Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
I shook my head. I wasn’t going back to organized crime, no matter how perfect a situation he dangled in front of me. “No fucking way. After the shit my dad put me through as a kid, I don’t want—”
“Hear me out.”
The command in his voice nearly had me snapping to attention, but I wasn’t in the marines anymore. I didn’t have to take orders. “Fine.”
Before X had a chance to explain more, the hot server arrived at our table. I definitely wouldn’t mind taking him back to my hotel and fucking him through the mattress.
“Do you need a… um… refill or to see a menu?” I smiled at the way he stumbled over his words. Even when he tried to focus on X, his gaze kept sliding my way. I couldn’t help being intrigued.
I gave him a slow once-over, then met his gaze and smiled. He sucked in his breath, and I wondered if he was going to faint. Yeah. He was interested. Once I was done talking to X, I might see how far he wanted to take it. What would that hurt? Why not let us both have a bright spot in our night? Hopefully, he would have a break coming up.
X and I each took a menu and asked for a refill.
“I’ll be back with those drinks soon.” The server’s tone was breathless.
“I sure hope so. Did you tell me your name?”
“Um… no. I’m… Jacob.”
“Nice to meet you, Jacob. I’m Grant, and this is X.”
He turned to X and looked as though he hadn’t really seen him before, which was interesting. X usually had the attention of everyone in the room and his pick of anyone he wanted to take home.
“X? Your name is just X?” Jacob asked.
X nodded. “That’s right.”
“Okay. Well… I’ll be right back.” He scurried off.
X rolled his eyes. “Are you always that subtle, or was this special for my sake?”
“Jealous?”
“No. I’ve got all I need at home.”
“Then quit bitching about it.”
He narrowed his eyes, studying me. “You’re bolder than you used to be.”
I was meaner and colder and a whole lot of other things—some I was proud of and some I wasn’t. “You don’t have a choice about being bold when you’re commanding a force recon battalion.”
“That I understand. Back to business. For close to a decade, Paradise Ranch functioned as a safehouse for… people whose motives the law wouldn’t understand.”
“Fucking mobsters.”
“And men like those who work for me and occasional freelancers.”
X headed a vigilante organization who dealt with some of the worst of the worst. I wouldn’t mind providing refuge for them, but I wouldn’t piss on the men my father had worked for if they were on fire.
“Last year,” X continued, “the manager decided to retire, and those of us who’d supported the venture needed time to agree on a successor. Most of the stock was sold, but a few horses were left, along with the people needed to care for them. If you take the position, you’ll receive a generous salary and have a large operating budget at your disposal. You can restart the breeding program and do whatever you’d like with that part of the business. The main house will be yours, and you can choose the men who work for you, with my approval, of course. You will also have a say in whether to accept the men who want refuge or not. As you well know, some families are more worthy of assistance than others.”
“That’s for damn sure.” How much say would I really have? And how could I stomach protecting the kind of men who’d ruined my life and the lives of my brothers, yet how could I turn down this opportunity? I wasn’t likely to get another offer anywhere near as good.
X snorted. “You’ll have a lot of independence. I think that would be good for you after the shit you’ve been through.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. In the military, I’d been a leader with plenty of men depending on me. I had some say over how we executed our orders, but the orders themselves weren’t for me to question. I’d thought I could handle that until they told me to leave my men behind, and I disobeyed a direct order. “Yeah. Some autonomy sounds good.”
Jacob returned with our drinks, and I let my gaze linger on his hands as he set X’s pint glass down, then mine. I waited until I knew he was ready to take our orders before looking up at him and smiling.
“Hi.” His voice was barely audible.
“Hi. Thank you.” I kept my voice low and soft.
“You’re… um… you’re welcome.”
He glanced at X, then back at me. “Your food will be out soon.”
“Good. See you later.”
“Oh… yeah. You… you will.”
He scurried off, and X rolled his eyes. “You’ve got him so flustered I doubt he’ll get another drink order right all night.”