Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
“You certainly do,” Steele told her, staring at her like he’d never seen her before. “The monster-tamer.”
Grady knew that Steele often saw himself that way. He’d been called the Beast when he was cage fighting. And with what he did for a living, sometimes he thought himself a monster.
And if he was, then Grady was too. And perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. Because to keep yourself safe sometimes you needed to be a monster.
Besides, if it meant keeping Effie safe, he’d be whatever he needed to be.
“Come on. Let’s get you home.” Steele stood before taking her back into his arms.
He held her cradled against his chest like a baby with his arm under her ass.
“I puked,” she said miserably.
“I know, baby,” Steele soothed. “We’ll get you some water, all right?”
“It’s gross.”
“I know. Shh, don’t worry about that. Nobody cares that you were vomiting.”
“What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel so funny? I don’ts like it. My pills have never made everything go so weird.”
“I don’t know. But we’ll find out. That I promise you.”
They managed to get a few sips of water into her before she snuggled her face into Steele’s neck. He rocked her back and forth as Grady gathered her stuff up and a blanket to wrap around her.
Grady gave him a surprised look. “You rocking her to sleep?”
“It’s working, isn’t it? She’s fallen asleep.”
Grady gave him a small smile. “The two of you look good together.”
Maybe they didn’t need him.
“Three of us would look fucking better,” Steele told him gruffly.
Grady felt his doubt leave him. The three of them. It had always been the two of them. But perhaps it had never felt completely right because something had been missing.
And now . . . it was the three of them.
Grady moved toward them. Taking care of someone still didn’t come naturally. He wasn’t sure it ever would.
Although it had come naturally before. When he’d cradled her close.
So maybe things came more easily when it was Effie.
He pressed his chest to her back and breathed in her scent. Bubblegum.
So Effie.
“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” Steele said.
“Precious,” he murmured.
“I want to keep her, Grady.”
Grady nodded. That’s what he wanted too.
“Come on, let’s go. Raul is waiting outside,” Steele said. “We can check the cameras later.”
Steele turned away and Grady followed, carrying her handbag. They were nearly at the back entrance when he heard someone yell out to them. Turning, Steele saw Lex walking toward them.
“Is she all right? Is Effie okay? I didn’t have time to check on her again after I threw that guy out.”
Fuck. They’d forgotten about the asshole who’d grabbed her.
“She’s fine,” Grady told him. “She took some painkillers and they reacted badly.”
“That’s not good. Should she be taking them?”
“We think someone might have given her something that reacted with them,” Steele told him grimly. “We’re going to get her home now.”
“She’s a good girl.”
“That guy, he’s banned for life,” Steele stated firmly. “You get any identification?”
“No, but I’d know him if I saw him again. He won’t be getting back in here.”
“Good man.” Steele nodded to him.
They headed out to the car, where Raul already had the door open for them, and got her seated between them with her belt on. She was slumped against Steele, but her hand rested on his thigh.
And he didn’t feel the urge to move it.
Strange.
He wasn’t one for casual touch. A handshake wasn’t a problem. Touching a sub to bring them pleasure or pain was not really an issue either. Sex. He did it because he felt the urges, same as anyone else. But often, his hand did just as good a job. If not better, since he didn’t have to engage in interactions after.
Steele usually took care of that part for him.
However, keeping detached from Effie was damn near impossible.
To distract himself, Grady looked out the window at the neighborhood Effie lived in. “I don’t like bringing her back here. It doesn’t feel safe.”
“She’s been living here for a long time.”
Grady didn’t take offense at Steele’s words because he knew that he wasn’t saying that he thought she’d be fine.
He was saying that because he wanted to point out to Grady how his thinking had changed about her.
“I know, but it doesn’t feel good enough for her now.”
“You know I don’t like it that she’s here either. I’d take her home with us, if it wasn’t for a couple of things.”
Right. And he knew what one of those things was. “Brooks.”
“We can’t take her home with us and leave him on his own. And we can’t uproot him suddenly. He’s a smart kid, but he’s still only sixteen.”
Yes. Grady understood that.
“I want her in our house,” Steele replied. “That’s what will happen eventually. But tonight, we take her home.”
He didn’t like it. But he understood it.
As Raul pulled up outside her house, he exited the car and held the door open for Steele. He’d already found her keys in her handbag. As well as her stuffed toy sloth.