Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97409 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97409 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“She did,” Caleb defends himself, going to her side of the bed. “Do you want some coffee, baby?”
“I do,” she mumbles, licking her lips.
“I was told I had to tell you I didn’t pay for any of this.” I point to everything I put down. “Everleigh made it special for you, and it’s an order from Lilah.”
“That’s so sweet.” She smiles and then looks at Caleb. “But first I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Let me help you,” Caleb says softly, holding out his hand for her. She slides her hand in his, and then he waits for her to get up and walks her to the bathroom.
“She’s going to be okay,” I reassure him as he stands outside the closed bathroom door. He looks like he’s about to punch holes in the wall, and his expression is a Maybe you should stop talking. I hold up both hands, grab a coffee from the tray, and retreat to the chair in the corner.
“Why are you here at the ass crack of dawn?” he asks. Why? Because I’m freaking out about Collins, and I know the only person I can talk to is Caleb. But he has so much on his plate. So I lie to him for the first time ever.
“Couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d come by to see if you needed anything. Get up to speed with everything I need to know.”
I know he can see right through me, and I know he’s about to call me out on it. Luckily, Sierra saves me when she pushes the door open and slowly comes out. “Okay, it’s coffee time,” she declares, and he kisses her. I don’t think I’ve ever been jealous of anyone a day in my life. But what they have, seeing it after yesterday’s news, I’m jealous.
“What’s in the box?” she asks me as she slowly walks back to her bed, sitting on the edge, and then having Caleb swing her legs onto the mattress. She tries not to wince, but she does, and the murderous look is back on his face. “I’m fine.” She holds her hand up to Caleb’s cheek. “I’m fine, but I’m hungry, and I don’t want to be hangry, so go and tell me what’s in that box.”
He kisses her lips before walking over and opening the box. “Lots of shit,” he throws over his shoulder, and I can’t help but snort.
“She said it’s lemon and blueberry,” I tell her, and she gasps.
“Bring me the whole box.” She holds out her arms just as my phone rings. I pull it out of my back pocket and see it’s Nino calling me.
“Good morning, buttercup,” I answer, putting the phone to my ear.
“Hey.” I can tell from his tone that this is going to be a serious conversation. I sit up and look over at Caleb, who watches me. “We just got to the Packard project.”
“Yeah?” I’m not sure where he’s going with this.
“Not sure if you came by here since yesterday, but did you take some of the tools?”
“No,” I reply.
Then I ask Caleb: “By any chance, did you send anyone to the Packard project to pick up some tools?”
“No.” He comes to stand in front of me. “Why?”
I tap a button on the phone. “Nino, you’re on speakerphone. I’m with Caleb.”
“Hey,” he says. “I got here this morning with Frankie, walked in, and stuff is gone. It looks like a break-in, but we weren’t sure.”
“I’ll be right there,” I tell him. “Why don’t you guys relax until I get there?”
“Sure thing, I’ll have my breakfast outside while finishing the crossword puzzle,” he replies sarcastically. I hang up on him.
“I’ll drive by there and see what’s going on, then call you,” I tell Caleb. I look at Sierra. “Hope you feel better.”
“Thank you,” she replies, her mouth stuffed with cake.
I drive to the Packard place and find Nino and Frankie sitting outside on the steps with cups of coffee.
“What do we got?” I ask, walking past them to the front door. The side of the door looks like someone pried it open with a screwdriver. Parts of the wood are broken on the side. “This is pretty amateur.” I step into the house. “What’s missing?” I look around as Nino comes in to stand beside me. The house was gutted after they found mold all the way behind the walls and in the air ducts. We tried to handle it without gutting it, but it was safer this way.
“The nail gun and the speaker.” I look over to the kitchen, where a makeshift table is set up with the plans to the house.
“The speaker?” There are more tools on the floor. “There are more expensive things to steal than the speaker.”
“Maybe they thought we wouldn’t notice,” he offers. “Either way, it’s missing. What do you want me to do?”