Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Armand Deviau.
I shot up straight, my eyes widening at my shocking discovery. Deviau was a known criminal in the city, running drugs and various other criminal enterprises. He was highly connected and hadn’t ever been arrested before. There was one time he was almost apprehended by some woman’s four bodyguards, but he ended up getting away.
I couldn’t believe he was funding Michael!
I kept looking through the list and found the names of a few other shady people, even a few I had personally worked with in the past. Shame started to flood my mind, but I focused on the task at hand, needing this information to get out to someone who had the authority to enforce punishment on Michael. That just left the police.
I worked on an anonymous online report detailing what I found, hoping that the cop who read over this wasn’t as corrupt as the rest. Bad money was funding Michael’s campaign, and he needed to be shut down quickly before he ripped this city to shreds, starting with me, the guys, and Madison.
I shut off my laptop once I submitted the report and headed into the kitchen to see the guys hovering around Madison and the kitchen counter, trying to take over simple duties for her. Gradually, the tension in my shoulders faded, and I get swept up in the warm, light-hearted atmosphere that filled the kitchen.
I could stay there forever, laughing and joking like all was right in the world. Like danger didn’t possibly lurk just outside. This was the kind of life I had always wanted to live.
“You’ve already measured out all the ingredients. We can mix everything together,” Bryce assured her as he took the whisk from her and pecked her on the lips.
Madison smiled in an amused manner and leaned back against Marcus, who wrapped his arms around her waist.
“You’re making a mess,” Ti chastised Bryce as he stirred together the dry ingredients, flour littering the kitchen counter.
“I’d like to see you do better,” Bryce scoffed.
“Give it to me,” Taj said, taking the whisk and the bowl. He held the bowl against his side and whisked far more efficiently than Bryce, who had flour all down the front of his black shirt.
I smiled a little as I shuffled closer to Marlo, who was laughing as he watched the scene.
“Deviau is funding Michael’s campaign,” I murmured to him, not wanting to take anyone else away from the moment. I needed Marlo to know so that we could decide next steps.
“Are you serious?” Marlo asked.
I nodded with a grave look on my face. I should’ve known this campaign was even dirtier than I initially thought, but Michael kept proving that he was the worst son of a bitch I had ever come across.
“I submitted an anonymous report to the police. Hopefully, they’ll do something,” I muttered, not having as much faith as I should’ve been able to.
Marlo scoffed a little.
“Yeah, we’ll see how many cops are on his payroll,” he replied.
“Everything okay?” Madison asked as she looked over at us.
Marlo grinned and nodded.
“We were thinking about picking up Chloe and meeting you guys at the park. We could make it a surprise party for her,” he suggested.
Madison gasped and nodded as she clasped her hands together.
“Would you? She’d love that!” she said.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Marlo replied as he walked over to her, placing his hand on the small of her back as he leaned in to press a brief kiss to her lips. “We should head out soon anyway to get in line.”
Since it was Chloe’s birthday, I kept my mouth shut about what I found. Tomorrow, we could break the news instead of ruining the birthday magic today. I pecked Madison on the cheek and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze before following Marlo out to his black SUV.
“What do we do if the police ignore my report? I’m only going to give them a few days,” I asked him once we pulled out of the driveway.
“I’ll think of something. We need to get Michael arrested, even if we need to get pushy,” Marlo replied with slightly narrowed eyes. He then released a slow breath. “I want this to be over with. All I want to worry about is making sure Madison is getting enough rest and Chloe is doing good in school.”
“Sounding like a true dad,” I said with a small grin.
Marlo glanced over at me, visibly relaxing.
“Don’t you feel the same way?” he asked.
I didn’t even have to think about my answer. From the first day I saw Madison, I knew that I wanted a woman like her in my life. She was so bright and hopeful, and that made me feel more optimistic about my own life.
“Of course. I think we all do,” I replied.
Marlo smiled a little and nodded.
“Good,” he said.