Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 111676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 558(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 558(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
While he was busy gawking at her, I carefully slipped two fingers in the pocket of his worn denim jacket, snagged his wallet, and dropped it into my bag.
“Really?” I said, gripping his wrist and tossing his hand off my leg. “I’m right here!” I huffed, then hopped off the stool and stormed away.
It never failed to amaze me when a guy seriously thought two separate girls, half his age, actually wanted him. I needed some of that overconfidence. Or perhaps he just thought we were hookers fishing for a John.
Right before I reached the corridor that led to the restrooms, someone grabbed my arm.
Adrenaline flooded my system, preparing me to fight or flee an angry, wallet-less man, but when I turned around, it wasn’t Harold touching me without my permission. It was Brent.
“Jade, I—”
“Don’t fucking touch me.” The audacity.
His hand dropped. Of all the times for him to show up… What was he even doing here?
“Now turn around, fuck off, and leave me alone.”
As if his five ignored calls that day alone weren’t hint enough…
“I made a mistake.”
A loud, disbelieving laugh exploded from my chest. A mistake was what you did on an algebra test. Eating another girl’s pussy was not a mistake.
“Fuck you, Brent!”
I turned and strode away from him, my attention pausing on a booth across the bar. More specifically, the large figure sitting in said booth hunched over a beer. Of course, because the universe liked to play sick jokes on me. As if he sensed me there, Wolf’s gaze snapped to mine before drifting over my skimpy dress. My face grew hot. I didn’t have a good reason for being here, dressed like this. At least, none that I cared to share. I wasn’t giving him more material to blackmail me with. Hopefully, he hadn’t seen Brent, because in this dress, I knew how that looked. Not that I should have cared what Wolf thought. Yet…I did.
Wolf’s attention shifted when a scantily clad blonde sat down across from him. Boobs that could have doubled as buoyancy aides spilled out of her low-cut dress. Compared to her, I was dressed like a nun. She flashed him a smile and reached across the table, tracing the tattoos of his forearm. A nasty shot of jealousy hit my veins.
I wanted to tear my gaze away, if only to convince myself that I didn’t care what the hell Wolf did, or with whom, but I couldn’t. People pressed in around me, and I stood there like a rock in the flow of a river, watching. Wolf slid a rubber penguin across the table, then subtly took the offered cash. Suddenly, the penguins made sense. They weren’t dog toys. He was using them to deal drugs.
“Jade!” Brent again. How could someone be so committed and uncommitted at the same time?
I turned away from the drug deal, shouldering through the crowd with Brent’s nagging voice at my heels.
“Jade, I love you!”
That comment ignited a fuse, and I lost it. I paused mid-stride, spun on my heel, and punched him right in the nose.
“What the…” He clutched his face, his eyes wide with shock.
“Don’t you dare say that to me, you piece of shit.” I shook out my throbbing hand and shoved my way through the crowd.
Cassie was at the side of the bar, chatting up another guy.
“Come on, Cass,” I said, stopping behind her. “We need to go.”
She gave the guy a pat on the cheek before following me out into the muggy night air. “Good swing, by the way,” she said as she hurried to catch up to me. “I’d have gone for his balls over his nose, but the blood had a nice effect.”
Of course she’d seen it. Never one to miss out on drama. Gravel crunched beneath our heels as we weaved between vehicles.
Cassie nudged my side. “Maybe my badass dress made you badass.”
“I’m from Dayton, Cass. My Dad taught me to throw a punch when I was eight.”
“Well, excuse me for thinking the Dayton life skills had passed you by. God knows, you’re terrible at stealing.”
“Hey! I think I’m getting quite good.”
“Maybe practically, but mentally, you, my friend, are not a criminal. Tell me you don’t feel all guilty for pick-pocketing those men right now.”
She was right. I always felt like a horrible human every time I took from someone else. “It just feels…icky.”
“Icky?” She threw her head back on a laugh, then plucked a leather wallet from her purse. “I think it’s fun.”
Of course she did. Cassie was a rebel, but she didn’t have to do this shit to get by. Maybe that was the difference. “Plus, taking from sleazy men feels like some kind of feminine justice.”
“There is that.” I stopped at my Jeep and unlocked the door.
Cassie climbed into the passenger side, then pulled another stolen wallet from her bag. Her blond brows rose on a wide grin when she fished out a wad of cash. “And I really love it when they were clearly expecting to pay for a hooker.” She fanned a load of twenties. Something in my chest eased at the sight of the cash, although that much would definitely be missed by its former owner. The thought had me hurrying to shove the key into the ignition, but when I turned it, the engine only let out a weak cough. I tried again, and it sputtered.