Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Her words are more upset now than slurred. “It was like that when I found it.” She sinks her head onto her pillow, the weight on her shoulders too much to bear. “Well, I didn’t find it. The maid who cleaned your room did.”
“My room?” I check, certain I heard her wrong.
Through quivering lips, she replies, “I didn’t realize anything was amiss until a loose page slipped out when I was preparing to leave the jet.” She yawns before the alcohol drooping her eyelids shifts her words to whispers. “I was so mad at you that I let Knox off the hook too easily. I want to do this on my own. I deserve for my voice to be heard.”
“Then do that. Fight for this”—I wiggle her songbook in the air—“with that.” I tap it against her slow-rising chest, right where her heart is. “Don’t give them any choice but to listen.”
While clutching her songbook close to her heart, Nicole nods before asking, “Will you help me?”
“Knox—”
For how intoxicated she is, her words come out strong. “Doesn’t get a say on who is a part of my team.” Her blinks slow as her head sinks more deeply on her pillow. “I want you to be a part of this. I want you to be a part of me.” As her words filter into her drunk head, her eyes pop open, glassy and shocked. “A part of us…” When she’s still not convinced she has her statement right, she twists her lips and then tries again. “A part of—”
“How about we discuss it more when your veins aren’t primed with whiskey?”
Needing to leave before I want to pretend the tension burning between us has nothing to do with her intoxication, I brush back the stray strands on her forehead, press my lips to where they lay, then head for the door.
Partway there, Nicole whispers, “Thank you, Laken.”
It is the simplest of praises but the most impactful for me.
I can’t recall the last time someone thanked me, and I’ve done far more for certain people than get them into bed safely after a night of drinking.
When I struggle to find a fitting reply, I spin to face Nicole to issue a response without words. I realize my internal fight was pointless when I spot her in the middle of her bed. She’s out cold, and her pillow isn’t the only thing about to be soaked with drool.
After saving her songbook from near disaster—and spending far too many minutes staring at the perfect details of her unblemished face—I head for the door for the second time in the past ten minutes.
Partway out, I hear whispered voices coming from the living room of the suite. Assuming it’s River seeking where I disappeared to for the umpteenth time the past week, I head in that direction instead of walking deeper down the hallway where the rooms sprout off.
My heart beats at an unusual rhythm when I spot Knox in the entryway.
He isn’t returning to the suite after running an errand.
He’s showing a busty redhead out.
His hand hovering on the small of her back announces this, not to mention the sloppy farewell kiss he plants on her lips a second after opening the door.
What the?
After telling her he’ll be in touch soon, he watches her stalk to the elevator, before removing her lipstick from his face in the entryway mirror. It isn’t solely smeared on his lips, and it has my anger reaching a point where I can’t hold back the groan rumbling up my chest.
“Laken… ah... hey,” he pushes out when he hears my grumble. His eyes dart to the door the redhead just walked through before they return to me. “How long have you been there?”
“Long enough,” I reply, certain if I don’t start matching his lies with some of my own, I’ll never get a truth out of him.
“Fuck.” He rakes his fingers over his scalp before giving me the most pathetic excuse in the book. “It isn’t as it seems.” When I pfft him, he backtracks quicker than I can snap my fingers. “Well, it is. Clearly, you recognize Candy from Ravenshoe. How could any man forget that face? So there’s no use denying what she does for a profession.” He always rambles when nervous, but I don’t call him out on it since it also makes him the most honest. “After a frantic few days, I needed to blow off some steam. I figured since I was too worked up for my usual outlets, I should take it out on someone paid to handle it.” He speaks as if hiring a prostitute is as normal as ordering takeout. “Is everything okay? Is Nicole—”
“She’s sleeping,” I interrupt, hating that he brings her up so soon after walking a sex worker to the door, but also hopeful. Maybe Nicole said what she said because she’s had enough of Knox’s crap. “And most likely going to be hungover in the morning. Have you seen the stuff they’re writing about her online?” When he nods, I breathe out a long, tedious breath. “The comments are brutal. They’re tearing her to shreds.”