Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
I held up both my hands and nodded. “I’m fine.”
“You’re pale, Tink,” he said in a gentle tone. “I’m sorry about the gun.”
I nodded again and took another step away from him. From the door. From all that had just happened. Going back to the living room to finish the movie seemed impossible now. My emotions were all over the place, and I needed to be alone.
“I’m going to bed,” I said simply and left him there, watching me walk away.
One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.
13
Micah
Leaning against the wall outside Dolly’s apartment, I was real fucking glad I’d thrown out all my emergency cigarettes. My five months without one would have come to a screeching halt. Lifting the bottle of Jack to my lips, I took a long pull and let the warmth heat up my throat. It did little to ease the anger rolling through me. Canyon Acree had always been a bastard, but tonight, he’d been real damn convincing.
The gun was my fault though. I’d scared the shit out of her. The urge to go after her when she walked away had been hard to fight. I didn’t trust what I’d do if I got my hands on her again. The terror in her eyes should have never been put there. Canyon should have stayed the fuck away. Pepper was right. There was a chance that bastard had developed some feelings for Dolly. Not that it mattered.
I was here to protect her and get back what had been taken from me. This shit show hadn’t been anticipated though. If Canyon was going to be persistent with Dolly, things could get worse. I hadn’t expected his play tonight. Pulling out my fucking gun in front of her was something I didn’t think I could do again. The look on her angelic face was seared into my brain. It had fucking hurt my chest. What was up with that bullshit?
The footsteps on the stairs were heavy, and I straightened, waiting for Brick, who I had called to come take my place. I needed to go prepare for Canyon’s next moves and make sure Dolly was safe from coming in contact with him again. Not to mention, I needed to get some distance from her. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to go back in there and wrap her up in my arms, assure her that she was safe, and fuck the hell out of her. Things that would not happen. Which was why I had to leave.
When Brick made it to the top step, his eyes locked on me. “She kick you out?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. I needed to cool off. She’s gone to bed.”
Brick glanced around the place. “Not the best part of town.”
“I know,” I grunted, not wanting to think about that. I couldn’t save Dolly from everything, and I didn’t want the job. But, dammit, someone needed to. “Not sure if he’s stupid enough to come back here, but the way he was begging her to believe his lies, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Brick nodded. “I’ll handle him if he does.”
Running my hand through my hair, I looked back at her door. “She’s naive,” I told him. “Sweet as sugar, but she’s…slow,” I explained. I hated saying it.
When she had been younger, it had been obvious she wasn’t that sharp. But now, sometimes, when she looked me in the eye, I saw something there that I hadn’t years ago. She didn’t seem that slow anymore, and maybe I was off about that. Regardless, she was too gullible.
“Slow?” he asked as his brows drew together.
I nodded. “Yeah. She thinks he loves her. She clearly hasn’t had much experience in the matters of men.”
Brick looked as if he found that hard to believe. “That doesn’t make her slow. It makes her female, and we both know females are a helluva lot sharper than we are. They sit on a pot of gold, and they know it.”
I smirked and shook my head. “Not all women.”
He tilted his head and grinned. “You sure about that?”
I wasn’t going to stand here and argue about the intelligence of men and women. “I need to go. Stay outside the apartment so you don’t scare her and don’t kill anyone. Call me if Acree shows back up.”
“I got this. You can go on,” he assured me.
I handed him the bottle of whiskey. “Here. Just don’t get shit-faced.”
He took the bottle. “Not enough in here to do the job.”
I glanced over at the kid’s apartment door. I’d promised him a Nintendo Switch if he left us alone tonight. It had worked brilliantly, but my night had gone to shit. I’d been looking forward to a movie with Dolly. I wasn’t digging into that too deeply. I also wasn’t going to think about the fact I’d kissed her hand. If Canyon hadn’t shown up, I wasn’t sure what else I’d have kissed.