Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“I put out feelers back in Seattle for anyone with her description trying to get a new identity. No hits.”
“That something you can do?”
“It’s not cheap.”
“I didn’t think it was. Why I said she’s not getting far on two million. It’s a stupid fucking number. The woman makes four hundred thousand a year.”
“She was going to get more then.” Marco voices my own thoughts. I stand from my chair when Rae enters my office with a tray in her hand.
“Oh, hi, Marco. I didn’t know you were here.” She gives Marco one of those smiles that lights up my world. I hate that other people get them because I’m a selfish bastard and want each and every one of them for myself. And even though I know that I’m being ridiculous, I can’t help it when it comes to Rae.
“Morning, ma’am.” He gives her a nod.
“Rae,” she corrects him. “Would you like—” Her question stops when Marco’s phone starts to ring.
“I have to take this,” he says before he turns and slips from my office.
“You don’t make coffee for anyone but me.” She rolls her eyes at me. I walk over and take the tray from her hand to sit it down on the desk before I sit in one of the big chairs in front of my desk to pull her down into my lap.
“You find this Eva girl yet? JJ always said she was a bitch. That she couldn’t be trusted.”
“We will.” I kiss the side of her neck. I can never get enough of her.
“I’ve been locked in this condo for two days now.”
“With me. Is that so bad?” I kiss her neck again. I can never get enough when it comes to her. It’s not only the sexual part. I want to know everything. Even her being in the same room as me lifts the darkness that has surrounded me for so long.
“No, but I want to do a few things.”
“Such as?” I can’t let her out of my sight until I get this all cleared up. I now know it was Eva that was digging into Rae. JJ had been right that something was up with Eva; it was her theory that was wrong.
Eva wasn’t jealous or in love with me; she was looking to steal from me, obviously. But I don’t think that was the extent of it. The two million dollars wouldn’t be worth all of this trouble.
“Sorry to interrupt, but Theo Stone wants to have a word with you.”
“Now?” He’s the oldest of the Stone brothers.
“Yeah.”
“Have you found anything I should know about?”
“Not when it comes to Theo. The youngest sibling is a bit of a mess.”
“How messy? Messy enough that his brother is calling to clean up?”
“Yep,” Marco responds. Another piece clicks into place.
“I’m going to make you breakfast.” Rae kisses me. She tries to slip off my lap, but I don’t let her.
“What is it that you wanted to do?”
“Wedding plans?” She gives me a shy smile.
Her words only stoke my fire to get this situation done. I want this new life filled with my sunshine, and this is all that’s standing in my way.
22
Rae
“See, I told you we could do a lot of things without leaving the condo.” JJ is very proud of herself. In a hot second, Ivan hired me a wedding planner and JJ was at the door. Ivan has been in his office for most of the day. The same as yesterday. Marco comes and goes. Vincent is back there with him now.
“It looks like a bridal store exploded in here.” I almost can’t believe my eyes. The space has been transformed. The wedding planner left a few moments ago, leaving all of this here for me to take in.
“Welp, these things need to be handled. I know how Ivan can be when he gets his mind set on something. Once this little mess is cleaned up, he’s going to be dragging you down the aisle as quickly as possible.” It randomly slipped my mind that JJ used to work for Ivan. I think because the man she’d described is nothing like the man I know.
“Little mess?” I think it stopped being little when the FBI was pulled in, and let’s not forget that part about my father working for the freaking cartel. I mean, really? I’ve always wondered a bit about who my parents might have been and where they could be. What life would have been like if we hadn’t got pulled into the system. I think that system saved us. It might not have felt like it some days, but it was obviously better than them.
I want normal. I see so many people reaching for the stars. JJ did when she’d gone off to college and got her fancy corporate job. All I’d dreamed about was a family. A little house with a fence. A dog, and a cat that is always bossing him around. Of course, kids and a husband. I was starting to think that I really was reaching for the stars with that. Then Ivan was there, and he reignited those things for me. Making them all seem to be within reach.