Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Hastings shot to his feet. “What the fuck? Why didn’t you lead with that?” Fear and concern for Violet swamped him. No reason to be concerned other than the word incident combined with her place of business. He didn’t need anything more than that. “Let’s go.”
“She’s capable of holding her own,” Bradford added in. “She doesn’t need you to rescue her.”
“She does,” he insisted. “She’s just too stubborn to know it.” He stomped to the gym entrance.
“Yeah,” Bradford drawled from behind him. “She’s the stubborn one.”
Without slowing, Hastings flipped his brother off and headed to his room. The sooner he showered the sooner he would be at her side.
* * * *
They’d waited for him in the lobby, and, without a word, he went with them to the Range Rover parked in the front and slid into the backseat. Hastings’ leg continually jerked as Livingston drove through the streets, and he hated she was at Welcome Home without him.
Without waiting on his brothers, he hopped out the moment they stopped and strode to the door. There were cop cars around but no one was outside. A few of the residents saw him coming and stepped out of his way.
Hastings knew the picture he presented. Right now, he didn’t care, nor did he try to temper it. All he wanted to do was get to Violet’s side.
Inside the building he looked around and noticed people milling about in the hall. A low growl escaped, and he walked to her office and entered. Five cops were there, and Paul. Violet sat on the edge of her desk, arms crossed over her chest as she participated in the conversation.
He didn’t even have to say a word and she looked over at him. No relief spread over her features. Instead, she gave him a slight nod and turned her attention back to the ones surrounding her in a semi-circle.
Fuck no.
He went to her side and settled right next to her on the desk, ensuring their thighs pressed against each other. Hastings moved one arm behind her and put his palm on the desk and the other beside his hip, caging her in and making it very clear for the others in the room.
Violet was his.
“What’s going on?” he asked her, voice not all that low.
She didn’t respond, simply listened to a man with a cheesy-ass mustache continue to drone on about city policy. Hastings leaned closer and blew lightly on her ear.
“Excuse me a moment, Sergeant Finnley.” She glared at him and went to the door, glancing over her shoulder to him.
The look said it all. With an arrogant smirk, he pushed up from the desk and trailed her outside. His brothers were walking up, and Livingston cocked an eyebrow but Hastings gave him a small head-shake.
Bradford and Livingston each gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked into the room.
He stared down at her, taking in the way her hair had been yanked back into a bun, the emerald-green stone in her eyebrow piercing today and her lips.
“Morning, Curls.”
“I’m going to say this one time, Mr. Rhodes. If you ever act like that again, I’ll castrate you right there. Do not undermine me or be disrespectful. I won’t put up with it from an asshole like Senator Hayes and I won’t from someone like you.”
She whipped away from him, and he clamped a hand around her upper arm before she could move.
“Hang on now.”
“Everything okay, Miss Wentz?”
The graveled voice, lined with warning and protectiveness, brought out his own, and Hastings nearly growled in return as he looked up to find an older man standing there.
One of the residents, that much he knew but more than that? Other than that the man looked at him like he was two seconds from wiping the floor with him, he had nothing.
“I’m fine, Mr. Levenston. This is Mr. Rhodes, brother to the one who set this place up.”
“Seems to me he needs a lesson in treating women with respect if he’s grabbing you.”
Hastings dropped her arm when the man’s gaze dipped from his face to where he held her. The scarring all over the left side of the man’s face added to his intimidation factor, even though it appeared the man kept it hidden best he could.
Violet stepped closer to Mr. Levenston and took his hand. “He’s my brother-in-law, feels like he needs to be protective. It’s fine. He wouldn’t hurt me.”
Those cold blue eyes snapped back to him. “Better not. I’ll be back for you later.”
There it went, that honest smile from her that lit up her entire expression. He wanted it for himself. Permanently.
“Can’t wait.” She squeezed his hand and walked back in the room.
Mr. Levenston didn’t move off down the hall, instead he stood there looking Hastings up and down.
“Touch her like that again and you and I will be having a chat, young gun.”