Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
“I can’t remember every person that comes in here,” the woman said huffily. “Now, I actually have work to do.”
Wow.
No wonder the library was so quiet with someone so cheerful working here.
Angie left with a sigh.
5
Angie sat on the small sofa and stared at the card.
Richard Drews
Psychologist
Strange. When he said that he was writing an article, she’d thought he was a journalist.
You really should have asked more questions.
She’d been feeling raw and exposed after her outburst. Although she wasn’t certain that the idea of having a psychologist probe her was better than having a journalist do it.
Angie chewed at her lip, jumping as her phone buzzed.
Keira.
She answered the video call, smiling into the camera.
Keira frowned. “What is it? Is something wrong? What happened?”
Sheesh. Talk about going from zero to full speed. She opened her mouth to tell her that nothing was wrong, when Zander started yelling.
“There’s something wrong? Tell her to get into the panic room and wait for us. We’ll be there in fifteen.”
Oh yes.
There was a panic room. It had once been a walk-in storage closet. Zander had the walls reinforced and replaced the door with a steel one that was lockable from both sides. In the closet was enough food and supplies to last a week, along with an impressive emergency kit.
It was very over-the-top.
And very Zander.
“I’m fine!” Angie cried. “Don’t come. I don’t need help. I’m fine.”
“Zander, stand down. She said she’s fine,” Keira called out.
“Then why did you say there was something wrong?” he asked.
“I thought she looked . . . off.”
Zander appeared, studying her. Angie braced herself. You never knew what you would get with Zander.
“What? You mean because she’s pale and tired looking? Why are you so tired looking?” he demanded.
Sheesh.
There was no getting away with anything with this man.
“Zander,” Keira groaned.
“What? Is that not why you asked her if something was wrong?”
“No, it isn’t. I asked her that because she looked worried. Not because you look tired, Angie,” Keira reassured her.
“She doesn’t? What about those dark marks under her eyes?” Zander asked.
“Who’s got dark marks under their eyes?” Honey asked.
Angie groaned. Fantastic. Now this was becoming a thing.
“Ooh, babe, aren’t you sleeping?” Honey asked, poking her head in.
Well, she tried to. Zander wouldn’t budge even though she looked to be doing her best to push him away.
“God, you weigh a ton, Zander! You might want to think about a diet.”
Zander stared down at Honey blandly. “Did you ever think that you might be too small? Perhaps you should think about gaining weight.”
“Zander, you can’t say that,” Keira said.
“Everyone stop!” Honey said sharply. “Look.” She pointed right at Angie. And they all stared.
Ammo appeared over Honey’s head and even Miles peeked in.
She frowned and glanced behind her, wondering what they were staring at.
“What is it?”
“You’re . . . you’re smiling.”
“I smile!” Angie protested.
“Not really,” Keira said. “I mean, yeah, you sort of smile, but it never really looks real. Like it’s reached your eyes. But this smile . . . you look happy. Are you happy?”
Hmm. That was debatable.
Was she happy?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: It’s complicated. Yes and no.
She was happy to have some space of her own. But also sad because she missed these guys.
Something she hadn’t realized would happen. They were all insane, but they’d kind of wormed their way into her heart and now . . . yeah, she missed them.
“I guess I’m just happy to see you guys.”
“Aww, she loves us,” Honey said. “Mostly me, though, right? I’m your favorite.”
“Hey! I have to be her favorite!” Keira protested.
They were all ridiculous. But talking to them made her feel better. Keira ended the call after Zander started fussing at her about her bedtime. He’d decided that now that she was pregnant she had to go to bed an hour earlier.
That was not going down well with Keira. To say the least.
Angie thought about telling them about her job search . . . but she felt humiliated. Embarrassed that she couldn’t find a job and support herself.
Plus, she didn’t feel like a Zander lecture. She had been letting him know when she left the house, only because she figured he probably had an alarm on her gate or something.
But knowing him he would probably want to investigate anyone that she even talked to, let alone started working for.
Although she guessed if she got a job she’d need to tell him. Miles had given her a fake identity after she’d come to live with them along with a new social security number. So she was all set.
She just needed the job.
Angie stared at the card again. Screw it. What would it hurt to look into this guy?
Grabbing her laptop, she searched for his name.
Hmm. All right, he had his own website. And a list of credentials.
Shoot she should have asked for the name of the person that he wanted her to work for.