Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
Her eyebrows rise with interest. “And who is Killian?”
I sigh, a faint smile claiming my lips. “I’ll tell you later.” I grab the dish off the counter and bend to put it down for Toast. “Come here, baby. Time for breakfast.”
Toast prances over with absolutely no sense of urgency. She brushes up against my leg on the way to the dish, so I lean down to give her a stroke.
I hate leaving her again. I’ll be gone for most of the day, and I had planned to wake up early so I could spend a little time with her first.
Stacie walks over to the table and comes back with a car key, but I frown when I see it because… that’s not my car key.
It’s Killian’s.
“Um… this is the key he gave you?”
“Is it not your key?”
“It’s not,” I confirm.
That means my car is probably still parked over by the frat house.
I guess it also means Killian knows I stole his car and he isn’t mad about it, so at least that’s good.
“All right, I’ll deal with that later. I’m going to have to drive this to work.”
I hurry back to the bedroom to get dressed. Once I’ve pulled on clothes, I quickly consult my iPad to see if my phone is still showing up.
It is. Still at the frat house.
If I didn’t have to work, I’d try to get it back, but I don’t have the time.
I barely take the time to pull my hair back into a ponytail and grab my purse. Thankfully, since I changed into a smaller, lightweight purse for the party last night, the one I usually carry has my ID and credit cards in it.
As if I don’t have enough problems right now, my stomach growls, reminding me I didn’t have breakfast. I grab a banana and a granola bar on the way out the door, but I’ll have to save one for lunch, so I expect to be hungry most of the day.
It feels weird to be getting into Killian’s higher end car instead of my own.
After settling my refillable water bottle in the cupholder, I drop my purse in the passenger seat, and when I do, I notice a phone on the seat with a scrap of paper tucked beneath it. I frown, grabbing the phone and waking up the screen.
It’s not my phone, but it’s a phone.
The paper underneath is long and skinny like a receipt. I turn it over and see it is a receipt from Canada Goose. I guess Hampton’s Bateman didn’t have any notebook paper on him, so he used what he had. The note reads:
Brynn,
Kill said to keep the car for the day.
He didn’t want you to be without a phone, so you can use this burner.
Try to stay out of trouble, but his phone number and mine are saved in the event that you need us.
I don’t have time for this, but I’m too curious, so I open the phone and check out the contacts.
There are two numbers.
One says Killian, so I know which is which.
The other says Ripley.
I tap Killian’s name and send him a message that just says, “Thank you,” then I pull onto the road and head for work.
Chapter Twelve
Brynn
Donna wasn’t lying; work is slammed.
I’ve barely had time to breathe, let alone check my phone. When my shift is over, I step outside the restaurant and mildly panic when I don’t see my car anywhere, but then I remember I drove Killian’s car.
Then I remember I texted him hours ago and never looked at my phone again, so I dig it out of my purse on the way to his car.
I see his latest text, but given it’s overlapping notifications, I take it there’s more than one.
“I see how it is. You steal my car and then ignore me.”
I crack a smile as I slide into the driver’s side seat. “Sorry, I was at work. I do a breakfast hostessing shift every Sunday morning. I was late today. Fell asleep with my cat and forgot to set my alarm.”
“You ditched me for a cat,” he answers a few seconds later.
“Well, a cat and an iPad alarm, but I forgot to set that.”
“What are you doing now?”
“Fighting the urge to nap,” I text back. “I’m about to have a snack and do some studying before my next shift.”
“Your next shift?”
“I work a dinner shift today as well. Waitressing at an Italian place that has very good pizza. The tips are just okay, but at least I get some cash to tide me over until payday. Sundays are hell, I work all day, then I also have to squeeze in studying between shifts, so… yeah. Hell, lol.”
“Sounds hellish indeed. Do you have an early class tomorrow?”
“No, I take it easy on myself on Mondays since I’m recovering from Sunday and I have a lot of studying to do for Tuesday. I have a class from 10:30 to 11:45, but that’s it for my Monday. What about you?”