Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 78534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
So far, I’ve let them keep assuming I’m just an employee because I’m scared that if I tell the truth, they’ll think I’m more important than I am. The truth is ugly and complicated, but I can’t believe that just having me to kick around is worth it to Victor on top of everything else that’s happened.
Maybe he’ll finally just forget about me. I’ll miss Anne, but pretty soon she won’t need me anymore anyway.
"Are you just going to stand there all day, or are you coming in?" Bonnie yells from the couch. Anne's curled up next to her, watching her play some sort of story game on the TV while she offers commentary and suggestions. On the table in front of them are empty fast food bags, and Anne's drinking from a cup with a logo that looks a lot like—
"Is that coffee?"
Anne starts drinking faster like I'm going to rip it away from her.
"Mostly whipped cream, really," Bonnie says. "She'll be fine. There’s a sausage, egg and cheese bagel on the table for you."
I shake my head, but grab the bag. "You guys haven't been playing the whole time since I left, have you?" They're not exactly making it easy to be a responsible nanny here.
"Don't be ridiculous. We made tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches last night—"
"With real butter, and the bread didn’t even have seeds in it!" Anne crows.
"—I made sure she brushed her teeth and got a full night of sleep—"
"Which was easy since you never came back so I had the whole bed to myself!” There's a hint of an accusation there, but Anne’s also grinning like she knows something funny. It makes me wonder how much Bonnie has told her. Or if she’s treating this like all of the young adult books she's read with over the top romantic drama.
"—and then I had Poe and Crank head out to get us breakfast." Bonnie shrugs. "Anne has been the perfect guest. It's nice to have a gaming buddy again. General and I used to… well, it's nice." She hands the controller to Anne. "Here, why don't you play for a bit, and I'll be right back. I wanna talk to Jessica."
"Okay!" Anne's still acting like she’s on the best vacation ever.
It worries me.
As much as I hate Victor, Anne's innocent in this whole mess. If he really had her mother killed, then she’s almost as much a victim as I am. He treats her like a show pony. A pretty possession to trot out when he wants to play the part, and then lock away when it’s not convenient.
Maybe we aren’t that different. Anne’s only twelve, so she’s playing video games and eating all the junk food she can. Finally given some freedom, I immediately started drinking, kissing bikers and doing… whatever that was with Ghost.
I take a bite of the bagel and nearly have my second orgasm of the day. “Oh my God. This is so good,” I moan.
"Want me to put on a pot of coffee?" Bonnie asks as she closes the door between the kitchen and the living room, isolating us from Anne, who's absorbed in the game.
I don't even drink that much coffee, but with everything else that's going on, why not? I didn't use to drink alcohol or sleep in strange men's beds either, but here I am. "Yes, please."
"Of course." Bonnie smiles. She sets the machine going and pulls out a couple of mugs. "You alright? I got a text from Ghost last night that you were staying with him. I hope he wasn’t too hard on you. He’s a good man, but not always the easiest."
I can't quite meet her eyes. He was quite hard, but maybe not how she meant it. Though, from what little I know about Bonnie, maybe it is. "It was fine. We just got back late and I’d had a few drinks so we didn’t want to bother you."
She laughs at that. "Hah, it takes a lot more than a tipsy nanny to bother me. I bet they just wanted to keep you for themselves. You don’t strike me as the four-way on a first-date type, though."
“A what? Four-way?” Holy crap, I’ve been feeling guilty for a few kisses and some touching and she was wondering if I was… “No! Nothing like that. They took me to the Burnout and bought me drinks. That’s it!”
She raises her well styled eyebrows in silence.
“Okay, there was some kissing, but that’s it.”
More silence.
“Honest! I slept at Ghost’s, but I didn’t sleep with Ghost. Not like that.”
Of course, now my mind is spinning ideas about what a foursome might be like even though I can barely imagine what a one-on-one would be like. I've always had an active imagination, though.
Bonnie nods. "I believe you. If you’d said Riot or Tex, I’d be offering to find you a pregnancy test, but Ghost is too responsible for that. I’m mostly surprised he let you stay with him. He’s usually very private."