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)
“You two good?” Keyes asked, concerned.
“Did you bring your truck?” Dev asked.
“Yeah. Alec’s with me. He got me in the hospital this far. They have a ton of cops posted in the halls. What’s goin’ on?” Keyes tucked his hands into his jeans pockets, the door swung shut behind him. It would never occur to Keyes that he and his mom might need privacy that didn’t include him.
“Can you take her to the airport?” Dev asked. “Make sure she gets there safely and inside. Stay with her as far as you can go.”
“Yeah, no problem,” he said, nodding. “Right now?”
“Yes, or I’ll be late.” Her tears flowed freely now. “Hug Shanna and tell her I’m sorry. Let the girls know that the last few weeks have been the best of my life. I love them forever. I’ll be back soon.”
He took her into another tight hug. This one was as equally desperate as the last. His own tears threatened to spill for the first time that day. “You’re the best mother in the world.”
“You’re the best son. My sweet boy.” Her lips touched his T-shirt close to his heart. Forget the crazy. His mom was leaving… He vowed to do his best to find a way out for her. Cash had to know how to help. She released him and turned toward Keyes, not looking his way again.
Life was too fucking hard.
“Keep her safe,” Dev said, the emotions making his voice deep and haggard. “Call me when you’ve dropped her off.”
Keyes nodded and put his arm around his mother’s shoulder. The giant standing next to his little bit of a mother would have normally brought a teasing response from Dev. Today it only helped him know that she was protected for as long as she stayed by his side.
“No one followed us,” Keyes said over his shoulder. “Wherever this goes, I got you.”
“Straight,” Dev murmured, tilting his chin up, and waited until the door shut before twisting around and punching the air. His sweet, honorable mother worked for the DEA?
Of course, his old man was cocky enough to double cross the federal government. Stupid fucker.
Chapter 24
“Come on, Mae,” Dev said, leaning toward the foot of her twin size mattress to ensure she heard him this time. He sat waiting for her to finally come to bed. Swearing she’d been in the bathroom for five minutes, supposedly brushing her teeth. “You’ve stalled long enough.”
“Momo lets her get away with it,” Abi added disapprovingly, sitting crisscross on her bed just feet away. Pajamas on, also waiting for Mae to finish.
Finally, his youngest came out of the bathroom, turning off the light before pivoting around to flip the switch back on. Mae was brave in all things except the dark where she took a hard pass every single time.
She wore her princess pajamas, her feet covered in socks as she padded in small steps toward her bed. Everything was normal in her world. Right as rain. Focused around her, as if they weren’t living through hell right now.
When she climbed on the bed, Dev reached for her socks, tugging them off before she pulled the bedspread up over her body. She beamed happily at him. “It’s because I sleep warm.”
“Right,” Dev said, tucking the socks in each other before tossing them in the direction of the clothes hamper. “You’re pretty smart. Abi’s in charge of the remote control tonight, but I don’t want y’all to stay up too late. And be quiet for me. I got a late-night meetin’ I’ve gotta have.”
Abi extended an appreciative fist bump between the two beds. Mae’s bottom lip stuck out about a mile. He met the knuckle touch then grabbed the remote off the nightstand and tossed it to Abi.
“I wanna tell y’all that I’m sorry about how this is playin’ out,” Dev said, bringing Mae’s blankets around her. “More than anything else, I want you both to have a good life and I can’t seem to get us there.”
He took a seat on the end of the mattress, rested his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers together, lost in the failures of his life. There were so many of them.
“It’s okay, Daddy.” Mae scurried out of the bed covers and across the mattress to put an arm over his back. He grinned at her special brand of comfort, hanging on to the belief that they were truly going to be okay.
“Do y’all have any questions for me?” Dev asked, looking pointedly at Abi this time. She was a quiet thing, but her brain worked a mile a minute like Dev’s.
“What’s gonna happen with school?” Abi asked. “It’s pretty far from here.”
“Right now, I don’t know,” Dev answered honestly. He was done keeping secrets from his kids. If he couldn’t answer, he’d just say he couldn’t rather than sugarcoating it or lying. “I’m keepin’ y’all here with me for the next few days until I figure everything out. I don’t like the idea of y’all missin’ school or changin’ schools again. It feels wrong, so I’ll figure it out.”