Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 154728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 619(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 619(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
And on top of that, when I tried to get a hold of Victoria after obtaining life-altering information, I’d been informed she was temporarily incommunicado, and even her personal number went right to voicemail.
The rational thing would’ve been to wait. I trusted her. She wasn’t going to leave me hanging. If I waited, she’d return my call and all would be well. As well as things could be. But I wasn’t feeling very rational. Hadn’t been for a while. And all logic fled my body when I found out what I had that morning. So I did a stupid thing.
I went to Brax’s office. He was the only other person who had a connection with Kane since I hadn’t seen nor heard from Knox. The man who’d spent his childhood protecting Kane was nowhere to be seen when he was needed most.
Not that Knox could’ve done anything. He wasn’t a lawyer. Actually, I got the sense he worked completely above the law, which could be the reason for his absence yet not a compelling one for me.
My only choice was to go to Brax, as much as I hated it.
I’d waited in his lobby for over an hour because, “I didn’t have an appointment.” I knew Brax wasn’t busy enough to warrant behavior like that, knew it was a power play, but what options did I have? My nails were bitten raw by the time he finally emerged from his office.
“Avery,” he greeted me, straightening his tie. “Sorry for the wait. If I had known you were coming, I would’ve cleared my schedule.”
A lie. We both knew it. But I ignored it, letting him usher me into his office.
“I need to see Kane,” I told Brax, not bothering with pleasantries.
His stare was icy, that coldness I’d sensed from him, that menace that he’d masked poorly in front of Kane was now on the surface. I resisted the urge to back down. This man would not intimidate me. This was way too important.
“That’s not possible.”
“What do you mean that’s not possible?” I demanded. “The prison has visiting hours. I called them, but they said I need to be on some kind of list?”
Brax rounded the desk then settled himself down in the seat, reaching forward to look at some papers. “Yes, considering Kane’s celebrity status, we’ve had to make some arrangements, for his safety.” He didn’t look up at me. Didn’t offer me a seat. Not that I wanted to sit down.
My hands were clenched at my sides. “I’d hope you’d make arrangements for his safety," I bit out. Kane was a big figure in my mind. Powerful. Not just physically. But there was something safe about him, a sense that he could never be hurt. Except that wasn’t true. He was in prison.
A shiver raced down my spine.
“But I’m assuming safety precautions are primarily focused on protecting him from other prisoners, not his…” I motioned to myself.
Girlfriend sounded so immature. Kane routinely called me ‘his woman,’ though I felt silly, referring to myself in that manner.
I squared my shoulders. “I need to see him,” I stated instead of getting caught up on labels.
Brax still didn’t look up at me. “As I said, Kane’s visitor list is short, and unfortunately, you’re not on it.”
That didn’t make sense. Wasn’t I given power of attorney? How had things changed so much so quickly? There was no point in asking the whys of it. I had one goal: to see Kane.
“Well, put me on it,” I insisted firmly.
Finally, he looked up. His expression was still cold, but there was faux pity in his eyes now. “I can’t do that. Kane has specifically entrusted me to keep you off the list.”
My breathing stuttered. “What are you talking about? Victoria said in our first meeting that I was in charge of Kane’s legal decisions, which I assume includes his visitor list.”
“Victoria is not in charge anymore.” He sighed dramatically, splaying his hands out on the papers in front of him. I hated the gesture and hated him. “I don’t want to be the one to tell you this, I really don’t. Of all of Kane’s women, I liked you the most. The rest were obviously good-looking, but you’re not like them. You’ve got more … substance.” He slowly surveyed me, his eyes trailing up and down my body. “I was hoping that Kane would change his ways. But he’s an old dog up to the same tricks. And I hate that this is part of my job description, but the motherfucker pays me well, and…” he shrugged in a ‘what can you do?’ gesture.
There was a high-pitched ringing in my ears. “Are you trying to insinuate that Kane was with other women as well as me?” Suddenly, my head was throbbing.
Another sigh. “I’m not going to say anything more.” He looked down at his papers again. “I see you’re already distressed enough, and I thought you were smart enough to know the score. You know Kane’s reputation. But I guess he pulled the whole ‘my woman’ thing again and gave you the wrong idea.”