Total pages in book: 217
Estimated words: 207224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1036(@200wpm)___ 829(@250wpm)___ 691(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 207224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1036(@200wpm)___ 829(@250wpm)___ 691(@300wpm)
“Oh God,” I whisper, pushing my back into the seat, trying to escape it. “Even the rings sound angry.” I gingerly pick it up, cringing as I answer. I don’t even have the opportunity to talk before he’s yelling down the line at me.
“Where the fuck are you?”
I look across to Beau, whose cell is flashing in her hand. James. “Track Beau’s phone,” I say, hanging up and then texting him a million apologies and kisses. This is both our faults. Mine and Danny’s. I shouldn’t have eavesdropped. Beau wouldn’t have heard, and I wouldn’t currently be riding shotgun on a vigilante hunt for Danny’s and Beau’s dad’s ex-lover. My lip curls just thinking about her. Granted, Beau’s got more to hate, but . . . ughhhh I hate her. “Answer,” I say to Beau, seeing she’s thinking twice about it. “You can’t avoid him forever, Beau.”
“We made love this morning.” She looks at me. “I’m not avoiding him.” She answers and drops her phone into her lap, and her shoulders lift, defying her stone façade. “Amber knows something about The Bear,” she says with a strong voice.
“How do you know that?” James asks, sounding cooler than I expected.
“I heard Danny in the office.”
I silently thank her for not dropping me in the shit as my phone rings again. I reject the call and text him.
We’re okay.
His reply is quick.
You won’t be.
I reach for my forehead and rub away the wrinkles. I’m in now. And I’m not leaving Beau, so we will face their wrath together.
“Where are you going, Beau?” James asks.
“To find Amber. As always, if you’d just let me in where you feel I don’t belong, we might be out of this mess a lot faster.” She hangs up and takes the wheel with both hands, dipping and looking up to an apartment block in the distance.
She looks so determined.
And my nerves go through the roof.
The silence is screaming by the time we pull into the parking garage. I have a dozen missed calls from Danny and as many texts, all quite angry, which means I’m definitely not answering his calls. Beau’s cell, however, hasn’t rung once. Beeped once. Lit up once. James will be tracking her. My husband knows that. He just wants me to know how pissed off he is.
Someone needs to tell him I know. I really, really know.
Beau parks and we both get out. She wanders around the back of the car and opens the trunk, pulling up the lining, revealing a pistol and a vest. Beau takes the pistol and hands over the vest, her jaw tight, waiting for me to argue. I don’t. I can’t. I accept and slip it on. “I left my purse on the stool.” Why would I be so stupid? Remember my phone but forget my gun?
“Here.” She pulls hers from the back of her jeans and hands it over. “Be careful.”
I look down at my hand holding the pistol, not knowing what to do with it, I have no purse. So I tuck it into the back of my pants as we wander to the elevators on the other side of the garage. There are three. Two serve all floors. One serves only the penthouse. I look at the keypad and then to Beau as she goes to a door to the stairwell and tugs. It doesn’t budge. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking the stairs would be painful anyway.” She steps toward the elevator and punches in six digits into the panel. A red light flashes and Beau curses. “I thought it would be his birthday.” She punches in six more. Another flashing red light. “Damn it.” She proceeds to enter various combinations, and all refuse her entry.
“Beau, you don’t even know if your dad bought this place.” We could be trying to break into a perfect stranger’s home.
Her shoulders drop and she exhales, turning to head back to the car. Thank God. She’s seen sense. But she stops and stills for a moment before looking at it again. “What?” I ask, my eyes batting back and forth between Beau and the keypad. “What is it?”
She approaches and bends, looking at it from every angle before getting her phone out and shining the torch on the shiny metal buttons. “I don’t believe it.” She stands and stares, so hard she might burn a hole through the metal plate. I don’t ask what she doesn’t believe because I know I won’t get an answer, so I wait for her to make her move. Reaching forward, she slowly pushes one button after the other.
A green light blinks and the elevator starts moving. “Oh my God,” I blurt, jumping when Beau releases the safety on her gun. “Oh my God, Beau!” My hands find my head and she moves to the side of the elevator, looking at me like I should do the same, so I do, my heart racing. The doors slide open, and Beau checks if it’s empty.