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)
“Drew survived,” Wolf said. “They’ll be fine.”
“They won’t.”
“Well, you can’t keep them in a beer box. They’ll eat through that shit in a few hours, and I can’t deal with Rogue anymore.”
I looked at the cardboard box and thought about the poor creature inside being thrown out as easy prey. “It’s not their fault.”
Wolf let out a long, suffering sigh. “Fine.” He handed the box to me. “Just keep it away from the princess in there.” He took his keys from his pocket and started down the steps. “I’ll go get a cage.”
Half an hour later, Bellamy had managed to catch the other rat, and Wolf had returned with not just a cage, but a palace, complete with tunnels and an exercise wheel.
He put Maverick in, then closed the hatch. Wolf took a step back and shook his head. “Hendrix would rip me a new one for this shit…”
He would, but only because Hendrix was a heartless asshole who would never be half as good as Wolf.
“This must have cost you a fortune,” I said.
“I was going to get the metal one, but the guy behind the counter said he’d give me a discount if I posted a photo to InstaPic and tagged the store.”
The perks of being a well-known football player. “Wow. Lucky number thirteen.”
“Not sure what they think rats have to do with football…”
“Maybe the fans will petition you to make Maverick and Goose the team mascots.” My attention drifted from Wolf to the two rats exploring their new home. Goose ran through one of the tunnels while Mav tried out the wheel. “Look how happy they are.” If only they knew he’d saved them from a grizzly microwave fate.
Wolf’s arms came around me from behind, his chin resting on the top of my head. “You look happy. That’s all I care about.”
Warmth spread through my chest. I didn’t think it was possible to fall more in love with Wolf, but here I was…over rats, of all things.
“I know something that would make you just as happy.” I turned to face him, and a cocky smile pulled at his lips.
“Yeah? What’s that?”
I reached for his belt and lowered his fly before sinking to my knees.
“Yeah, that definitely makes me happy,” he said when I wrapped my lips around him.
It didn’t matter how messy things had been between us, only that we’d found our way back to each other.
Twenty-Six
Wolf
Two days ago, we’d tried to steal a catalytic converter off a Prius parked behind the Piggly Wiggly. All Jade had to do was be the lookout, but instead of watching for the owner, she had been hyper focused on some crackhead on the corner shouting, “The end is nigh.” By the time she whistled to alert me, the owner of the Prius was already halfway to the car. I had to book it through the woods at the back of the store—without the converter. But tonight, I thought I’d finally found something Jade-proof. Break into a dead man’s trailer in the middle of the woods. No alarms. No owner. No witnesses…
Jade followed close behind me as we cut through the dark, overgrown lot. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she whispered, pressing close when I stopped in front of the door. “No, I can’t believe I’m doing this. You…”
I huffed a laugh before wedging the crowbar into the doorjamb. “Me, what?” One hard tug, and the door popped open, the unwelcoming scent of stale air and curdled milk creeping out.
“You’re a criminal.”
“Good thing you’re into that.”
Jade followed me into the dark living room, cutting on her phone’s flashlight before she closed the door. “Usually…”
“You mean you don’t want to screw on his bed?”
She frowned when I glanced back at her. “There’s something wrong with you.”
Laughing, I moved past the tattered couch to one of the end tables.
“This is so low,” she whispered. “I feel…dirty.”
If I were honest, so did I. “The guy is dead. He doesn’t need this stuff. It’s just going to sit here and rot.” And I knew that because I’d browsed the obituaries looking for some poor, unfortunate soul with no surviving relatives
“Still…you think he died in here?” Jade shined the light over a cluttered sideboard. “Smells like it.” She rifled through a few things. “Surely, an old man in a trailer won’t have anything of value.”
Everything had some kind of value, and in the situation Jade was in, every penny counted.
“You’d be surprised,” I said, rummaging through a drawer filled with junk—papers, screws, matches…
“Baseball cards are a thing, right?” she asked, pulling a small stack of tattered cards from another drawer.
“Yeah. Shove ‘em in your pocket.”
I opened another drawer, and something clattered to the floor behind me. The light dipped when Jade crouched.
“Oh, my God.” She shoved to her feet and gripped my arm. “We should go. I think he was a serial killer.”