Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
“Westlake is dirty. You can’t trust him.”
Rory went still inside, trying to read whether Tinsdale was lying or not. It was difficult to get the answer when the situation was so tense. Was Harvey trying to frame her? That was a possibility too.
“Let go of her now, or you’re a dead man.” Javier’s voice came out of the fog. It was low and intense, and there was no mistaking he meant business.
Tinsdale released her instantly. “Remember what I said,” he hissed, then turned away from her and walked into the street, away from the sound of Javier’s voice.
There was a brief silence that made her aware Javier hadn’t traveled alone. She was certain Tinsdale would be followed. Javier came out of the fog like a silent specter. He made no sound at all. He’d always carried an air of menace around him, but now, in the early morning hours, surrounded by fog, he seemed deadlier than ever. She couldn’t help shivering.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No. Do you know if Gideon is okay? He didn’t come into the bar tonight. I texted him and I called too. I left him a message. It just doesn’t seem like him not to answer.” She didn’t bother to keep the worry out of her voice.
“You’re shivering. Let’s get out of the cold.”
She was beginning to struggle to breathe properly. She detested showing weakness in front of Gideon’s friends. She knew it shouldn’t reflect on him that she was his choice of a partner, but somehow it was ingrained in her that it did. It was insane how invested she was already in Gideon, when she’d only just met him. She felt as if they’d been together forever. As if no one else would ever fit with her.
Rory indicated the direction of her apartment building. “Thank you for coming when you did. I live right up the street.” She began walking in that direction, trying not to wheeze. Every breath she took seemed to be getting more difficult.
Javier didn’t even brush against her, but as he paced along beside her, he offered her something. She took it without thinking, only to find it was her own inhaler. He’d taken it from the inside pocket of her jacket, which seemed impossible.
“Have a lot of practice picking pockets?” She used the inhaler. What was the point of pretending she didn’t need it?
“Yep. Stayed alive that way as a kid. That was how we ate,” Javier revealed. “Stole money and shit. I got really good at it. I was much smaller than Gideon and the others, and looked even younger than I was. They provided a distraction, and I went in and cleared out the tourists’ pockets or purses.”
He said it matter-of-factly, as if his childhood were normal. It instantly conjured up images of hungry little children with no homes or loving parents. Her heart hurt for them.
She waited to speak until she was certain she could breathe normally again. “Well, the practice certainly paid off. You’re good.”
Javier flashed her a grin. It was quick and cocky, but it was genuine and transformed his youthful, stoic features from looking deadly to handsome.
“I take it you grew up with Gideon. He told me he grew up on the streets and you’re very good friends with him.”
Javier nodded. “That’s true. More like brothers. We’ve always looked out for one another.”
There was a distinct warning in his voice that would have ordinarily made her smile. She loved that for Gideon. Unfortunately, with him out of her reach and her wondering if she’d done something in her nightmare to harm him, she thought that warning was aimed directly at her.
“Tell me what’s wrong with Gideon, Javier.”
They were at the front of the apartment building. She stood at the entrance, turning her back on the door to face him. Javier reached around her and punched in the code to open the door. She twisted around, shocked. He took her elbow and escorted her inside, straight to the small lounge she preferred to go to with her friends. It was far warmer there. Javier indicated a chair and Rory sank into it.
“You seem to know your way around this apartment building.” She made it a statement.
Javier shrugged. “What happened this evening before you went to work? I thought you didn’t work tonight.”
“I wasn’t on the schedule. It wasn’t my regular shift, but how would you know that? Why would you even know that?” A shiver of awareness went through her. Something was very wrong. Javier had shown up at precisely the right time, intervening when she needed help. He knew the code to get into her apartment building. He knew her shifts at work.
“Gideon knew you weren’t supposed to work. He keeps track so he can make sure you get home safely, or he can take you out.”