Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 83800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
"Just a couple of weeks. The night Heathen met Kaylee was our first night in town."
"How much exploring of the city have you done?"
"Me?" he asks with an easy smile and a quick chuckle. "I haven't left at all. My job keeps me behind my computer screen for the most part. The other guys have been out and about, though."
"Hmm. You're missing a ton of stuff. Vegas has a little something for everyone."
He gives me another easy smile, but he doesn't verbally respond. His hands float up, the pads gently running over the water's surface, and it takes me right back to a place my mind doesn't need to go.
I already have to find the right time to tell Twisted that I'm not interested. I should've done it earlier when he asked me to dinner, but I just don't think I'm ready to give up on the chance of having a friend even though I know the man wants more than friendship.
Fantasizing about the computer guy on the team is the very last bit of trouble I need to be getting into, so I change the subject to one that will annoy the shit out of both of us.
"Tell me about Henry."
I watch as he pulls in a deep breath, his lungs filling, and I wonder if he's going to refuse me.
"What do you want to know?"
'Where did you grow up?"
"All over. Dad was in the military."
"What place did you like the most?"
"Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas."
"Isn't that in the desert? Do you like the heat? Vegas gets hot as hell in the summer."
"It is very desert-like," he answers, a rueful smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. "It was the first place that the juvenile authorities didn't care that my dad was a military officer. They put Henry in detention for breaking into a store and stealing handguns. It was the calmest three weeks of my life."
"Wow," I say before I can think better of it.
"Makes me sound bitter, doesn't it?"
I shake my head. "Not really. He's been causing you problems for a while, huh?"
"My entire life," he mutters, eyes dropping to the water swirling in front of him.
"That sounds miserable."
"What about you?"
"Only child, so no identical twin wreaking havoc on my life at every turn."
He lifts his eyes to mine, and I watch as he searches for something I'm not saying. I feel locked in his gaze, but when he looks away, I don't know if he found what he's looking for.
"Has he ever hurt anyone, or is he more of a petty crime and threaten sort of guy?"
He avoids my eyes completely with this question. I think I pushed him too far, and he's going to end the conversation.
I'm shocked when he answers, his head tilted as if he's flooded with old memories he wishes weren't a part of his psyche.
"He's never killed anyone that I know of. His games tend to be more psychological than anything else, but..."
I wait, my breath caught in the center of my chest when his words fade out.
"But what?" I insist, resisting the urge to lean closer to him in an effort to get the information.
"Henry doesn't stop until he decides the game is over."
"And you don't think he's finished with me," I whisper, my skin suddenly covered with goosebumps, even my legs under the water.
"I don't think he got what he wanted," he says, his eyes drifting back to me, and I can see the pity he has for me in them.
"What do you think he wanted?"
"To make me completely miserable. It's the only thing Henry has ever wanted in life."
"Why does he hate you so much?" I manage, my voice sounding weak.
"I was the one who ratted him out and got him locked up that time in El Paso. He's been seeking vengeance ever since."
"He broke the law," I argue.
Robert shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. The only wrong Henry ever saw was the one directed at him."
"I think that's—"
"Hey, there you are."
Both of our heads swivel toward the voice.
Twisted narrows his eyes when he spots me. One doesn't have to be a mastermind to see the jealousy in his eyes, but I don't say a word because doing so would only fuel a fire that shouldn't be burning in the first place.
"What's up?" Robert asks.
"I needed that information you said you'd find for me."
"Shit," Robert says as he pops up out of the water. "Sorry. It was nice talking to you, Morgan."
"You too," I say, finding it impossible not to watch the water droplets as they run down the length of his body.
His swim trunks leave nothing to the imagination as they cling to his body. As my cheeks heat, I have to look away.
"You okay?" Twisted asks.
"Getting pruney," I answer, holding up my hands so he can see my fingers. "Probably time to get out."