Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Once we were parked, I swung open my door and jumped down out of his truck. I would take a bus from here. I wasn’t getting back in there with him. Ever.
Eight
Haisley
I knew I had exactly three minutes and about forty-five seconds before the hot water was gone. I rinsed out the cheap conditioner from my hair while washing off the soap from my body at the same time. If my hair were shorter, this would be easier. I knew the last minute and fifteen seconds of my shower was going to be cold. I never could get it all down in under five minutes.
The blast of ice made me squeal as I continued to rinse my hair. Quickly, I turned in a circle, pulling my arms up to my chest as I got the rest of the suds off my skin. Once I was done, I quickly shut off the water and grabbed my one towel. I had bought it at the dollar store, but hadn’t gotten a washcloth. That was a luxury. I just used my hands. I dried my hair the best I could, then wrapped the towel around me. The bathroom was so small that you could sit on the toilet and brush your teeth over the sink at the same time. Putting on clothes in here was almost impossible. But my roommates, Max and Sherry, were both here, so there was no dressing in my bedroom, which was also the living room.
A banging on the door startled me, and I jumped.
“Haisley!” Sherry called my name.
“Yes?” I asked, tugging the cotton T-shirt dress down over my still-slightly-damp body.
“You have a visitor,” she replied.
I stared at the closed door. No one knew where I lived. I had no one to visit me.
“Who?” I asked cautiously.
“Don’t know, but he’s fucking hot,” she drawled. “You’d better hurry, or I’m gonna show him a good time.”
It had been five days since the paternity test. Not a week yet. But it had to be him. He’d be able to find my address, wouldn’t he? Didn’t the Mafia have access to that kind of thing?
We hadn’t said one word to each other after we arrived at the hospital for the testing until it came time to leave. I told him I would take the bus and left when we were done. He didn’t argue. He was as glad to be rid of me as I was him. There had been no mention of what would happen when the results came back.
I continued to dry my hair with the towel, then brushed through it a few times before finally opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. There was always the chance AJ had found me. He’d be able to do that easily enough. Silver could have told him I was with Milly, who would have sent him here.
Walking into the living room, I found Sherry giggling and smiling at Saxon, who didn’t look very impressed. His tight smile didn’t meet his eyes. I stood there, unsure of what to say, when his gaze swung to mine, and I saw his jaw clench. I didn’t know why he had to look so angry about seeing me. He was the one who had come here. To my apartment. What had he expected?
“Verdict’s in, I guess,” I said as casually as I could.
He stared at me briefly, then looked over at my bag that sat in the corner of the living room. It was the same one I’d taken camping.
“Get your things,” he said with a scowl now on his face.
Was he serious?
“Why?” Although I had a feeling I knew why, but that didn’t mean I was going to just do it.
“Don’t make a scene out of this, Haisley. Get your things. We’re leaving.”
“NO. You’re leaving. I live here.”
Sherry’s eyes were going from me to Saxon with a look of fascination. This would no doubt entertain her for days. She’d not let it go. I would have to hear her retell it over and over.
“You’re going with me. Back to my house. At least until the baby is born. You need decent health insurance and prenatal care. Don’t be difficult. You want to keep the baby, then at least do what is best for it.”
“Do you have a gun?” I asked him.
He frowned. “Why?”
“Because I want to throw something hard at your head, but I need to be sure you won’t shoot me.” I was almost shouting. Almost.
“What’s going on?” Max asked, stepping out of his bedroom with his spiky black-and-blue hair all over the place, like he’d just woken up.
“Be quiet!” Sherry told him. “This is just getting good.”
I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest.
“If you don’t get your shit, I am going to grab what I know is yours and carry it and you out of here, kicking and screaming if I have to,” Saxon warned me.