Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Crane, Liza, and Eve all go to get a drink. I watch them and read Eve’s lips as she gives Crane a hard time. My girl is rather protective of her best friend, but I also know she is pushing the two of them together. I only think she’s making it clear she’ll cut off his balls if she has to.
That won’t be happening. I won’t let her near his balls, but I’d be more than willing to cut them off for her. I’m bigger than Crane, but I’d still need to get the jump on him to secure him. I’m almost positive it would be one hell of a fight between us.
It doesn’t go unnoticed by me that Eve keeps glancing over at me while she sips her champagne. Crane went to settle up his tab but kept getting caught up by people trying to talk to him. I had a few do the same to me, but I gave them a blank stare that did the trick. Now everyone is giving me a wide berth. Just the way I like it.
Eve says something that has Liza throwing her head back and laughing. At this angle, I can’t read her lips. I want to move, but there aren’t a ton of options. Liza sets her glass down and heads to the bathroom. Eve steals a glance over at me again.
She’s supposed to be spending her night with me. Those are the rules. Is she waiting for me to approach her? Of course she is. Eve would need to be chased, but I’m not sure she understands what she’s baiting me with.
Eve walks over to talk to Crane, thankfully. If it were any other fucker, I’d have to go and grab her. For now I’ll watch. Crane is a safe space. The man is consumed in what he has going on with Liza. It’s something I can relate to and understand. Eve takes a sip of her drink and glances back toward the bathroom where Liza disappeared before saying something to Crane and heading that way.
Liza has been in there for some time. Crane’s whole body changes. I try to keep mine relaxed as I glance around to determine what has put him on alert. Eve pulls open the bathroom door before letting out one of her gasps. She has a million different ones. Each one means something different.
I’ve never heard this one before, and I know it's because it’s laced with fear. I rise to my feet immediately and head out of the building to survey the surrounding area. My gut already told me that Liza wasn’t in the bathroom based on Eve’s reaction. She’s gone.
I step back when Crane exits the building to the parking lot with Mayor Grable and Eve with him. Crane points at a parking lot. That’s when everything clicks into place, and I know without a doubt who took Eve. Carlton. That is where he always parks. The devil really is in the details when you watch a small town. You know the routines down to where some people even park. Humans are creatures of habit.
Eve wrings her hands together as she and Crane go back and forth, Clark the town sheriff joining them. I’m too far back to hear them, but I can catch some of what they’re saying from reading their mouths. Before I can go over and tell them it’s Carlton, Crane has already pieced it together.
Both Crane and I have our phones pulled out, and I have no doubt we’re both doing the same thing. Figuring out where this creep has taken Liza. The distress on Eve’s face is more than I can bear. I want to go over and pull her into my arms, but I know I can’t.
I do what I do best instead and start to search my phone. Getting myself into records and places I shouldn’t be is my specialty. If I can find something, I’m going to hand over the information. It doesn’t take me long to see his family owns a property on the outskirts of town.
That’s where he’d take her. He couldn’t take her back to his place, but this option was a stupid one to pick as well. I know Crane is seeing this information as quickly as I am and putting it together. Carlton is no real criminal. He’s a man that’s lost touch with reality. As much as I don’t want to relate to that, I do to a degree.
If he’s had a thing for Liza, then watching her with Crane was likely his breaking point. It would be mine if I’d seen Eve with someone else. I’d hope I could handle myself with a bit more tact. You’re supposed to find a way to get rid of the competition. Not put a target on your own fucking head. Carlton is an amateur.