Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“Zack, I’m so sorry you had to hear that,” I huff.
Zack doesn’t respond. He just tilts his head again, listening. Finally, he goes on, “Here’s the deal, Jamie. I’m going to give you an address. Tomorrow, you’ll go there, pick up a package, and take it to another address. Nice and easy, and, if you’re lucky, I might even pay you.”
I laugh humorlessly. “I’m not a drug mule. No.”
“If you don’t…”
“I know. You’ll hurt Kyle and Kylie, but we had our deal. I kept up my end. I refuse to move drugs around the city for you.”
Zack flinches. With a sigh, I slowly reach over.
“Don’t move, Zack,” I tell him softly.
He lets me take the earpiece from him, his face draining of color. I put the earpiece in, hearing the ranting voice, the guttural tones.
“Tell him I’ll fucking end his fucking—”
“Stop.”
He trails off with a shaky laugh. “I was enjoying our game.”
“We had a deal. If you keep messing with me, it’s off. Everybody will know the truth.”
The man grunts. I know his voice. I wish I didn’t.
“This isn’t over.”
The call ends.
Zack holds his hand out, shaking slightly. “Can I have that back, sir?”
I take out the earpiece, study it, and flick the off switch. Hopefully, that means he isn’t listening anymore.
“You must’ve had a tough life to end up here and be involved in this,” I say. “I know it can’t have been easy, but I meant what I said. There’s a way out of this.”
“Please, sir,” Zack says.
“You don’t have to.”
“He’s my dad!” Zack yells. “I’m not on your side, okay? I’m on his. So give it to me.”
He grabs my hand and tries to snatch it away. If I hold on, we’ll end up breaking it. Then what will happen to him? I’m so sick of feeling powerless. I need a plan. I need to end this. He takes the earpiece and stands up, holding his skateboard almost defensively.
“You should do what he says,” Zack mutters. “It’ll be easier.”
He talks like he’s so much older than nine, but too much experience will do that to a kid.
“Wait a sec.” I grab a napkin, take a pen from my pocket, and scribble down my number. “Call this number if you ever need me, day or night.”
“Why?” Zack asks.
His tone threatens to break my heart. He genuinely can’t imagine why anybody would ever do something for him without expecting something in return.
“Because you deserve better than this,” I tell him.
He takes the napkin, then skates away, not caring we’re indoors.
I watch him go, a pit in my stomach, and then take out my cell phone. I call Kylie. She isn’t going to like this, but she needs to take a trip. Now.
CHAPTER TEN
Lucy
I don’t understand any of this. Why would Jamie meet a little kid in a diner in the middle of nowhere? And why were things getting so tense?
I sit across the street, knowing Jamie would do nothing bad. Well, except for murder. Yet the man I kissed this morning, the man I was intimate with last night, I know he’s a good person.
I didn’t recognize the boy, and I didn’t know who Jamie was talking to on the phone, waving his hand as if angry. I watch as Jamie walks out of the diner and approaches his car. He steps back, hands on his hips, studying the car and looking up and down the street. He walks around and looks at the other side.
That’s when I spot it—the deflated tire. I guess the kid did it when he left, but I was too focused on Jamie to notice. Jamie grunts and kicks the tire, shaking his head. Then he sits on the hood, running a hand through his hair.
My maternal instinct flares awake. He deserves so much better than this—a grimy meeting on the outskirts of the city and a beat-up old car. I know he’s capable of so much more if only he could find the right woman to support him, but he owes me answers, or he gets nothing.
This is probably not a bright idea, but screw it. Climbing from my car, I walk across the street, stopping in front of Jamie. He looks up slowly, his blue eyes refocusing. His initial response is to smile. That makes me so freaking happy I could scream, even if it shouldn’t.
“You followed me,” he says a moment later, his smile fading as he stands up from the hood.
“I saw the notification on your phone last night,” I say. “I wanted to know what was going on. After what I saw, I’ve got questions.”
He groans and runs a hand through his hair again. His body seems even more tense than it did last night. It’s like he’s on the verge of erupting every single moment.
“I wish I could give you answers.”