Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
“You don’t need to clean,” he says when we get to the kitchen.
“This place is pretty spotless.” I glance around. “But I’d like to help. I don’t want to be useless, and there has to be something I can do.”
“You’ll help by keeping your sweet ass inside this place where you’re safe.”
“Thank you,” I say again. “I’ve been trying for so long to find a way out for Marco. I couldn’t stand by and watch my father pull him into that world.”
“And what about you?”
“What do you mean?”
He shakes his head. “I can’t believe Paul almost had you for himself.”
I bite the inside of my cheek because I’m not sure how to respond to that. Luke lets me go and then pulls out containers from a brown bag. I also see a pile of groceries on the kitchen counter.
“Let me help.” I try to grab one of the bags, but Luke takes my hand and pulls out a stool.
“Sit,” he orders and then waits for me to take a seat.
“You’re bossy.”
He pulls out a plate to put the food on and shrugs. “When I need to be.”
“So how did your calls go?” I ask, fishing for information.
“Let’s not worry about that tonight.” He puts the plate in front of me, and there’s a giant steak with a baked potato and macaroni on it.
“This is a lot of food,” I tell him, and then I see he’s buttering a roll for me. When he adds it to the overfilled plate, I laugh. “I can’t eat all of this.”
“Then no dessert.” He winks at me.
“Hey.” I pretend to pout, and he shrugs.
“Be a good girl and eat.” He nods to my plate and the rest of the containers. “I’ve got more for Marco when he’s ready.”
I pick up the fork and dig in while Luke puts away the rest of the groceries. For a big man, he moves swiftly, and every movement is precise. Then I recall how easily he read me in the car that first day I met him.
I might not know who Luke truly is yet, but it’s clear he knows what he’s doing and is likely three steps ahead of us all.
Chapter Ten
LUKE
After Kelly ate dinner, I told her to go take a shower while I carried Marco’s food downstairs to him. We ended up gaming for a while, and he asked me some questions about what it is I do for a living. He’s a bright kid, and I could tell that he understands a lot more than anyone gives him credit for. Well, maybe not Kelly. It’s clear she thinks he’s the best kid in the world, and so far I can’t disagree.
After he eats and we talk, he can hardly keep his eyes open. He tells me goodnight as I climb the stairs back to the main floor and set the alarm again. There’s an extra system I like to set at night that’s triggered by motion throughout the house.
On the top floor are spare rooms, but none of them have beds. This isn’t my residence full-time, so I don’t have it set up for more than one or two people to stay. That means it’s the couch for me tonight, but I want to check on Kelly first.
When I nudge open the door of the bedroom, I’m kind of surprised to see her still awake. The bedside lamp is on, and she’s sitting up reading a book.
“What have you got there?” I ask, and she looks up.
“Oh sorry.” She closes it, but I wave her off.
“Don’t be sorry. You can have anything you want.” I don’t miss the way her eyes dart over my body before she holds up the book.
“Whose is this?”
I cock my head to the side so I can read the title and then I smile. “Mine.”
“You like Harry Potter?” She looks skeptical as I go over to the dresser and grab some pajama pants.
“Who doesn’t?” When I glance back at her, I notice she’s wearing the shirt I got out for her earlier.
“I guess me?” She shrugs. “I’ve never read it. We didn’t have a lot of books around our house. Although I’m sure that’s not a big surprise.”
I walk over to the closet and pull my shirt off. I can feel her eyes on me as I toss it into the hamper and then unbutton my pants. When I look over my shoulder, I see her quickly turn away before I take those off too and pull on the pajama pants.
“It was one of the first things I remember reading in my foster home,” I say as I walk back over to the bed.
“You were in foster care?” I nod, and she gets a sad look in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I had it pretty good with the places I stayed. The first home had a ton of books, and I remember them telling me I could have as many as I wanted. I didn’t read much, so I just grabbed the first one I saw. They didn’t have a TV, so there wasn’t much else to do.”