Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
I felt the phone vibrate, but I’d have to read it later and respond. It was time to get this over with and make Jellie happy.
Stepping into the living room, I looked at Jellie first, then shifted my gaze to Zeke and smiled.
“Noa,” Jellie said, drawing my eyes back to her before they ever made contact with Thurston.
“I’d like you to meet Thurston,” she said. “Thurston, this is my best friend, Noa.”
I finally swung my gaze over to the other man, and at least she hadn’t lied about his eyes. They were a very pretty green, and he was tanned, tall, and appeared well built. He nodded his head as he stepped forward toward me and held out his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Noa. Jellie has told me a lot about you,” he said. “And she did not exaggerate.”
The interest in his gaze made me want to groan.
I slid my hand into his. “It’s nice to meet you too,” I replied.
He studied me for a moment. “She didn’t tell you about my joining tonight, did she?” he asked.
I shrugged slightly, then cut my eyes at her. “She did—about five minutes ago.”
Zeke laughed behind him. “I told you,” he said jovially. “It’s typical Jellie.”
Thurston’s grin was nice. I mean, it wasn’t one that sent my heart racing and my body tingling. But then, only Ransom seemed to wield that kind of smile. Lucky me.
“You will both thank me,” Jellie said with conviction. “Now it is time to get this party started!”
I looked from my best friend back to the man I was stuck with for the night. “I hope you’ve been warned about this. Jellie’s birthdays have a track record of being a little wild.”
He nodded. “I’ve heard, but the night just got a lot more appealing.”
I couldn’t say the same.
Twenty-Six
Ransom
It was after two in the morning. What the fuck was she still doing at that damn club, and why hadn’t she responded to my last text? It had been over five hours. I glared down at the phone in my hand, watching the tracker I had on her like I could actually see her rather than just her location.
My fingers hovered over the keypad as I waged an internal battle over whether to text her again. She’d know that I knew she was still out. I never texted this late. But, dammit, she’d told me she was heading out, then nothing. It was my job to be worried. We were friends. Friends worried about each other’s safety.
Tossing my phone down, I scowled at it as if it had caused this. I should be asleep. Not stalking Noa like some jealous fucking psycho.
“What are you doing?” Bane’s voice sounded like he’d just woken up.
I turned to look at him standing in the doorway with Hawkins in his arms, looking much more awake than his father.
“Can’t sleep,” I replied, not asking what he was doing.
Hawks had been waking up at night lately and not wanting to go back to sleep.
“Since when?” he asked, stepping down into the room.
Not something I’d talked about with him or even Than. No one knew I’d been struggling since I’d taken Noa to the airport. But, damn, every fucking day, I fought the need to get on a plane just to go see her.
I shrugged.
He rubbed his face with his free hand and yawned, then sat down on the end of the sofa and let Hawkins down to run over to his corner of toys. “That’s bullshit,” he finally said. “Something is up with you. You’ve been in a foul mood for weeks. Now you’re up, scowling down at your phone like it wronged you.”
“I’ve not been in a foul mood,” I shot back, annoyed that I hadn’t been hiding it as well as I thought I had.
“Yeah, you have. Even Halo mentioned it. She asked if it was because of the chick you had stay the night when we were in Kentucky. Since we got back, you’ve been different. Angry. Moody.”
“Okay, I get it. Am I not allowed to be moody?” I asked defensively.
He didn’t say anything, but his eyes narrowed.
I looked over at Hawkins as he threw one of his balls across the room, then pointed at it. “Wook, Daddy! Wook! I frow it!”
“I see that, little man,” he replied.
Hawks ran over to pick it up and do it again.
“It is her.” There was amusement in his tone. “You’re jacked up over a woman.”
“No, I’m not. She’s my friend. And … and she’s out late in Boston. I’m concerned.”
“If she’s texting you, then she’s fine,” he said, as if that should ease my mind.
“She’s not texting me,” I bit out.
“Then she may be asleep.”
“She’s not.”
I could feel his gaze locked on me, but I didn’t look at him.
“How do you know she’s not in bed?”