Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Inside me,” she begged, leg tightening around me. “Go ahead.”
Well fuck, since she asked nicely.
With a few more thrusts, I emptied myself inside of her. Goosebumps rose to my flesh; a fire roared inside my veins. I clung to her hips as my orgasm receded. It was her small laugh that brought me back. When I opened my eyes, I was folded in half over her, my chest pressed to her side.
“So did I prove myself?”
I chuckled. “Looks like you can take a beating, yeah. Or at least some of you.”
“But not others.” She sighed.
I slipped from her, and she sat up. It was kind of hard to take her seriously being half-naked with my cum dripping from her, but I tried anyway.
“I’d get my ass kicked worse than Pinstripe.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“I just don’t know what else I can do. I feel so… lost.”
“You aren’t the only one.” I shrugged. “It’s fucking frustrating. I won’t pretend it’s not. There’s only so much I can do.”
“Trust me, you’re doing enough.” Ari grabbed her underwear and cleaned herself up, then stood up to slip her pants back on. “The rest of us are letting you down.”
I followed her example and stood to fix myself up. “I’m kind of used to it.”
Ari lifted a brow. “Huh?”
“Look at the team I was on before,” I laughed. “The Perks aren’t great company.”
She didn’t crack a smile. “And we’re supposed to be better than them.”
“Ninth isn’t the end of the world. Though it sure feels like it. I’ll keep winning. Frankie will keep whipping Pinstripe and Teo’s asses. If you want something to do, look into the other three sponsors, just in case. Bones will be back before we know it.”
“I hope you’re right, River, but I just have a bad feeling I can’t shake.”
“Maybe you need another round with me.”
The searing look she sent me lit me up.
“Maybe.” She smiled and stepped closer. “This time, let’s see if you can take the beating.”
Chapter
Seventeen
LOTTO
Idropped the remote as soon as the words BREAKING NEWS flashed across the screen.
I knew it was coming. Everyone fucking did. But I didn’t expect it this fucking quickly.
Nathaniel Fritz’s mugshot popped up on screen. Beneath it, ARRESTED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT were in big, bold, red letters.
The announcer cleared his throat.
“Nathaniel Fritz has officially been booked for embezzlement and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that he used his parent company, Point Seasons, to funnel money into overseas accounts for licenses from foreign governments to expand on foreign soil. The FBI is looking into all companies owned by Four Seasons and the Fritz family—”
The rest went in one ear and out the other.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and set it on the coffee table. It was a countdown ’til the message came from Lucien. Texts came in rapid succession. One minute passed. Two. Then three. Just when the clock struck 7:54PM, ‘Douchebag Sponsor’ lit up my screen.
I answered and put him on speaker as I went to make myself a much-needed drink.
“Hello, Lucien.”
“Did you see the news?”
“Yes.”
“Then we both know why I’m calling.”
“Sure do.” I rummaged around for my most expensive whiskey. “Get on with it.”
“With the feds breathing down my neck, every penny of One, Two, Hook is going to be looked at.”
“If your money’s clean, I’m not sure why that matters.”
The stretched pause on the other end told me everything. “The Circuit funds are clean.”
I snorted and poured a glass. “Good to know.”
“But you’ll have to understand. Right now, we need to turn our attention to more important things.”
“Like keep your ass out of prison. Right.”
Lucien huffed. “I won’t be going to prison.”
“I’ll keep an eye on the news.” I finished the whiskey in two gulps, and it burned as it went down. I set the glass on the sink.. “You couldn’t have stepped out weeks ago when this first came out? You’ve been a pain in our ass this entire time and for what?”
“You should be thankful you even got this far. Enjoy the bottom of the leaderboard.”
Before I could retort, the line went dead.
I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry. Maybe both. Maybe drink. What leaderboard? Without a sponsor, we would be getting nowhere. I had spoken with the Circuit just last week. Three alternate sponsors remained, but the more Ari and I looked into it, the more something didn’t seem right. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was just yet. I needed more time—time Nathaniel’s arrest didn’t fucking give me. I was going to have to talk to the others and build a plan. Something better than the “wait and see” bullshit we’d been pedaling so far.
I shot a text to our Smiley’s group chat for an emergency meeting. Before I put my phone away, it vibrated with another notification.
The text on my screen made my blood run cold.