Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
As for the state of the bodies I saw in the morgue, they brought more questions than answers. The two men had clearly been injured, but the lack of an evident cause of death leaves me scratching my head. I’ve never seen anything like it. The carvings on their arms also brought more questions. I don’t know if it’s just my lack of imagination, but I couldn’t make out the message that Harper could so clearly see. She even went as far as to point them all out, but I couldn’t see a damn thing.
The carvings themself were particularly brutal. They were deep and violent, and yet to me, they seemed a little more random. Almost like they were made from jagged bits of glass, not a blade, but Harper is the professional here. If she says the cuts were made with a blade, then I’m taking her word for it.
The door opens, and not a moment later, Harper’s mother stares back at us with a forced smile. She takes in her daughter, and her smile falters, almost looking disappointed that she’s here to disturb her peace.
Irritation burns through me. I don’t understand how a mother could be so cold to her child, especially one as beautiful as Harper. I swear, if she just put her hostility aside and took a moment to get to know her daughter, she’d finally understand how fucking amazing she is. It’s her loss, and if she doesn’t want to take the time to mend bridges with Harper, then I’m more than happy to fill that time keeping her occupied.
Mae’s stare shifts from her daughter to me, plastering a fake smile across her face. “Oh, Knight. How wonderful to see you again,” she beams, completely ignoring her daughter’s presence.
“Always a pleasure, Mae,” I say, stepping in right behind Harper and discreetly giving her ass a firm squeeze, watching her jump and gasp before doing her best to cover it up.
“Mother,” she says bluntly.
“Harper. I trust you are well.”
“Yes.”
“I see your friend Izabelle is not here.”
“No, she so desperately wished she could attend, however, she came down with an unexpected case of explosive diarrhea. She sends her regards.”
“Oh,” Mae says, shrinking away from us as though she could somehow catch Izzy’s germs just from being in the same vicinity as her daughter. “How . . . unsettling. Do wish her well for me. Shall I send her a gift basket?”
“No,” Harper mutters, hiding a smirk as she attempts to shove my hand away from her ass, only enticing me to squeeze a little harder. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Very well,” Mae says with a tight smile. “You might as well come in.”
Mae turns on her heel and stalks away as Harper whips around and shoves me in the chest. My hand falls away from her perfect ass. “Keep it up and I’ll make sure the only thing you ever sink into again will be a rusty meat grinder operated by a man named Butch,” she whisper-yells, scolding me with the kind of tone that has my cock stiffening in my pants. “Tonight is already going to be a disaster. I don’t need to be dodging your curveballs as well.”
“Promise,” I say with a grin. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Harper shakes her head and sighs, knowing damn well that I’m full of shit. But speaking of being full of shit . . . “Explosive diarrhea, huh?”
“Oh yeah,” Harper says as we follow her mother through the house, our voices low. “It’s a real issue. There’s shit flying up the walls. Poor girl.”
“It’s always shits and giggles, until someone giggles and shits.”
I can’t help but laugh, which earns me a suspicious stare from Mae, glancing back at me over her shoulder, and the way she watches me next to Harper has me wondering if she knows something she shouldn’t, but that’s not possible.
“Hurry along, Harper,” she scolds, turning back to watch where she’s going. “I thought I told you to be here on time. Dinner is going to get cold.”
Harper balls her hands into fists before pumping them in and out, visibly trying to calm herself. Or at the very least, doing everything in her power not to tackle her mother to the ground and turn this dinner into a smackdown.
“Me?” Harper scoffs. “Do you not notice the mountain of a man beside me who was also late? Why isn’t he getting the famous Mae Slater scolding?”
“He is not my undependable daughter who likes to embarrass me at events.”
Harper stops in the middle of the living room, letting out a frustrated sigh. “Is this seriously how tonight is going to play out, because if this is the bullshit I’m in for, then I might as well leave now.”
Mae stops and looks back, and I subtly move in beside Harper, discreetly showing where my loyalties lie. Mae’s gaze shifts to mine. “Do you mind, Knight? I need to have a private word with my daughter.”