Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“Good Lord, you are a sight. I knew that green would match your eyes. You are breathtaking.”
I started to thank her when Sebastian spoke up.
“No shit. I thought you loved me, Maeme. King is gonna lose his shit when he sees her, and I’m the one he’s gonna murder when he does.”
Maeme rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. If she has to go watch King pretend to be engaged to Scotlin May, then she needs to feel confident, beautiful, and know she’s the one he can’t stop looking at.”
“Tonight, he needs to be looking at Scotlin and be on alert in case the stalker is there.”
Maeme shrugged. “He will do his job. Besides, there is so much security there that no one is going to be stupid enough to make a move.”
“We need them to. This fake shit with Scotlin has to end soon. Especially with Rumor pregnant. King has become more unhinged. He can’t keep this up.”
Maeme nodded. “Yes, I know. I’m going to speak with Stellan about it.”
“Oh, he fucking knows,” Sebastian drawled behind me.
When I reached the bottom step, Maeme hugged me, then took my clutch. “I have something for you.”
She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small wand-like thing.
“Maeme, seriously?” Sebastian said beside me.
I glanced up at him, seeing his brows drawn together. He didn’t look like he agreed with whatever that was she’d put in there.
“I can’t give her a gun yet. We gotta teach her how to handle one first.”
“If someone gets close enough that she needs to use that, then King’s gonna gut him anyway.”
She shrugged, handing me my purse back, then patted my cheek. “It’s a Taser. An illegal one. Very effective. It’ll have a grown man three times your size on the ground in less than a second. Use it if needed. At any time you feel threatened or unsure about your safety, get it out and have it ready.”
All I heard was illegal. She’d put something illegal in my purse.
“We should go. Don’t want to be late,” she said, turning for the door.
I followed her with Sebastian coming out last and locking up behind us. The limo that was parked in the driveway shouldn’t have been surprising. A tall man with wide shoulders and an intimidating expression stood beside the vehicle. He opened the door as we approached, and Maeme said something to him that caused a small smile to tug at his lips before she climbed inside. I just hoped tonight went the way they all wanted it to and that I never had to use the illegal Taser in my purse.
The Kingstons’ home was even more lovely at night, all lit up. I felt as if I had stepped back in time and was walking into a party among the elite in the deep South. Maeme turned to us as we approached the steps to the entrance.
“You’re her date,” she scolded Sebastian. “Give her your arm, for goodness’ sake, boy.”
Sebastian glanced down at me and smirked, then held out his arm for me to take. “I’m about to die, and she doesn’t give a shit,” he whispered, causing me to press my lips together to keep from laughing.
We stepped inside the house behind Maeme, and the man standing just inside, greeting people, I had never met in person, but I knew his face. All of Georgia knew his face. Jefferson May. And his wife, Marigold, stood beside him. They were the solid, church-going Republican family of the South. There had never been a tarnish on their name. People adored them. I wondered what all the folks of Georgia would think if they knew he was connected to the Mafia.
“Maeme Salazar.” Jefferson May beamed with a big smile on his face. “It’s been too long.”
Maeme stepped forward and shook his hand, agreeing, then hugged his wife, Marigold. When she stepped back, she held out a hand toward me and Sebastian. “You both know Sebastian,” she said. “The lovely lady at his side is Rumor Beauregard. She’s a close family friend.” The way she said it made it very clear that I was important to her and the rest of the family.
Sebastian stepped forward and shook Jefferson’s hand, but his smile looked less cheerful and more forced as he cut his eyes over to me. There was an odd expression in his perusal. As if he was studying me while trying not to be obvious. Was it because of King? Did he find me a threat to Scotlin? I hoped I was reading this incorrectly. When he shook my hand though, I could see a flicker of unease in his eyes. I wanted away from this man. My internal warning was on high alert, and when we turned to leave them, I took a deep breath, thankful that was over.