Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
“I’m always around.” I hear her blow and pop a bubble. “And I’m dodging work, so you need out of the Marino compound?”
“The farm.”
“Same shit.” Not sure that’s true, but I’ll take her word for that.
“Why are you dodging work?”
“It’s kind of work, and I don’t want to. Last time my handler threatened me with prison.” I can hear Marks’ eyeroll.
“Prison?” The hell?
“It’s not his first time to threaten me with it. The fucker has to find me first.” Marks lets out an evil-sounding giggle. I didn’t know an evil giggle was a thing, but she has nailed it.
“You really think they can’t find you?” I ask out of curiosity.
“I could go dark, but it’s not easy to simply disappear. I have an out plan, but when you resurface, which most do, you’ll be found.”
“How does one go dark?”
“You’re not going dark.” The hell?
“It’s a pain in the ass. You have to disconnect from everything. Like walking out the door with nothing.” I grab my purse off my bed.
“Everything?” I hold it closer. Okay, I love nice things. Hey, we all have our vices.
“Yeah, everything.”
“Okay, can I just go gray?”
Marks bursts into laughter. “What’s going on, and I’ll see what we can do.”
“Z.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that name. I will say I was surprised to see him lose his shit. That’s not the Zero I know of.” A wave of jealousy fills me, and I push it down. It’s not really about Marks; it's about people getting to know more about Z than I do.
Once upon a time, we told each other everything. At least I did. I was probably naïve. I’m sure he was hiding things back then, and I don’t really know Z. The Z I thought I knew would never fuck me and then take off leaving only a fucking note! I take a breath, getting my shit back together.
“I want to go back to Europe, but I don’t want Z to stop me.” Marks goes quiet. “Hello? Is that not possible?”
“I tend to be rather blunt.” Marks finally speaks.
“I’ve noticed.” Marks has this strange way of being blunt but also sneaky. The girl really can be a mystery.
“So I’m going to hit you with it.”
“All right.”
“Hasn’t Zero been asking when and saying you should go back?” I sit down on the side of my bed. “Shit, I’m sorry.” Marks’ voice softens. “But if you want to be a sneaky brat, like I know you love to do, to needle at Zero, then I can help with that.”
“I do want to be a brat,” I admit. Maybe he doesn’t care if I leave anymore. He’s hit his limit with me. “But I want to be a brat that he can’t get into contact with. So my phone is clear?”
“For now.”
“For now?” What does that mean?
“Yeah, for now. I can’t predict what Zero will do, and he’s better at all of this than me. I’m still a baby when it comes to this world. I mean, like Boss Baby but still a baby.”
I’m not shocked. Z always knows what I’m up to and where I am. “I get it. I only want to send him a message, you know? That he doesn’t have all this control over me. Not fully.” I want to piss him off. Is it petty? It is definitely petty, but if he insists on calling me a brat all the time, then I might as well embrace that label.
“You really want to sneak out of there?”
“Is it possible?”
“It will be in twenty minutes.”
“Why in twenty minutes?”
“Zero isn’t home, is he?”
“I think he snuck out this morning.” Did he do the walk of shame? Gah, I’m so pissed and hurt.
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
“Wait? How do you know that?”
“I have my ways. Ways I can’t talk about.” I’m far too nosy to let that stand without some push.
“You know where Z is?” I wonder if I called him if he’d pick up, or is he now going to full-on ignore me? Will he pretend he never took my virginity? I grit my teeth. Yeah, he can get fucked. I’m not calling him, and I’m not making myself available to him.
“I have an idea. Some shit is going down, and I want no part of it. I've got my own crap to deal with,” Marks says.
“What kind of crap are you dealing with?” See, nosy. I can’t help it.
“We have a window here. Ten minutes, and part of that is that you’ll have to maneuver yourself. I can’t get eyes inside that house, honestly. I’m not going to try. I think I have poked enough at the Marino brothers. I don’t need to be on their shit list any more.”
“I’m good with that,” I tell her. “And as much as I adore you—”