Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Dev brought the dog to his face and growled back. Cash couldn’t help his bark of laughter as the dog tried to retreat. Her little legs scampered against the air.
“How did it go?” Cash asked.
Dev had become the most attentive of men, reaching for Cash with a kiss. It was tender and loving, and as long as it continued this way, there was no better partner than his tamed Devilman. “Your Mom’s on the phone?”
“Yeah. She’s excited to know the girls.”
Dev barely listened as he handed over the dog who seemed relieved to be in Cash’s arms based on the pants and easing heart rate. The tender caress of Dev’s hand coasted around his back and rested on his hip, urging Cash back down the hall.
“How are you?” Cash tried again, quieter this time.
“Perfect,” Dev said in just above a whisper, walking forward toward the living room. “You get any backlash?”
“No… Joe didn’t call either. What happened?” Cash asked, his steps getting smaller, wanting to have this conversation away from the girls and his parents. He placed the dog on the floor as the familiar stutter in his chest happened. The same one that Dev evoked anytime he was required to stay between the lines but veered off the path.
Cash had opted to be here with the girls, provide their protection himself, while every other agent and undercover operative focused on Dev’s final directive. Dev had promised to stay on script.
“I went off script,” Dev whispered, keeping the forward movement toward the living room, winking at Cash who stopped in his tracks. “Oh, come on. Those guys were never gonna believe that bullshit y’all tried to feed them. I bullet-pointed the truth then took off. It’s cool.”
Thought became nothing more than shooting stars and vivid color. His head may have finally exploded.
They’d been home free. Why go off script? Cash’s hand covered his face. Why hadn’t Joe called and warned him?
“What did you say?” Cash asked, refusing to move as visions of himself locked back into an unwanted job careened through his mind.
“It’s not that big a deal. I told ’em my old man played ’em in the end so they didn’t go half-cocked with retribution and start some sort of turf war.” Dev nodded toward the living room. “Come on. I wanna say hey to your parents. I want ’em to like me.”
“Dev…” Cash said, the ache in his shoulders and neck were back, and he twisted his head, trying to relieve the instant tension.
Dev snapped his fingers and pointed at Cash, keeping that absurdly happy look as his thoughts visibly shifted.
“I saw the offer on my apartment building. I accepted it. Did you see?” Dev asked, backtracking toward Cash to grasp his hand, tugging him into moving down the hall. “I don’t know how you got the government to buy the place but really cool job.”
Cash only stared at Dev, refusing to budge from his spot.
The man had better not have sucked Cash back into the case any longer than he planned to be there. He was about to say those very words when Dev’s hand came out, covering Cash’s lips.
“We’re good. It ended well. They gave me their own version of a send-off. I promised you I’d wear a dome, but I didn’t until I got around the corner. I will in the future. I promise. But it’s done. We’re through. Let’s go see your parents.” Dev nodded again toward the living room. The words spoken meant many things, but he couldn’t shed the low-level anxiety until he spoke to Joe and found out the repercussions, if any.
“I need to get my phone,” Cash said.
“No way. Come on.” Dev used a large amount of force to tug him toward the living room. They were barely inside before the dog yapped, and Mae glanced over her shoulder, spotting her father. She jumped up.
“Daddy. My daddy’s here,” Mae called out cheerfully and ran to him. Dev caught her when she jumped and hoisted her up in his arms. Her legs immediately stiffened to be put back down on her feet. “We’re talking to Nonnie and Pop-pop.”
“Y’all picked grandparent names for ’em?” Dev asked, lifting a brow toward Cash as he dropped to the floor beside Abi, waving hello to Cash’s parents.
“I named them,” Abi said proudly as Mae settled in Dev’s lap.
“Are you sure you can’t come here for Christmas?” Dev asked.
“We can’t. We have a special service planned,” she explained. “But we’ll come as soon as we can. Right, Daddy?”
His father grunted and nodded, smiling broadly. They were happy, which made Cash happy. “We’ve been waiting to eat lunch until Dev got home. Can we talk to you later?” Cash asked, standing over the couch, looking down at the screen.
“What’re we eatin’?” Dev asked skeptically, glancing back at Cash, making his father chuckle.