Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Alright. Let’s take it back,” I said. “Our mom was raising us on her own,” I explained. “Working a minimum-wage job that kept her just under full-time, so she didn’t get to have medical insurance. Then she got sick. And the bills piled up. Until, eventually, she couldn’t afford to fight it anymore.”
“Atlas,” she said, this time reaching for my hand. I let her, lacing my fingers through hers, and holding on.
The grief was still there. It was even still tinged with the anger that had fueled our actions after her death. But it was more distant now, dulled by the years between.
“King was stuck with all of us after,” I said. “And we were all so… angry.”
“Understandably.”
“And we kind of decided one night that we wanted to… make them pay.”
“Make who pay? The company?”
“Yeah. It’s a giant company. Thousands of stores. They could afford to pay for health insurance. Even for their part-timers. But I guess the billionaire CEOs and millionaire stockholders didn’t like that idea.
“Anyway… we came up with a crazy plan to… rob them,” I admitted.
“What?” she asked, eyes going round.
“Yeah. Then we… did it,” I admitted.
“All of you?”
“Yeah. And we didn’t just do it once or at one store. We never hurt anyone, of course. We just wanted the stores to hurt. But that was our… job, for lack of a better word, for a long time.
“Because of that, we got good at things like security systems. About what does and doesn’t work.”
“What made you guys stop?” she asked, still watching me with confused eyes, but not looking shocked or horrified like I’d been worrying she might.
“Funny story. That is because of our sister. We were on a job at one of the stores. She was working but Mark Mallick grabbed her during it, thinking she was, you know, an innocent bystander, and that he was saving her.”
“That’s the craziest meet-cute I think I’ve ever heard,” she said, lips spreading into a sweet smile.
“Yeah, it is. And she caught feelings for the guy. And eventually said she wanted out of this. I think, at that point, we were all done. But no one had the balls to say we wanted to move on from our little revenge mission.”
“Wow. And… and Mark was okay with that?”
“Well, being a loan shark enforcer kind of made it hard for him to judge,” I said, shrugging.
“True. But what about… what about your brothers’ wives. They all know?”
“Of course. But King’s wife, Savvy, was already friends with Peyton, who was associated with some of the other crews in Navesink Bank, so she was unfazed by it.
“Nixon’s girl, Reagan, was stalking and threatening some guy that King’s company was being paid to protect.”
“And Rush?” she asked.
“Rush was working as a phone sex operator, and—“
“Wait, wait,” she said, eyes bright. “You can’t just brush over that. He was a phone sex operator? I didn’t know men did that!”
“I don’t think any of us did at the time. But Fiona, Hunter Mallick’s wife, ran a phone sex business. And said there was a demand for men. He was looking for a job he wouldn’t hate and… so he started it. Katie, his wife, was working as a receptionist at the company. And had been… calling him anonymously for a long time. Fee ended up hooking them up. She’d already been head-over by the time she learned. So, I guess, it didn’t matter to her at that point.”
“Your family is interesting,” she said, shaking her head.
“Wait till I tell you all about the Mallicks,” I said. “Anyway, yeah, that’s how King got into this business. He has a knack for putting himself in the mind of someone who is trying to get into some place, for whatever reason, and figuring out ways to deter that.”
“He would probably be better at protecting this house if he knew about Joss…”
“I don’t think so. King is a husband and father now. I think he would look at you here, living alone, or being home alone when I’m not here,” I quickly amended, “and think of how he would want to keep his woman or his kids safe. Then do that.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “I think that’s probably a good idea. Even just in general. A month or so back, people were breaking into cars in their driveways just a few streets over. Even in safe areas, crime can happen. If the lights or cameras would prevent that, it’s probably worth it.”
I didn’t give a fuck about car or property crime.
I cared about her.
And what might happen to her if Joss caught up to her here.
No, a security system wouldn’t necessarily keep someone determined out, but it would give AJ a heads-up that he was there. It would automatically send up alarm bells to King’s office. And the police.
Someone from King’s office would try to contact her, see if it was accidental. If they got no answer, the police would be called.