Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Bonnie!”
It took me less than a second to reach her side and confirm it was her. Unconscious on the ground. Blood on her head.
“Goddammit Bonnie. Please be all right.”
She was so still I had to check her pulse a second time just to be sure. Bonnie was alive. Her pulse was strong too. She was just out cold.
“Bonnie.” I lightly tapped her face.
“Knew that girl was trouble.” The voice belonged to a tall man with a big fat belly winning the war against a red t-shirt.
“So you know her.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah. She rents a room here. Came out when I heard the commotion.”
Perfect. “Pack her shit up. I’m sure you’ve been in her room before. She’s leaving.”
He folded his arms and puffed out his chest. “She still owes me for next week.”
“It’s Friday.”
He shrugged. “She owes.”
I might not be the toughest Ashby, but I was a quick study and I stood up tall and balled my hands into fists at my side while staring a hole right through his head. “Or you can refund this week, maybe last week too.”
He weighed his options and waved a hand in Bonnie’s direction with a grunt. “Bitch ain’t worth it.”
“Didn’t think so.” I turned and lifted Bonnie, buckling her into the passenger seat and locking the doors. “Is this everything?” I asked as he came back outside.
Bonnie’s landlord nodded and wiped his arm across his forehead. “Yeah, she’s traveling light. Almost like she’s on the run from something.”
I picked up three bags and a laptop carrier. “We good?”
“Yeah.”
I shoved Bonnie’s shit in the trunk, got back in the car, dialing Ma while I drove and telling her everything. “I have all her stuff so she can stay with us.”
After a long beat she spoke. “You did the right thing Calvin. Be safe and hurry home.”
I got back to Ashby Manor as fast as I could so that Ma and Maisie and Kat could get Bonnie back to the pain in the ass that was easy to keep at a distance. “Even baby brother is a hero,” Kat said with a laugh, pulling the passenger door open before I turned off the car.
“Make yourself useful and grab her things from the trunk.” She nodded and headed toward the back of the car. “In the front.”
“You mean the frunk?” Kat laughed at this joke that made every time my Tesla was brought up, almost always by her. “If you insist on driving a toy car, you should at least use the fun cartoon names.”
“You have oil stocks I don’t know about?”
“There’s so much about me you don’t know little brother.” She smirked to hide the truth, but growing up in this family, all of us had a few secrets we kept to ourselves. “I’ll grab her things.”
I lifted Bonnie in my arms again and this time the smell of alcohol was strong enough I had to breathe through my mouth while I carried her into the main part of the house and up to the gold guest room where Ma waited at the door.
“Has she woken up?”
“A little groaning but that’s about it.” I was happy to see our doctor was already in the room, ready to take care of her. “She’s got a good bump on the back of her head and footprints all over her upper body.” That fucker kicked her. More than once. The thought made me see red. Fucking red and I promised myself when I got clean in high school that I would never let myself get that angry ever again.
“She’s in good hands, Calvin. Lie her down.” I did as Ma said but I couldn’t move, watching for any signs of distress.
“I’m sure you have something else to do.”
When Ma got that look in her eye, all I could do was say, “Right.” I left the room after giving Bonnie another glance. I knew she’d be safe with the doctor who’d been working for the family for as long as I could remember, setting broken bones and stitching scars off the books. “I’ll be working if you need me.”
“Don’t act without speaking to your brother.”
An image of Jasper made me grind my teeth. “I won’t. For now, I’ll just access the footage from Bullets & Beer to see what I can find. When I find it, I’ll take it to Jasper.”
She gave a short nod of acceptance, though we both knew there was no other answer she would have accepted. “Good.”
It took a few minutes to access the footage because Bullets & Beer took up the two top floors of Black Stallion Casino, which meant there were thousands of camera angles—inside and out—to access.
When I did, I had to work hard to keep my anger in check, working on the yoga breathing exercises I’d learned after a failed stint at a fancy Malibu rehab.