Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 111676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 558(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 558(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
I bit back a laugh. I should have helped him out, but it was his fault the girls were here in the first place. He deserved to think he was insane for a day or two.
“What do you mean, there aren’t any rats?” He pointed toward the dining room. “You saw that thing! Why else is Dog losing his shit?”
He did have a point there, but watching him lose his shit was too good.
Jade’s gaze met mine, a silent agreement to screw with that asshole passing between us.
“Because you said ‘get the rats.’ You know he loses it anytime we say ‘get’ anything. Watch.” I snapped my fingers at Dog, who was currently crouched down, ass in the air, and nose wedged beneath a cabinet. “Get the Bent Neck Lady. Get it!” I pointed toward the living room, and Dog took off. “See?”
Rogue threw his hands in the air. “I know what I fucking saw!” Then he left the kitchen in a huff.
As soon as his footfalls hit the steps, Jade laughed. “God, I struggled not to jump when it ran toward me.”
“Hate to hand it to Rogue, but they are gross. Their tails—”
“Right.” The smile on Jade’s face fell. “Lot of that going around…”
I had called her gross, hadn’t I? Not that I’d meant it. It just came out. Now I felt like a dick. The last thing I’d wanted to do was hurt her feelings, but jealousy was a bitch. I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck. “I’m sorry I called you gross. It’s just, you know, not safe and shit.”
Her attention dropped to the floor. “You’re sorry, and you’re going to try to justify it, but you still think I’m gross.” God, she could sound pitiful when she wanted to.
“I do not. I was…” Jealous. Possessive. “Look, I get it. You need money.”
“Yeah, and I hate doing it, right along with stealing. I feel like I’m betraying my dad every day. I’m pretty sure he’d rather lose his house than see me get arrested, so call it the lesser of two evils.”
Pretty sure he’d rather see her get arrested than find out she was on Lonely Fans, but like hell I was saying that. “You aren’t getting arrested.”
“That’s not my point. I just mean…there are people who earn a lot on Lonely Fans. Legally.” She frowned. “Granted, they’re probably doing more stuff.”
The last thing I wanted to think about was Jade doing more stuff. One way I could prevent that, make sure she was making more than enough money to help her parents so she didn’t go down that road. Jade would sacrifice damn near anything for her mom and dad.
“I told you I would help you. Then you don’t have to worry about what other stuff people are doing.” The need to fix the whole situation ate away at me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, thinking about it, so I fished my keys from my pocket and turned for the back door. “Come on, we can go scout out some things.”
“Now? It’s almost curfew.”
I turned to look at her. “You’re with me.”
“So, there’s no curfew if I’m with my jailer?”
“Do you want help or not? Or would you rather do other stuff?”
She stood beside the counter for a second longer before finally following me through the doorway. “Fine.”
We rounded the side of the house to my truck. I cranked the engine just as she slid into the passenger seat.
Streetlights flickered over her face as I drove. She didn’t look happy.
“Other than me being an ass, are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She turned her gaze out the window. “Just a shitty shift at work.”
“Crappy tips?”
“Something like that.” She pulled in a heavy breath, then glanced my way. “I need to tell you something. I don’t even know if you’ll care, but you deserve to know—”
“Just tell me, Jade.” If she told me they had bought more rats…
Another deep breath. “You were right. It was Brent who fucked with your number in my phone.”
I gripped the steering wheel, trying to tamp down the anger bleeding through me. I wished I had knocked that little shit unconscious.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know.”
Of course she hadn’t known. If she’d only listened to me when I told her he wasn’t her friend. I’d seen the way he looked at her. The way he looked at me with her. I’d also seen how he treated other girls. Nice to their face but took every opportunity to flirt with anything that would give him attention when they weren’t around. But Jade wanted to believe the best in everybody.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“It’s not your fault.” I turned up the radio, and the harsh beat of rap drifted through the speakers. I needed a minute to process all that bullshit. Along with the what-ifs and regrets.