Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
“Danny never stopped his old shit. I think he spends everything he makes. Well, that’s assuming he even had some kind of job. He was pretty good at moving around the building without being seen where he wasn’t supposed to be. My guess is he’s mooching off his wife’s bank account and either stays in the penthouse with her or in Evelyn’s apartment. I doubt he’s ever had a serious job.”
“How the hell did he keep all this secret? I had the best people I know looking into you and never once did they turn up that Danny was married.”
“Good Goddamn question. I lived next door to the kid for over a decade and had no fuckin’ clue, Knox.” Dad shook his head slightly. I knew the feeling, and I wasn’t as close to Danny as our father was. “Makes me wonder what else he has going on.”
“What happens now?” I asked the question, but I knew. No way Danny stayed away too long.
Dad crossed his hands over his chest. “Don’t give a fuck. Figured we’ll find out the second Danny turns up. And he will turn up.”
“Wanting money.”
“Oh, it won’t be as obvious as that. He’ll worm his way in, making everyone feel sorry for him. Like he’s the victim who’s being kept from his children. He’ll apologize and tell Evelyn how much he loves her. He’ll pretend to be involved with his kids, but all the while he’ll be scheming and planning the next big thing. And siphoning Evelyn’s bank account if she’s not careful.”
“What?” I barked out the question harsher than I’d meant to. I’d been going with the ebb and flow of the conversation, but I hadn’t been expecting that.
“Oh, I think you heard me, Knox. Last time Danny spent any quality time with Evelyn, when he left to go on a ‘business trip,’ she didn’t have money to buy groceries. She spent three hours on the phone with the bank trying to figure out what had happened. There was a five-hundred-dollar ATM withdrawal she swore she didn’t make. Her PIN number was used, so she couldn’t get the money back. I’m positive it was Danny’s doing.”
“That fucker left her without a way to care for herself or her children? Is that what you’re tellin’ me?”
“Yeah, Knox. That’s exactly what he did. Evie would never say, but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the first time. That’s when I started keeping an eye on her food supply and making sure she was stocked.”
“Danny takin’ her money stops now.”
“Yeah?” Dad turned to me, raising an eyebrow. “How you gonna enforce that?”
“By keepin’ Danny away from her.”
“Easier said than done. Asshole or not, Danny’s still those kids’ father.”
I sighed. “Yeah. Huge-ass problem there.” I had an idea about that, but I’d have to involve Grim Road even more than I already had. I suppose it was time to test Lemon’s claim that we always took care of family.
Luke, Aneshya, and Effie were having a ball playing with the stuff Lemon and the girls brought over. Somewhere, she’d managed to score a set of Yard Darts that had to be at least forty years old. Lemon, Apple, and Cecilia were all sitting with Evelyn, chatting away and keeping a close eye on the kids playing with lethal weapons but otherwise didn’t seem concerned.
Evelyn flicked her gaze in my direction before ducking her head. She glanced up at me a couple times before turning away and watching the kids again. All the while, the other women kept a running conversation going. Evelyn smiled and nodded in the appropriate places, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it. Every once in a while, her gaze would meet mine, but she never tried to maintain it.
“She’s interested in you, Knox.” My dad spoke softly. I glanced in his direction briefly to find him smiling.
“She’s keeping an eye on the strange man who claims to be her lover’s brother. She doesn’t know me. She’s afraid of me.”
“She’s afraid of liking you. I’ve seen her watching you when she thinks you’re not looking.”
“Probably because I look exactly like Danny, and it’s freaking her out.”
Dad snorted. “Only twice as big.”
“You’re proving my point, old man.”
“Maybe. But that woman is still interested whether she thinks it’s a good idea or not.” Dad grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. “Look. I’ve gotten close to Evie over the years. She’s a good woman. An even better mother. I’m not saying you should do anything you don’t want to do, but I think you’re interested in her too.”
“Dad, I’ve known her for a solid week. Most of that I’ve spent watching from a distance. Besides, I have no idea how long I’ll be able to be in her life. I’m still a soldier. I have to leave the country when we have a job. Which is all something I can’t talk about. But she’d be trading one absent man for another, and I’d never do that to her.”