Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
I want that.
I wish I had people in my life that would die for me.
“Dax did a good job at covering his tracks, but nobody is untraceable,” I respond to Alarick, crossing my arms as a cold breeze whispers past me.
“You’re fuckin’ right about that. We’ll find him, and when we do ...”
“When we do, we’re going to be smart about it,” I cut him off. “I know what you’d like to do to him, Alarick, believe me I do, but the cops are involved now, and Kendric’s fate hangs in the balance. One wrong move and he’s going away for a long time. If we’re to clear his name, we need to make sure we do this right.”
Alarick glances at me, the big burly man that often scares me. “Why are you still helpin’ us, Zariah? You’re riskin’ your own job now.”
“I’m helping you because it’s my fault Kendric is in there. I could have done something and I chose not to to protect my job. The very least I can do is make sure he walks away from this.”
“You could still lose your job, your career.”
“Yeah,” I say, carefully. “Yeah I could, but I also know I can’t carry on if he’s behind bars for life when I know damn well he’s innocent.”
“You’re a good person,” Alarick points out, matter of factly. “Don’t come across a great lot of those anymore, but you’re one of them. Hang onto that, the world is a fuckin’ ugly place, and we could use as much good as we can get.”
Well, if that ain’t the truth.
We go through the prison, and once we’re cleared, we are sent into a private room where we wait for Kendric to be brought in. A few moments later, he comes in wearing a pair of dark green prison pants and a white shirt. His hair is scruffy, and his eyes are tired, but even through all of that, he’s gorgeous. Breathtakingly beautiful in a way that makes my heart feel a certain kind of way.
He has this black hair so dark it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It curls at the ends, and with his olive skin and grey eyes, it makes his features pop. He’s dark and dangerous, broody and unkempt. His body is large, covered in tattoos and scars that tell of the life he’s lived. Edgy, that’s how I’d describe him if I had to sum it up in one word.
Kendric is edgy as hell.
“What is she doin’ here?” he growls, his voice low and thick.
Alarick watches the guard who tells us we have ten minutes before leaving the room. He locks the door and we’re stuck in here with Kendric who, at this stage, hasn’t been formally charged with anything so can’t be kept away from us. If he’s charged with murder, on the other hand, that’ll be a different scenario.
“She’s here because she’s tryin’ to help, Kendric. You gotta know she isn’t at fault for what went down that night.”
“She fuckin’ put those cuffs on me and watched as they arrested me, knowin’ all along I had nothin’ to do with it. Could have spoken up, could have changed how this is goin’ for me. She’s dirty, and she’s a fuckin’ traitor. I don’t trust her.”
“Funny,” Alarick growls. “Had no problem trustin’ her before.”
Kendric’s eyes hold Alarick’s in a glare that makes the room feel a few degrees colder suddenly. I take a deep, shaky breath and decide to speak. Kendric hates me, and right now there is nothing I can do about that, but one thing is for certain, I’m going to make sure he gets out of here.
“I’m going to get you out of here, Kendric. You can think what you want about me, but I’ll prove that I’m not any of those things when you’re set free. You don’t have to trust me, but you have to know that I’m working on this case as hard as I can.”
Kendric looks at me finally. Days I’ve been trying to talk to him with no luck but today he finally makes eye contact. The look he gives me has my skin prickling. “I don’t like you, Zariah. I don’t fuckin’ trust you. I don’t want you anywhere near this case. Do you fuckin’ understand me? You are a cop, and cops are fuckin’ dirty.”
“She’s not, you know she’s not,” Alarick growls.
Kendric looks back to him. “You really goin’ to let a cop keep fuckin’ us, brother? You know we’re skatin’ on thin ice right now. One wrong move and the cops are goin’ to take down the fuckin’ club. They’ve got their eyes all over it. You gotta know that.”
“What I know is that we’re keepin’ our noses clean. You don’t need to worry about how I fuckin’ run my club, you need to worry about how the fuck you’re goin’ to clear your name. We need her help to do that, and you fuckin’ know it.”