Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
He smirks, leaning even closer. My hands are shaking. In the periphery of my vision, I notice people from the other tables watching, getting ready to react.
“Or is there something else going on, something more … immoral? It would make sense, considering your job and the general lack of values.”
“You keep her fucking name out of your mouth,” I say, stepping even closer, emphasizing the difference in our height. Not that it means much when he’s got at least a dozen of his buddies in here.
“You seem to have very strong opinions about that,” he says gleefully. “Just remember, I can visit her any damn time I want.”
“If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’ll put you in the fucking ground.”
His eyes pop open almost in a comic-book way. He looks absurd, almost. It’s clear nobody ever speaks to him like that. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
“You might think you know everything about me,” I growl, “but you haven’t done enough research. Leave. Her. Alone.”
I push past him, my shoulder barging into him. He feels weak and light as he falls to the side, but he feels the need to play the tough guy. “Maybe I’ll pay my not-so-little lady a visit tonight!” He shouts this loudly enough for some of his men to hear, and they laugh like hyenas.
I spin on the spot, staring at him, my hand twitching, ready. He cocks his head and brings his hand to his hip. “Are you really that fucking stupid?” he yells. “Get back to your office, lawyer man.”
More laughter, even if that is the shittiest insult I’ve ever heard. I’m ready to shoot him for what he did to Lily and his comments about her. Then his men stand up from the tables, some of them producing guns in such a casual way. I know this is business as usual for them. As they aim at me, they look almost bored, dead behind the eyes.
With no other choice, I leave the bar, waiting for the wave of fear, but it doesn’t come. I feel the most alert I have in years, the most carefree, almost. It’s like a weight has been lifted. After all this time, I’ve finally done something good again, but the feeling doesn’t last long.
When I return to my car, I replay what that bastard said about visiting Lily. What if he wasn’t bluffing? What if he hurts her tonight as retaliation? My reaction probably told him all he needed to know about how I feel for her, not that I even know exactly how I feel. There’s just something, which is more than I can usually say.
But what if I can’t keep her safe?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LILY
“You don’t need to keep watch,” I tell Mom, leaning against the kitchen wall and watching her with a lump in my throat.
She’s got her back to me, leaning against the kitchen counter. She explains she is doing the dishes, but they’re almost dry now, and she’s still standing there.
“What if he comes back?” she says without facing me.
I wrap my arms around myself, wishing it was my knight in shining armor instead. I don’t even care how corny that is when I say it out loud. I can’t deny it’s what I want—him holding me. It would make the fear so much easier to bear.
“He won’t,” I tell Mom. “I’m doing what he told me to do. Carter won’t even let me work on that case, anyway.”
I can’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. I get his point about more people always needing help, but that doesn’t mean I have to be okay with it. I wish I could do something.
“There’s nothing wrong with standing in my own kitchen.”
“It reminds me of when you started to get clean. You’d stand at the window and wait for Dad to come home. Do you remember?”
Finally, she turns to me, her eyes glistening as though she’s on the verge of crying. Or she has been, and now she’s getting herself under control. “I had to be sure … just like I have to be sure now.”
“Nobody’s coming, Mom,” I say. “I promise, okay? Just come here.”
I open my arms, offering a hug. She walks toward me reluctantly and lets me bring her into my arms. I cling to her, feeling like the mom, which isn’t unusual for us. I had to grow up fast. I had to help where I could, how I could.
“I know you must hate letting the case go,” she says, “but your boss is right. It’s the best thing to do. You can’t stop every bad thing from happening.”
“I know, Mom,” I say, but there’s that same bitterness. “I’ll let it go, but you have to let this go, okay? You know how to fixate on stuff.”
“You’re one to talk,” she says teasingly.