Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 160042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 800(@200wpm)___ 640(@250wpm)___ 533(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 800(@200wpm)___ 640(@250wpm)___ 533(@300wpm)
I know Annie’s dead. I know she died eight years ago, the same night I went to kill her murderer but didn’t succeed. I know all that. I just don’t like hearing it. I don’t like hearing she’s gone.
Forever.
I also know it probably wouldn’t make sense to anyone else, what I’ve done when it comes to the Turner girl. But it makes perfect sense to me. There’s a will, old and ironclad, that was made by one of the original Turners who first settled in Montana. It states that the heir to the Turner ranching business shall always be the oldest-born Turner son; in this case, Brecken. Moreover, the land on which the business sits is to be divided equally among all Turner children when they turn eighteen. When the daughter marries, however, the power of attorney of the land will go to her husband. Meaning, the land might be hers, but the husband is the one who controls it.
And that’s what I want.
I want the control of the Turner land. Because the one who has the land, has all the power. Because eight years ago, the Turners started a chain of events that led to Annie’s death and changed the course of my life, so now I’m going to change everything for them.
“But even knowin’ you,” he goes on, “and… how fuckin’ reckless you are, I couldn’t… have imagined you d-doin’ something this… fucked.”
This shows how agitated he is by what I’ve done, because usually he’s able to mask his struggles with his speech unless he’s upset. Something like regret leeches into my veins, but I push it back. I have to. I have no choice.
“So no, I’m not gonna… give you any more information,” he finishes on a biting tone.
My nostrils flare with a breath, and even though I don’t want to, I do it. “Listen to me, this is important, okay? I need to know. Trust me when I say—”
“Not gonna trust you with her.”
That feels like a kick to the gut. Rad’s always been my only confidant, so when her letter fell into my lap, he was the first person I called. Back then I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but then he found the will and my plan became clear.
First, I had to keep her safe. And away from any other men who might become a problem later on. That included motherfuckers both on the inside—fuck yeah, I told every asshole to stay away from her letters and promised retribution if they even thought about writing back to her—and on the outside. Which means I did have a hand in making her math professor disappear. Had a couple of cops put the fear of God in him and tell him it’d be in his best interest if he took a job somewhere else. And then I had to make sure I did everything I could to keep her writing to me every week so I could do what I did.
So I understand where he’s coming from, but it still doesn’t feel right. Until I realize he’s not talking about her. The Turner girl, or at least who I thought was the Turner girl, my wife.
He’s talking about her best friend.
And with that, another realization dawns and I straighten up. “Tell me you don’t have feelings for the friend.”
There’s silence on the other end. As unusual as the one before because I think he knows I’ve figured it out. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? Tell me you don’t.”
“Gonna hang up now,” he growls.
“The fuck you are,” I bite out. “You want her. You want the best friend.”
How the fuck did that happen, though?
All I told him was to look into the Turner girl. Where she lived; who she hung out with; what she did; if she had someone, a boy, because if she did, I’d have to get that taken care of. He told me she had a best friend. That they were more than best friends; they were like sisters. Even though they were different from each other, they still managed to do things together. They lived together. They went to classes together. From what I remember, very early on, Rad also told me about seeing guys going in and out of their apartment, which made me lose my shit, even though I knew they probably were connected to her best friend and not her. Because I knew she was inexperienced with guys; I had her letters to prove it. But I never involved Rad more than asking him to get me information.
So again, how the fuck did this happen?
“I’m done,” he growls again.
“So, what, I tell you to look into the Turner girl and you end up fallin’ for the best friend?”
“Least I didn’t kidnap a girl… and stab a cop to marry her.”