Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 114260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Skylar squeals like Violet just gave her a box of her favorite chocolates. “Oooh, you didn’t have to. Thank you! Can you teach me—”
Violet shakes her head. “No, Sky. Not now. I’ll be moving out once this is finished.”
My gut clenches.
Skylar nods, her face downcast like a girl who just lost her dog.
The bank sits on the corner of Oak Street and Institution Drive, a stately-looking building complete with red brick walls. The cold of autumn’s struck the tree branches bare, but a few brown and orange leaves have fluttered to the ground around us as we enter the bank.
Violet looks at the names on the walls. “Ah, there he is. And look, the little indicator says he’s here today.” I look to where she points, to a red and green lighted workstation indicating who’s in today and their hours. He’s in.
“You two go outside,” Violet says. “I need to do this alone.”
“Like hell you’ll—”
“I mean it,” she says in that voice that means business. “Don’t you dare try to patronize me or help me. It’s important that I do this.”
I nod. I understand. Skylar’s jaw drops, and she starts shaking her head. “Skylar,” I say warningly. Skylar sighs. “Alright, alright.”
Violet continues in as we step back outside. We watch as Violet approaches an elderly man sitting at a desk, tapping away on his keyboard. She stands in his doorway and says something, and he looks up at her.
“Wish I could hear them from here,” I mutter. “Can’t hear a damn thing.”
Skylar groans. “Same. I wanna know what the hell is going on in there.”
“You’re just as nosy as I am.”
She snorts. “Hardly. Okay, so listen. While she’s in there, you have to listen to me.”
I nod.
Skylar continues, “I saw the videos. You know I did. I didn’t want to be the one to tell her so I let you do that dirty work. You spied on her, huh?”
I nod, still watching Violet. The man at the desk pushes himself to standing and reaches for something. I feel myself tensing. I want to go in there and protect her so badly, my body aches from the tension.
I release a breath when he reaches for an envelope and pushes a button, then gestures for her to come with him.
“Stand down, Cain,” Skylar warns. “Stand. Down.” She squints and looks over my shoulder.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she says, shaking her head. “Thought I saw something just now. Huh. Okay, so listen. You fucked up, dude. Big time. You watched her on video and I’m gonna guess you didn’t tell her about those.”
“You’d guess correctly.” Like I want to stand here and listen to my younger sister lecture me about relationships? Hell no. The thought of Violet leaving… and she always does what she says she will… I can’t.
I watch the door close behind Violet.
Looks like he recognized her. He didn’t send her back out here. Therefore… something’s going on in there.
“Aw, man, Cain. The most important thing in the world to Violet is trust. You know that.”
“I do, it’s why I feel like an ass and really don’t need reminding of this.” I don’t want to talk to my sister about relationships. Instead, I’m watching everything in the bank, my mind roving over the name again. Castellano. Castellano…
“So how’d you get her to come here, then, if she didn’t know you were tracking her?”
With a grimace, I tell her everything that matters. By the time I get to the end, her head’s buried in her hands. “Nooooo,” she moans. “You didn’t.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Ugh. Where the fuck are they?
“Alright, then. There’s nothing left for it but to grovel, brother.”
“Grovel?”
“Ohhh, yeah. You have to pull out all the stops. Like all of them. She doesn’t want you to buy her things, but that monster truck she’s been eying might be nice, and perhaps a wee mini pit bull puppy would also be great. Maybe some of those killer high-heeled boots she’s wanted…”
She’ll have all of them by the time we’re back. I’m texting Joe now. I’m not sure it’ll make a damn difference.
“Noted.”
“Now, none of those things will actually get her to forgive you, though, you know that right? It’s just like an act of goodwill.”
“Right. So how do I get her to forgive me?”
She frowns. “This might be harder than I thought.” She taps her chin thoughtfully.
“I believe in you,” I mutter.
“Well… Violet really needs to know she can trust you, so I think the single best way for you to establish that trust?”
“Yeah?”
“Back off and let her handle this. You don’t need to swoop in and save her, no matter how tempting that is. Okay?”
I groan. “Okay.”
My phone rings. Joe. “Yeah?”
“Boss, my tracking says Violet’s in the GWW bank.”
“She is. I’m outside.”
“I see that as well.”
“Something I need to know, Joe, or you just miss me?”