Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
“So? What do you think about me moving here?” Rhodes asked.
Happiness filled her. She leaned into him, hugging him tight. “I’m so relieved. Thank you.”
“You never have to thank me for wanting to be near you. I love you.”
The doorbell rang, and Ethan got up again.
“I love you too,” she told him.
Leaning back, Rhodes smiled down at her. “Being with Ethan has been good for you, hasn’t it? You never would have told me you loved me before. Or hugged me like this.”
“I’m sorry.” She bit her lip.
“No. There’s no need to be sorry. I’m glad you’re so happy with him.”
“I really am. I love him so much. I never thought I’d have this. Me. Weirdo Cate.”
“Cate,” Rhodes growled.
But before he could scold her, Ink walked into the room with Ethan.
“Ink. Hey.” Rhodes got up to shake his hand.
Ink looked shocked to see him. “Rhodes? What are you doing here?”
“I’m visiting. What’s wrong? You look like you’re in shock.”
Ink ran his hand over his face. “Actually, it’s good you’re here. And maybe I am shock.”
They all sat back down.
“Ethan, you know how you asked Brody to look into Cate and Rhodes’ aunt and uncle, as well as their cousin, James?”
“You did what?” Rhodes asked, rising onto his feet to glare down at Ethan. “Cate? Did you know about this?”
“No. Ethan, why would you do that?”
“Because those assholes deserve to be punished for what they did to you as a child,” Ethan replied with a scowl. “They don’t get to live like nothing has happened. So I had Brody researching them to see if there’s anything dirty on them. Something I could use to make their lives miserable. But he was having trouble finding anything.”
“Those assholes have everyone fooled in that town they live in,” Rhodes said. “They go to church regularly. Give to charities. Volunteer. People think they are angels. Even James.”
“Well, he finally found something,” Ink said. “Your aunt and uncle were stealing money from the church and its parishioners.”
Cate slumped against the sofa. “Really?”
“Yeah. They were arrested this morning. At church. Apparently, the whole town is talking about it.”
“Brody sent the information he found to the cops?” Ethan asked with a frown. “Without telling me first?”
“Brody said it wasn’t him. He only discovered this information yesterday. However, he did tell someone.”
“Fuck,” Ethan said. “He told him?”
“Who?” Rhodes asked.
“Uh, his boyfriend,” Ink said.
“Fred?” Cate asked.
“Fred,” Ink said grimly.
“Are you saying Fred did this?” Ethan asked. He jumped to his feet and started pacing. “But that’s not his style. He’s usually more, um, direct in his approach.”
What did that mean? Confused, she looked over at Rhodes, who just shrugged.
“Well, it does have some poetic justice,” Ink said. “They’ve lost their standing with the church and the town. And they’re looking at a lot of jail time. They’ll be miserable for years.”
“I’m happy with that,” Rhodes said darkly. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to hire someone to look into them. I should have done that years ago.”
“In fairness, it wasn’t easy,” Ink said. “Brody is good at what he does, but I think he had some extra help. He won’t tell me, though.”
Ink didn’t look happy about that.
“There’s still the cousin, though,” Ethan said. “James.”
After telling Zippy about the scar on her lip, she’d decided to tell Ethan what happened. To say he’d been furious was an understatement.
“No, there’s not.” Ink shook his head. “Apparently, he was the mastermind. He tried to skip town, but a few hours later turned himself in. Said some crazy man was hiding in his car and threatened to disembowel him.”
Holy. Moly.
Rhodes took her hand in his. “They’ve all been arrested.”
Only Rhodes could know what this truly meant to her. To know that they were no longer living happy and free.
It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“Yep,” Ink replied, taking a seat in an armchair.
“I’m both pissed and happy at the same time,” Ethan said. “I wanted to be the one to take them down. But ultimately, all that matters is that they’re fucking miserable.”
“You didn’t tell me that you asked Brody to do that,” Cate said to him.
“Or me,” Rhodes said.
Ethan walked over and crouched in front of Cate. “Are you mad at me, baby? I just couldn’t live knowing they weren’t going to pay. And I didn’t want to make you an accomplice in case we had to . . . embellish things.”
“I understand. I don’t like you keeping things from me, though.”
“I know. I just wanted you to be safe. I would have told you eventually.”
“I guess I understand. I just can’t believe they’ve finally been dealt with. If feels surreal.”
“I have to go.” Ink stood. “But I’ll keep you guys updated if anything changes.”
Rhodes got up. “I’ll walk out to the car with you.”
They stepped out the front door and Ethan stood and pulled her up. Then he sat with her on his lap.