Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 123825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Alec stared at him, and he stared at Alec. He needed to have more faith in Alec. And the fucking secrets between them needed to end. Too much was at stake now for Alec not to know everything, knowledge would help better protect him for the future. They needed to work together to figure this out, and as a tried and true loner, that was a damn hard decision to make.
=♥=
“Dammit, Key, just talk to me.” Alec fumed. How Key could be anything except proud of everything Alec had accomplished today was beyond him, and he refused to move his vehicle from the Tires parking lot until they settled this between them. He stared a hole though Key’s profile as the man again ignored him completely, holding his phone in his hand, his thumbs moving across the screen.
When had Key become so proficient with a cell phone that he’d changed from using a single index finger for typing each letter to skillfully typing away using his thumbs?
“Did you hear me?”
Key’s eyes narrowed and he continued to type. There was no question, Key was absolutely ignoring him.
Alec hated being ignored.
“I’m not—” Alec started through clenched teeth, but Key stopped him by way of his thumbs pausing and his head turning slightly toward Alec, not enough that he could see Key’s eyes or his full face, but enough to make Alec pause.
“I’m worried about your safety.” Key lifted his hand, stopping Alec when he dragged in breath, preparing to launch into why his safety was secondary to Key’s wellbeing. “And I wanna pay you back for all of this. We have a club attorney. She’s good. She can handle this, and she’s not gonna cost me a dime, because of all the money I pay in…”
There was too much Key didn’t know, and he clearly didn’t understand the value of connections. Between Alec being in the politically connected Pierce family and Marc Manners being as connected as it got in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Key might truly have a chance at staying out of prison. Marc Manners was a badass. He made his deals with the justices while on the golf course or at Friday night poker parties. Marc was a winner—in everything he touched. Key needed him, and as long as Alec got this settled before his father found out how much he was tossing his name around, Alec might be able to keep Key from taking the fall for his entire club, something DA Twiford would aim for in a heartbeat.
“Baby, I promise you, your club attorney isn’t Marc Manners. You have to trust me on this. I’ve watched miracles happen under that man. He doesn’t lose. Period.”
“Can you get us on the road? I don’t want to risk anyone else seein’ you.” Key’s head tilted fully away from Alec, and his thumbs again moved on the phone screen in his hand.
They hadn’t resolved the fight between them, but they also were no longer sniping at each other. So, he depressed the gas pedal and pulled to the entrance of the parking lot.
“How much?”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand as he took his place in the line of crowded traffic on West Davis Street. Instead, he took a page from Key’s playbook and remained silent.
Key lifted his thumbs, keeping his whole concentration on the screen. He didn’t say another word as Alec tried hard to remember his way back to the highway while keeping an eye on the road and slyly trying to see who Key texted.
At the red light, Alec reached over, taking the crumpled sheet of paper sitting in Key’s lap. Key’s gaze followed as Alec read the quickly written note. “Who’s this from? Dev?”
“Yeah,” Key answered and lifted his phone, waving it at Alec. He refused to play the guessing game with Key right now, and reached over, grabbing the cell phone, quickly scanning the text conversation.
Key: “You got my bike?”
Dev: “Locked up at your place. We need to talk.”
Key: “Yeah?”
Dev: “No more bullshit. Come to my shop in the morning.”
Key said nothing more as Alec held the phone and another text came in.
Dev: “I always got your back. You’re my brother.”
Alec’s gaze collided with Key’s who looked up at him with what he could only describe as deep relief in his eyes. His heart clenched and he gave a small involuntary smile. The last fifteen minutes was forgotten as he got lost in the beauty of his guy. The honking from the car behind them had Alec looking over to see the street light had turned green, and he quickly grabbed the wheel, accelerating through the intersection.
“Can we go by my uncle’s place? It’s like fifteen minutes from here. I gotta get something,” Key asked, taking the phone, rising enough to push it back into his jeans pocket.