Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
It left me sick that her staying at my house for the last couple weeks might have made it obvious.
“Fuck, it was stupid for me to insist that she come to my place,” I spat, pacing the other direction.
I should have known.
I should have fucking known.
It was the whole reason I’d stayed away from her for all these years.
“We have two days until this goes down, Ryder, and you need to keep your shit together between now and then.” Leaning forward, Ezra clasped his hands together where he sat on a metal chair at one of the desks. He’d been trying to talk some sense into me for the last hour when there was no sense to be found.
Worry hunted me. Stalked me. But it was me who felt like the beast.
“The best thing Dakota can do right now is return to her normal routine,” Ezra said. “Go home. Work the restaurant. If you don’t want to draw more attention to her, then you have to stop giving it to her.”
I bit out a sound of disgust. “It’s not like she wants anything to do with me, anyway.”
And I deserved it. Deserved it after what I’d done.
“You kept something from her that was huge, Ryder. Something that she’s likely feeling guilty for. You need to give her time to process through it and understand why you did it. And you need this time away from her. We can’t afford this thing falling apart.”
“And if Dare already knows?”
Ezra blew out a sigh. “Dare’s going down, Ryder. You know this. When you came to me, the DEA had already been watching him for two years. You just gave them the extra evidence to make this happen sooner. He’s not getting away with any of this. We just need to see this through so you’re safe from the fallout. Make sure you’re on the right side of it.”
The smallest fraction of relief eased inside me. The only thing I wanted was to put Dare behind bars, where he belonged.
As for me, I’d struck a deal. I was giving them the safehouse location, and they were going to raid while I was there loading the car Tuesday night.
I’d be arrested, too, but I’d get off on a technicality.
My immunity for setting this up.
Ezra looked at his phone when a text went off. A small smile tugged at the edge of his mouth.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Olivia. She said she just helped her grandma make dinner for us, and it’s Sunday and it’s family day and I’d better hurry up and get home.”
His little girl was adorable. A year older than Evelyn. I figured she’d taken the role of mothering since her own mother had been killed a couple years ago.
And I realized as Ezra stood, all massive muscle and hulking height, ghosts forever writhing deep in his eyes, that I was fucking lucky.
Dakota was safe and we were going to make sure we put this threat away permanently so Dare couldn’t hurt anyone ever again.
Ezra hadn’t gotten that chance.
His wife had been stolen from him, and he’d never even had a warning.
“You should get back to them.”
“Yeah.” He reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “This is for the best right now, Ryder. Let her be and let’s get this behind us and then you two can figure out your shit.”
I gave him a tight nod. “Okay.”
“Give him a little shit for the attack, play it that you didn’t see it coming.”
“Already did.”
Ezra cracked a smile. “Don’t need to coach you, do I?”
I scoffed. “I’ve had to survive this life for years.”
Air puffed from his nose. “See you Tuesday, brother.”
A promise came with it.
A wedge of hope slashed through the turmoil.
I was finally going to get my life back. I just prayed it wasn’t too late to get Dakota back, too.
Ezra dipped out, and I blew out a sigh, snagged my keys from the table, and jogged out of the shop. I locked the door behind me before I hopped into my car, deciding to head home, the way I would any other night.
I was halfway there when a call rang through the Bluetooth.
Rage blistered my insides when I saw Dare’s name lighting the screen.
“What?” It wasn’t like his calls weren’t always met with animosity. I was all about keeping it consistent.
Except a wail echoed through the background. A wail that stabbed through my heart. A wail I would recognize anywhere.
Kayden.
Dare tsked. “It seems my son doesn’t like me very much.”
Ice froze over my soul, and a bolt of fury cracked through the middle of it.
There was shuffling in the background, and the gagged whimper that curled through the line tore me in two.
“Dakota doesn’t like me much, either, though she liked me plenty the night she let me fuck her in my truck.”
Bile erupted in my throat. “You fucking bastard. I will kill you.”