Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Once they were gone, I crossed to Ellie and sat beside her. Binx immediately jumped into my lap, purring loudly, while Salem watched from her perch on the arm of the couch. Lucifer remained at Ellie’s feet, his yellow eyes fixed on me with suspicious intensity.
“What did they say?” Ellie asked, her voice small but steady.
I covered her hand with mine, feeling the slight tremble in her fingers. “Knuckles agreed to let him stay,” I told her. “Two nights, no more.”
She exhaled slowly, relief and anxiety mingling in her expression. “Two nights,” she repeated. “That’s… that’s good. Thank you.”
“There are conditions,” I continued, needing her to understand the limits we’d set. “He stays in the guest quarters on the other side of the compound, not near your apartment. And he’ll have two guards on him the entire time he’s here. He won’t even be in his apartment alone.”
Ellie nodded, a small furrow appearing between her brows. “He won’t like that.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he likes,” I said, the words coming out harsher than intended. I softened my tone. “Sorry. But this is our home, our rules. If he doesn’t like it, he can find somewhere else.”
“He’ll use those two days,” she said, her voice hollow. “He’ll try to manipulate everyone, make them feel sorry for him, charm his way into staying longer.”
“He can try,” I said, squeezing her hand. “But Knuckles knows exactly who and what kind of man he is. We all do. No one’s falling for his bullshit, Ellie.”
She looked up at me, her dark eyes searching mine. “How can you be so sure?”
“Honey, we were all in the prison system. We can manipulate with the best of them. Added to the fact that the Butcher did time in Terre Haute, every man here knows every fuckin’ word out of his mouth is a Goddamned lie.” I brushed a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “The only reason we don’t kill him the second he sets foot outside this gate is because of you. If nothing else any of us has done earned your trust, this act of kindness toward your father is the ultimate offering. He was in solitary for a reason, and it wasn’t because he was too dangerous for men like us.” I shook my head. “It was for his own protection. Frankly, I’m amazed he made it out without having a nasty accident.”
“He probably managed to pay someone off,” she muttered. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Yeah? Well, no one here will accept his money, Ellie. I promise you. He has no idea what he’s walking into, or I guarantee you he would run in the opposite direction as hard as he could.”
The cats grew more agitated as we talked, sensing the tension. Salem paced along the back of the couch, tail lashing, while Binx jumped from my lap only to rub against our ankles restlessly. Lucifer pressed himself harder against Ellie’s leg, eyes never leaving my face.
“Let’s go back to your place,” I suggested. “These three are wound up, and you could use some quiet.”
She nodded, gathering Lucifer in her arms -- who, surprisingly, allowed it -- as she stood. Salem leapt gracefully to the floor, and Binx moved away from my legs so I didn’t step on them. We walked in silence through the compound, the cats trailing behind us like a small, furry procession. The afternoon sun slanted through the windows, casting long shadows across our path.
When we reached her apartment, Ellie fumbled with the keys, her hands still unsteady. I took them gently from her fingers and unlocked the door, pushing it open for her to enter. The space inside was warm and lived in, scattered with Halloween decorations and the small touches that made it uniquely hers even in the short time she’d been here.
“Can we talk in the bedroom?” she asked, setting Lucifer down. “I just… I need somewhere quiet and… enclosed? I feel too exposed out here.”
I nodded, following her down the short hallway to her room. The cats tried to follow, but Ellie gently blocked them with her foot. “Not now, babies,” she murmured. “Mama needs some space.”
Lucifer yowled in protest as she closed the door in their faces, but she ignored him, turning to face me in the dim light of her bedroom. The space was smaller than the living room, dominated by a queen-size bed covered in a dark purple comforter.
“Come here,” I said, opening my arms to her.
She stepped into my embrace without hesitation, her body melting against mine as if she belonged there. I wrapped my arms around her, feeling the tension in her shoulders, the rapid beat of her heart against my chest. We stood like that for a long moment, neither speaking, just breathing together in the quiet of her room.