Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Someone’s here to get you out, Vin,” the cop said as he unlocked the cell.
I watched as the asshole looked at me.
“About time,” he said, standing up. “Who are you?”
“A friend of your daughter’s.”
His gaze narrowed. “Where is she at? Sending some man to come get me. Mean little fucker, that one.”
Okay, so Royal might be a lot of things that were questionable, but this was her father. He felt it was okay to call his daughter a fucker. I tensed, ready to knock him back down with my fist.
“You can’t be talking about Royal. Maybe I got the wrong guy. Because the woman I am referring to is at home, taking care of your mother.”
His eyes widened slightly as I took a step toward him, not trying to hide the disgust or anger in my tone or expression.
“You got the right guy. I didn’t mean nothing by it. Just joking a bit. Course she’s taking care of her Grams. She’s a good girl.” Unlike his daughter, he was a terrible fucking liar.
“Come on, before I change my mind,” I told him, then turned to stalk back out the way I had entered.
“Who are you?” he asked. “Did you pay for this? ’Cause we ain’t got the money to pay you back. She didn’t promise you we would, did she?”
I hadn’t paid shit. He was here because of a call my father had made.
“Why don’t you shut up, Vin, before you are back in there and I have to listen to you bitch all night?” the cop snarled at him.
I didn’t look at him until we reached the exit, and then I shoved open the door and turned to him.
“No one owes me anything,” I told him.
He nodded and studied me before walking out past me out the door. “You a friend of Merce then?”
I shook my head. “I’m a friend of Royal’s.”
The truck pulled up, and I walked over and jerked the door open.
“Get inside,” I told him.
“Who is that?” he asked, his eyes shifting from Wells to me.
“A friend. He’s taking you home. Now, get in the goddamn truck,” I ordered.
He climbed inside. “Ain’t no need to be rude. I can walk back, you know.”
But he wasn’t walking. He was getting inside.
I slammed the door, then headed for my car. Tomorrow night’s date had to be planned, and it needed to be one she couldn’t stop thinking about. I had an idea, but I should run it by a woman. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dialed Storm’s number.
“Yeah?” he barked into the phone.
“I need Briar’s help.”
“With what?” The possessive tone was amusing.
“Planning my date.”
“With the Shelton girl?”
“Yep.”
He groaned. “Fine. Come to the house.”
“On my way,” I replied, then hung up.
I’d probably just interrupted some kinky-sex shit they were doing, but he had about thirty minutes before I got there. They could wrap it up.
• Eleven •
He was going to see soon enough that I was a hassle.
Royal
Dad’s barreling into the house last night had surprised me only for a moment. Honestly, I should have expected it. Amory was the one to fix everything else yesterday. He had been thorough.
Grams had been in bed already, so she’d missed his cussing and accusing me of spreading my legs like a whore to get him out of jail. I took it, knowing he’d calm down soon and go to bed. When he stopped with the threatening to kick me out—because we both knew that he’d never do that, that he needed me here—I was free to go back to the bedroom I shared with Grams and send Amory a text, promising I’d pay him back as soon as I could.
He said that if I tried, he’d use the money to have groceries delivered weekly until it was gone. I wanted to argue, but I was too tired, and for once, I could close my eyes without worrying about the bar calling me to get Dad or how we were going to afford groceries after I paid the bills and got Grams’s medication.
Merce had claimed to love me, but not once had he done anything close to even one of the things Amory had done for me yesterday. It was as if someone had dropped a fairy godmother on me, but they’d made it a hot, sexy male.
I had taken the time to go to campus today to deliver the papers I had, but I wasn’t ready to face a class just yet. I was still waiting to see if Amory had really stopped Professor Brereton from turning me in.
My Vespa was running smoother than ever, even when I’d bought it. The slight pull to the right in the steering was gone, the jerk when I sped up after stopping was no longer there, and the wheels made the road smoother. What all he had done to it, I didn’t know, but it wasn’t just new tires.