Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
I scoff. “Drake likes to do his own dirty work. The last thing he’ll do is ask someone to fight for him.”
“If you know him so well, prepare yourself for the worst then, Jenny. He’s not going to give up with just talking. Doom won’t be satisfied until he sees blood. You know this. I know this. Even Oscar knows this. We can try and stop it, but we may not even be enough to do so.”
* * *
I rush into the hotel and am so relieved to see Oscar standing in the middle of the lobby, searching the area.
Beside him is Kylie, and she’s helping him search too. I rush up to them and when Oscar spots me, his face turns hard and he squares his shoulders.
“We have to split up,” Oscar orders. “I’ll search around the elevators. Knowing him, he’ll be waiting by them to see if he recognizes the guy. Preach can keep watching outside for him and you two check the casino and anywhere else he could be.”
I nod, and Kylie steps up to my side. “What if we find him?” she asks. “We aren’t strong enough to drag him with us or stop him, you know?”
“If you find him, call me and let me know. Stall as much as you can.” Oscar looks at me, and I can see the sincerity running deep in his eyes. He doesn’t blame me. He understands.
Gripping my shoulders, he says, “If you see him first, talk some sense into him. Calm him down. He loves you. Let him know you’re here. He still has doubts.”
I nod, swiping at my watery eyes. “Okay.”
Oscar pulls away and then dashes off, heading for the elevators. We watch Preach walk back outside to scope the area, and then we march towards the casino, pushing through the thick crowd.
“This place is huge,” Kylie groans. “I don’t think we’re going to find him.”
“We will,” I assure her. “We have to.”
“I mean—what if he already has Shane, Jen? What if he’s beating him up as we speak?”
I shake my head. “No… I don’t think so.” I press my lips and look around, from the slot machines, to the poker tables, and even at the bar. “I know what I have to do, but I didn’t want to do it around Preach or Oscar.”
I unlock my phone and dial the last person I want to talk to. I put the phone to my ear and it rings, and with each one my heart is thundering.
Kylie watches me with wide, worried eyes, rubbing her hands together with hope.
And then he answers.
His voice is deep. “Jenny? It’s about fucking time you called. Where the hell are you?”
“Shane, where are you?”
“Where the hell do you think I am? In the fucking hotel room, waiting for you to come the fuck back. You know we leave tomorrow morning. If you’re fucking late, I’m not waiting.”
I look down at the floor and then hang up. “Shane’s in the hotel room,” I say to Kylie.
“Great, that means Drake hasn’t gotten to him yet.”
“And he probably won’t,” I murmur as we start to walk around the casino again. “Shane leaves tomorrow morning. If we find Drake before then, we should be fine.”
“Yeah,” Kylie murmurs. “Let’s hope we can.”
* * *
It’s almost five in the morning and no one has seen Drake. We stopped hunting around an hour and a half go. Searching for a grown man in Las Vegas is a hopeless feat.
I am now sitting at the bar of the Aria with Kylie and Oscar. Oscar has his face in his hands, his head moving side to side with frustration. Kylie is swirling a finger around the rim of her empty shot glass and I’m scanning the area, in hopes that Drake will magically appear.
“God, where the hell is he?” I snap. “Where could he have possibly gone?” I turn on my stool to look at Oscar. “Oscar, what the hell did you tell him before we left that club?”
Oscar looks up at me with tired, red eyes. He inhales a sluggish breath before releasing it through parted lips. “This is probably my fault. I mean—fuck, I know how Drake is. But I also know him well enough to know that he won’t do anything stupid before consulting me about it.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Drake may be a hothead but he’s not an idiot. Whether he’s here or not, he’s making sure that we can’t find him for a reason. Something tells me he’s sitting around somewhere, trying to figure out a way to beat your friend’s ass while also keeping his career intact and you by his side.”
“But I’m not going anywhere,” I state blatantly, but then I realize I shouldn’t have confessed that. As soon as the words slip out, both Kylie and Oscar look right at me, their faces softer. Their eyes are wide, and I’m not sure if they are glad to hear that or not.