Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“My grandfather had a ranch,” Jensen admitted, remembering the home where he and Tommy grew up. “Mom ended up selling most of the land, but I still have about a hundred acres west of Fort Worth.”
He had no idea what to do with it. The house was well built, and he’d maintained it. He guessed he always thought he would go back to it someday. Or it was just one more thing that got shoved aside and forgotten in his need for revenge.
“Ours is slightly bigger, but I was not meant for ranching life. I wanted to go to college and not to learn how to run a ranch.” Jack smiled like the memories were sweet. “Luckily my parents were okay with it, though I had to obviously figure out a way to pay for it. I have a couple of brothers who will happily take over once the…when the time comes. So The Hideout. Sounds like a place to be. If you could go there, why don’t you? You seem like a nice guy and not like Phil. I know he seems real nice on the outside, but he’s pretty brutal when it comes to the servers.”
“He is? I’ve never seen Phil be anything but pleasant.”
“Because you’re on a different level,” Jack explained. “And you’re a guy. He’s nice to me, too, but then I catch him threatening the female servers in the back room where no one can hear him.”
Damn it. He was not supposed to have to deal with the other employees. He had one job, and he was so close. He couldn’t get involved with this. When he took down Hamilton and his whole organization, those women would be safe. “I’ll check it out.”
Who the hell was he? That was the question he’d been asking since the day he left Harlow in a prison cell, blowing up her case so his could keep going and she would be safe. Back then he’d told himself it was all about her safety, but did he have the right to make that choice for her?
“I appreciate it.” Jack glanced down at his watch. “I should get back to it.”
“Hey,” Jensen called out as the bartender opened the door to the club. “You know there are other jobs out there. You’re a smart kid. You can definitely do better than this place.”
Jack’s lips quirked up. “Trust me. I tell myself that every day. I’ve got about a million applications out there, but until one of them hits, this pays the bills. Hey, I have a question. How did you hear about that Hideaway place?”
“The Hideout,” Jensen corrected. The good news was he didn’t have to lie to a bartender who wasn’t anywhere close to the inner circle. “I know someone who goes there. Well, I knew her. She’s something of an ex.”
“That sounds complicated.”
“It is,” Jensen allowed. “It was one of those right person/wrong place/wrong time things, but she taught me about the lifestyle. She grew up in it.”
“Grew up in it? I kind of thought it was all about sex, so that seems worrying. I don’t like the thought of kids being around that.” There was a wealth of judgment in Jack’s tone.
Was this the shit Harlow and her family had to put up with? It rankled. “It’s not. There doesn’t have to be sex involved at all. Her parents were in a D/s relationship and spent time in clubs. Obviously, they didn’t bring their daughters. They were kind of odd since her mom was…is married to twins.”
Jack whistled. “Now that sounds freaky.”
Maybe he wasn’t as open minded as he seemed. “Forget I mentioned that place. If you think it’s freaky, then you should stay away.”
“You don’t think two men and one woman sounds odd?” Jack asked, his eyes narrowing as though the younger man was studying him. “I’ve always heard it the other way myself. Most men I know would prefer two women taking care of them.”
“I never thought about it for me, but if it works for someone else, who cares? We spend way too much time worrying about what other people are doing. How the hell can anyone be happy if they’re constantly policing everyone else’s joy?” The discussion was definitely riling him up. He needed to shut it down. This was precisely why he didn’t talk to anyone here. He did his fucking job and that was to move up through the ranks until he could get close to Hamilton. There was no place for friendship here. “Like I said forget I mentioned it. It’s a real tight-knit group. They’re probably not taking applications.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to offend. I was trying to understand,” Jack said, holding the door open.
The sounds of the club pulsed through the door. It was time to get back to work. Later on he could text Niall via the burner he kept hidden and for five seconds feel close to the only two people in the world he cared about. He needed to remind himself of that fact. Harlow and Niall were the only people who mattered. “No offense taken. Trust me. My family was perfectly normal. One man. One woman. When that one man took off with someone else, the one woman was left to raise two kids and found the real love of her life. Vodka. But hey, at least they were normal. You have a good night.”