been tainted with anything while saying, “Candy Man Land?”