Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 139088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
“That’s so sweet,” I said.
“It is,” she agreed. “He’s sweet.”
“This didn’t mess up your date?” I asked.
“Oh no. He’s hot when he gets all focused and I got to make him dirty chais. He says I make great chais. Even if I use oat milk.”
Aww.
“I love this,” I declared.
No hesitation before, “Me too.”
Oh yes.
Things were progressing nicely.
“Too soon to bring him to Mom and Dad’s?” I asked.
It took her a sec to get back to me on that, and I knew she was getting out of Byron’s earshot when she answered, “I don’t want to freak him.”
This was a turnabout.
“So you’re not fighting it anymore,” I noted.
“I don’t know. It’s…nice to have him around. And it…it…” She put up a struggle, then nailed it down. “It feels good every time I put a mug by him, and he smiles at me like I’m his surgeon and I just told him he’s cured.”
“I’m loving this!” I cried.
“Don’t get excited,” she warned. “Anything can happen.”
I knew what was happening.
My big sis was falling in love.
“Okay, I’ll be cool,” I assured. “Do you have enough coffee and chai?”
“After we finished with dinner and my orders, we ran out to the store to get stocked up.”
“Awesome. I’ll leave you to it. Later.”
“Luna?”
“Yeah?”
“You were right. He doesn’t like vegan cheese.”
I didn’t say I told you so.
“So we got some regular cheese and, uh…other stuff when we were at the store.”
Dream was learning to compromise.
I was loving this.
I didn’t harp on it.
I just said, “That’s great.”
“Yeah,” she mumbled, then, “You gotta work, and the parents will be bringing their kids soon.”
“Right. So, talk to you later.”
“Later.”
We disconnected and I told a waiting Raye, “He’s been working on the Cynthia Chambers thing all night. Dream has been keeping him in dirty chais.”
Raye sat with this a beat before she said, “You know Dream isn’t my favorite person.”
I knew that.
“But she’s been getting herself together,” she carried on.
I knew that too.
“I wouldn’t have picked her for Byron, because he’s ours.”
I didn’t know this, except that last part, but it didn’t surprise me.
“But for some reason, I like this,” she concluded.
“I do too,” I agreed. “And I think she and I are finding our way. Not to mention, she’s just finding hers. When she and Byron went out to get the stuff for his dirty chais, they also bought regular cheese because Byron isn’t vegan.”
For a second, Raye looked stunned.
After that second, we shared another smile.
Nancy appeared out of the coffee cubby then jerked her head back to it.
That meant Tex knew we weren’t working, and he was about to boom something.
We nodded to her.
And got to work.
Honestly?
I should have seen it coming.
I mean, you couldn’t really predict stuff like this.
But we could have probably predicted this.
“This” being me getting kidnapped.
It happened after work.
It happened after a normal day at work where nothing crazy went down, no one crazy came in, and tips were good (not let’s-take-a-vacation good, but they would help).
It happened when I got home.
I was in the Oasis Square parking lot. I’d just parked my car, hooked up the juicer and was on my way to the gate to the courtyard.
That was when the van came tearing into the lot.
I knew immediately I was in trouble, and I made a dash for the gate.
I didn’t make the gate.
I heard the side door of the van slam open right before two strong arms wrapped around my middle and dragged me toward the van.
I struggled and shouted.
I managed to land a foot to his instep and his arms loosened.
But another guy was there, and regrettably, I didn’t get away.
I not only didn’t get away, it didn’t feel good when the new guy tossed me into the van like I weighed nothing at all.
And it felt worse when he zip-tied my hands behind my back, my ankles together and gagged me. Part of that worse was that I struggled through this, but the other guy joined in, and I was no match.
By this time, the van was motoring.
There were three guys. Instep guy. Toss me around guy. And a driver.
None of them looked like Knox, however they were of an age they could be his brothers, but not his father.
Though, again, none of them looked like Knox, or for that matter, like Cynthia.
Not good.
I didn’t know who these people were.
And the Angels had stuck our noses in a variety of people’s business.
But I still had my purse over my shoulder, and the Nightingale Men tracked my phone.
So I was both hopeful this kidnapping wouldn’t last long, and terrified because, when he was told I’d been taken, my guy was going to lose his shit.
And I didn’t want him to get shot again.
The ride was long.
My guess, two hours.
Another guess, our destination was Tucson.
We were in a panel van, one used for hauling since there were no seats in the back.