Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“No, I’m fucking not,” I snap defensively. Too defensively.
Preppy releases his suspenders and holds up his hands like he’s on the receiving end of a hold-up. “Whoa, whoa. Don’t go getting your panties in a twist, little brother. I didn’t say stalking was a bad thing. In fact, if you need some pointers, I’d be happy to enroll you in Preppy’s How To Stalk Like A Mofo 101.”
I can say the words over and over again. At this point, I’m not even sure I believe them. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her to get our cash back, but now that Ricci’s men are onto her, watching from a distance was no longer an option. I’m not stalking her. I’m working her.” I can say the words over and over again. At this point, I’m not even sure I believe them.
He raises his eyebrows, causing the scar on the left side of his face to appear more prominent. “Oh yeah, then what the fuck do you call that look you just gave her?” Preppy asks knowingly. I look to my shoes to avoid the shit-eating grin I know is on his smug face right now. “Or maybe, what I caught you two doing after the whole explosion episode? Because working her is exactly how I would describe it.”
I look to King and Bear. I’m my own man. I’m a leader, but being in the presence of the three men who run this town still has a way of making me feel like a kid again. A kid who has to prove himself at every turn.
I hate that feeling.
Preppy laughs. “I filled them both in on that juicy tidbit. You know me and gossip. It’s hard to keep that shit to myself.” He claps me on the back and plops next to me on the step. He wraps his arm around my shoulder in an affectionate, almost-strangle. “But just a tip from one stalker to another, jerking off outside of her bedroom window doesn’t make you a stalker, it makes you a peeping tom. Whole other ballgame and somewhat mildly to majorly frowned upon in the eyes of…well…” He cocks his head and looks to the sky before his eyes meet mine once more. “…everyone.”
I reach for a beer that King hands me when I’m reminded of the pain in my arm.
“You hurt?” King asks, never being much for words.
“Just a scratch,” I say. “Can’t stay long. Ricci’s men could be anywhere. Gotta get Lenny out of here. Don’t need to put the family in the crosshairs.”
“Yeah,” King says. “That’s a part of the reason we’re here.”
“Part?” I raise an eyebrow.
He leans his elbows onto his knees. “Yeah, part. I heard from one of Ricci’s men on the inside. It turns out that they’ve got proof that Lenny was in on Jared’s scheme. Her signature is on all of the transfer papers. They can’t find where the cash was transferred to, but they think she might know.”
Lenny signed off? She knew?
“That doesn’t make sense.” I tell them about the head of Jared’s business partner I found in her bed and about her eviction. “If she had a stockpile of money laying around somewhere, she wouldn’t have lost her business, her house, or her car. Jared wouldn’t have left her.”
“Or she could just be really good at making people believe she doesn’t have a stockpile of money somewhere before she thinks it’s safe enough for her to skip town. I mean, not to brag, but I’m pretty fucking good at it myself.” Preppy chimes in. “Seriously, I’ve got cash everywhere.”
Bear peels the label off his beer. “Or she was in on the scam, but Jared cut her out and left her high and dry before his plans to skip town were…interrupted.”
“What do you believe?” King asks. He lights a joint and hands it to me. I take it and inhale deeply. When I exhale, the pain isn’t as sharp as before. “It’s not like you know the girl.”
I sigh and scratch my head. “That’s the fucking thing.” I look up at the three of them. “I do know her.”
“Bullshit, you just know you want in her pants,” Bear scoffs. “Felt the same way with my woman.” His smile widens as he realizes what he’s just said.
“It’s more complicated than it looks,” I offer, with an exasperated sigh.
“Have you met me? I’m the Emperor of motherfucking complicated land,” my brother says. “So, spill.”
That is true. If Preppy didn’t already have a name complicated would be his first, middle and last.
“Lenny isn’t just Jared’s ex-girlfriend. She’s also someone else.” I don’t even know how to begin to explain about Lenny and the few moments I knew her that changed the rest of my life.
“She’s a man!” Preppy gasps. “That’s terrible. Unless you’re into that kind of thing, then good for fucking you, bro.” He gives me two thumbs up and the goofiest grin on the planet.