Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Now wait just a goddamn minute,” Butch protested but didn’t dare move with Virgil right behind him, big, imposing, and deadly.
“I need one of you,” I began and aimed my gun at Cardiff and then Rizz, “to go to the police and tell them you shot my mother. With a half-decent lawyer, you’ll get charged with aggravated assault, do a few years and live out the rest of your years in peace.”
It was a generous offer, I thought.
“Fuck that,” Cardiff snorted. “Butch can do it. He’s the reason we’re here.”
I shook my head, smacked my lips, and stepped toward him, tapping his temple with my gun.
“You don’t listen too fucking well, do you? Butch is as good as dead already.”
I nodded to Virgil, and he reached behind him to the old school stereo and turned the music back up. When he was done, he pressed his gun to the back of Butch’s head and pulled the trigger.
“Oh shit, man!” Rizz was in the middle of a full-blown freak-out.
I kept my attention on Cardiff, even though I already knew how this would play out. “Well?”
He shrugged as if none of this mattered to him, as if seeing two of his men killed didn’t matter to him. “Mitchum is the one who beat your whore up. Kill him and get the fuck outta my house.”
“Ah, but you see, Mitchum is not an option either. He’s already dead.”
“I’ll do it,” Rizz shouted. “I’ll fucking do it. You want me to go to the cops and say I shot your mama, right? You ain’t gonna kill me after?”
I shook my head. “No. Consider this a favor for letting you live.”
Rizz nodded, hands shaking and eyes full of fear. “Okay, I’ll do it. Today.”
Satisfied with the answer, I nodded. “You have until five o’clock, or I’ll find you and everyone you give a fuck about and put a bullet in them. Got it?”
“Yeah, man, I got it. Crystal clear.”
I turned my gaze back to Cardiff. His shoulders sank in relief. “You should have stepped up sooner.”
He smiled. “You got what you came for.”
“Not quite,” I told him and pulled the trigger. More warm blood sprayed across my face, and I turned to Virgil. “Now I got what I came for.
“Five o’clock, Rizz.”
Virgil came to my side, and we walked out of the small house and into the desert sunshine.
“Your face is covered in blood. That’s the kind of shit people remember.”
We slipped into the dark green sedan waiting across the street, and Virgil started the engine. “Wipes are in the glove department.”
I wiped my face clean and smiled. “I love it when I get to cross shit off my never-ending to-do list.
Virgil grunted and shook his head. “And I’m the crazy one?”
I laughed, feeling amped up. Invigorated. I felt good, and I wanted, maybe I needed to hang on to that feeling for a while longer. And there was just one person I wanted to see, wanted to feel good with.
After a hot shower to make sure all the blood and gunshot residue was gone, I stepped back into the living room in my part of the house and stared at Mo. She was curled into a ball while she napped on the sofa. She looked peaceful. Relaxed. Usually, her guard was up, her protective barriers firmly in place, a smart-ass remark perched on the tip of her lush lips.
But here she looked like a real sexy woman, all curves and femininity. All softness. I didn’t know which side I liked more, but right now I just wanted her, and asshole that I am, I slammed the bedroom door hard enough to wake her.
Her eyes flicked open and she sat up quickly, chest heaving as she looked around the room before her gaze finally settled on me.
“What the fuck, Jasper? Is everything all right?” With a hand to her chest, her skirt falling about her, Mo leaned back against the sofa and took in the sight of me, in nothing but a towel.
Heat flared in her eyes along with the hate and the anger, and yeah, a little bit of hurt too. But the heat was what I focused on as her eyes slid from my pecs to my abs and down to my cock, already hard and twitching to get close to her.
“Everything is fine, Mo. Could be better, though.”
“Does that mean I can go home now?”
I took a step forward and shook my head. “Why would you want to go home?”
“Because it’s my home,” she said with a sigh as she crossed her legs.
“I’ll let you know when you can go home, Maureen.” I closed the gap between us and dropped to my knees, hands on her thighs, our gazes locked together. “Right now, we have some unfinished business.”
“Right.” The word came out in a shaky, breathless voice. “You want to fuck me.”