Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 29008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
He meows like he understands me and doesn’t like what I’m saying. I chuckle. “Yeah, I know, it stinks, but if you want to eat this week, I gotta get to work.”
I glance down the street one more time and then walk inside the shelter and back into real life. Yeah, Cole Kingston saved me temporarily, but that’s all this was.
He may have bought the building, may have pushed back the clock a little bit to give me a little more time, but that doesn’t change anything. My life is early mornings and late nights. Dogs barking, meowing cats, and grease stains from my shifts at the diner. My life is about counting tips and stretching a dollar. Cole lives in a world I know nothing about. There’s no reason I should even daydream about what it would be like to be held in his arms. I square my shoulders, set Leo down, and get back to work. This is my life, and even though it’s nothing glamorous, I have animals depending on me, and I’m going to make the most of it.
CHAPTER 3
COLE
I look at my watch again.
Forty-five minutes my father has been waiting for me.
This is not going to go well.
I enter my dad’s office without knocking. My father doesn’t even look up. My brother, Bennett, smirks, no doubt enjoying the fact that my dad is most likely pissed.
My father finishes typing something into his phone and sets it down before looking at me. “I’m so glad we could take you away from whatever you thought was more important than your family business.”
I open my mouth to explain, but I know my dad will just view it as an excuse. “I’m sorry.”
He glares at me and then glances at my clothes. He stands up and comes around his desk and stops in front of me. He wipes his hand across the front of my jacket. “What the fuck is that, Cole?” He inspects his hand. “Is that dog hair?”
I look down, and of course my black jacket is covered in Leo’s white fur. “Uh, cat hair actually.”
He shakes his head. “I would ask, but I don’t want to know.” He sits on the edge of his desk. “Now can we get started? I’ve had to shift meetings around because of your tardiness.”
I sit down in the chair next to Bennett as an answer.
My dad looks between my brother and me. I know this meeting is important. Robert Kingston doesn’t call family meetings for no reason. Normally, I would be nervous, but all I feel right now is impatience because the sooner this is over, the quicker I can get back to Luna.
My father cracks his knuckles, and it vibrates loudly in the room. “The Sterlings bought property on the east side.” He juts a finger to his chest. “In our territory.”
I sit up a little straighter and glance worriedly at my brother. The Sterlings are our biggest rivals. They are like us in a lot of ways, but they do things we would never dream of doing. And the fact that they think they can buy property in our territory is unheard of. It doesn’t make sense.
Bennett, on the other hand, doesn’t look fazed. “The Sterlings didn’t buy property on the east side. Audrey Sterling did.”
My father slams his hand on the desk beside him. “Audrey Sterling is a Sterling, dammit.”
Bennet surprises me by standing up. “She has nothing to do with her family. She’s trying to get out. She—”
My father cuts him off and looks at Bennett curiously. “How do you know all this? How do you—”
Bennett cuts him off, and my eyebrows skyrocket. No one cuts off Robert Kingston. As I wait for my dad to lose it on my brother, Bennett continues. “Because I know Audrey. Dad, you’ve told us to keep an eye on our enemy, and that’s what I’m doing. I knew that Audrey bought the house on the east side, but after I looked into it, I knew it wouldn’t affect us in any way.”
My father steps toward Bennett. “Then tell me why Victor Sterling was seen at the location two nights ago.”
All the color drains from Bennett’s face. “Fuck,” he grunts as he pushes his hand through his hair.
Our father nods. “Right. Fuck. They are coming into our house and not even knocking. This is what happens when we appear weak.”
Finally, I can’t sit anymore. I shoot to my feet. “How do we appear weak? This is Audrey, and like Bennett said, she has nothing to do with her family. Maybe she’s coming here because she knows we’re not weak and that we’ll protect her.”
My father doesn’t like to be challenged. Calmly, he walks around his desk and sits back down. He’s almost too calm, and it’s making me nervous. Bennett moves closer to his desk. “Let me look into this. I’ll figure out what’s happening and why Audrey moved into our sector.”