Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“Your friend, Zeke?”
“Yeah, he works for Kent, too. That’s how I got my job. Zeke and I were in the Seals together. After May died, he was one of the few people who didn’t let me push him away.”
“He sounds like a good person to know.”
“He is. I haven’t told you about what makes Sanctuary Ranch special, have I?”
She shook her head.
“No? Well, I will. After I scold you properly for the risks you took with those letters.”
“Do you have to scold me?” she asked tiredly. “Can’t I just admit that I made a mistake and we can move on? I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Have you? If you could go back, would you do the same thing again?”
“Yes, I would.”
“Devi,” he growled.
“Because if I hadn’t sent those letters, I never would have met you. And it’s possible that I would have bled out on that trailer floor because I wouldn’t have known who to call. Even if I’d called Silla or Mac, they wouldn’t have been close by like your friends were. Do they live on Sanctuary Ranch too?”
Yes, she was partially trying to distract him from his scolding, but she was also interested.
“Fuck, no. Zander doesn’t exactly work for Kent. He will take some jobs that Kent sends his way, but he’ll also go off with his team and take other jobs. He does whatever the fuck he wants.”
“Isn’t it dangerous to go after Fury and those other guys?”
“I’m not worried about Zander and you shouldn’t be either. He and his team know how to protect themselves. They’ll find Fury and those other bastards. But don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”
Drat.
He cupped the good side of her face. “Never put yourself in danger like that again.”
“I won’t.”
“Revenge isn’t healthy. Salt in coffee is fairly harmless. But what you did . . . that wasn’t harmless at all.”
“I know. I am sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“I know, baby,” Hayes said. “There is something else we found. Don’t know if it’s important.” He drew a card from his pocket and held it up.
Devi’s heart raced. Shit. It was the card that Vega had given her.
“Whose number is this?” Hayes asked.
She could tell him a lie. After all, Vega had warned her against telling anyone about him.
But she didn’t want to lie to Hayes.
“He said not to tell. And he’s scary. More scary in some ways than Fury. Even though he’s never hurt me. Well, not much.”
“Not. Much?” he asked in a deadly voice.
“If I tell you will you promise me not to go after him?”
“Not. Much.”
That was all he said.
“I can’t tell you, then,” she replied.
“Devi,” he growled.
“I can’t. You can’t go after him!”
“What if I ring this number?”
Shit. She hadn’t thought of that. Actually, it was a bit weird that Vega had cards with his number on it.
Grabbing his phone from his pocket, he tapped on it and held it to his ear.
“This is a bad idea,” she told him.
Hayes pulled the phone away from his ear with a frown. “Number not found.”
Vega must have changed his number.
Relief flooded her.
Hayes crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at her intently. “Tell me.”
“Promise you won’t go after him?”
“I won’t go after him. I promise.”
Okay. She believed him. “His name is Vega. He went to my school, and I haven’t seen him much since he left. I didn’t have any interaction with him until . . . well, I think it was that night after you first spoke to me in the café. I bumped into him at the trailer park.”
“He lives there?”
“No. Apparently, he was there to talk to my father.” He was going to hate this next part. “Vega works for a . . . a man who runs brothels. And according to Rohan, some of those women aren’t there willingly.”
Hayes started to swear. “What did he want with your father?”
“My dad must have been pestering some of his ‘girls’ for a meeting with his boss.”
“About what?”
“Me,” she whispered.
“What. The. Fuck.”
“Apparently Derick wanted to . . . to sell me so he could have money to finance his debt with the Satan’s Sons.”
“That motherfucking bastard!” Hayes roared.
A nurse popped her head through the door and glared at him. “You will have to be quiet or leave.”
“Sorry,” Devi said, watching Hayes warily. “He just got some bad news.”
Hayes turned away from her, leaning his fists against the wall.
“Hayes?” she asked quietly. “Do you . . . can I do something for you?”
He turned, his gaze intense. “Just stay safe. Stay fucking safe.”
Devi nodded slowly. “I’m trying. If it makes you feel better, Vega and his boss decided against taking that, um, agreement. He gave me that card so I could call him when my father turned up.”
“Did you?”
“No, but he . . . he turned up anyway. After Fury did this.”