Total pages in book: 150
Estimated words: 151430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
“You...you’re sick!” he sputters.
“Sick? Maybe. I’d much rather pick the option where you’re busted right here, today, and I get to watch you rot in a cell with the occasional letter begging me for contraband cigarettes to trade.” I pause, leaning down and leering at him. “But I bought the plane ticket because Nick asked. It’s one less scandal for our company and the tabloids to eat up if you’re arrested quietly overseas in a few months, and Nick always was the softie. I don’t give a damn at this point.”
My eyes bore into his as he takes a breath that rips the air.
“Your choice, but fair warning. If I find out you aren’t on that plane—and there’s someone I’ve hired in Kiribati to make sure you show up—I’ll go straight to the FBI. My net worth is enough to have a decent life even if the company takes a hit over you throwing one more big fit.”
“You’d let that happen to Brandt Ideas? You’d lose her fancy hotel? Bullshit!”
I never flinch. “We’ll rebuild. The damage will be worth it to see you get what you deserve.”
“You’re as vindictive as your mother!” he shrieks, his voice a strained octave too high.
“Maybe, but between the RICO case and the biker bar’s drugs—”
He stands. “Not the drugs again. The damn drugs were Parnell’s idea! That whole thing was his fault, and it ruined my life.”
“Tell it to someone who cares. I’m sick of your excuses. If it was his fault, I think he paid the price. Your turn.”
He stares like a scolded little boy wearing a bitter old man’s mask.
“Man up and get the fuck over yourself. I’ve given you options. Kiribati or jail tomorrow.” I move to the door, grab the handle, and look back at the boneless heap on the sofa melting into the shadows. “Can’t wait to see what you decide, Dad. Ciao.”
“How’d it go?” Nick asks the second I’m back in the Jeep.
“I scared him shitless, so pretty well. He’ll leave. He knows I wasn’t bluffing this time. If the bastard stays, I’ll make good on that jail promise.”
Nick pulls out of the parking lot. “Damn, this isn’t the way I wanted to visit Florida. Can we stop at my place? I want to unwind in the sunset.”
“Sure. We’ve got time to kill. Gotta make sure he catches his flight tonight.”
A short while later, we’re pulling up to the edge of the glittery sand where the land meets the sea.
“By the way, I took care of my part before we ever left town,” Nick tells me with a sideways glance.
“You did?”
He nods. “This whole thing was my fault. I let Mom steal the itinerary right under my nose. I knew she’d gone too far this time. The package to Winthrope wouldn’t have been sent otherwise. You wouldn’t have turned back into a massive asshole—”
“What do you mean back into a massive asshole? Imagine thinking I was one before.”
He looks at me like I’ve grown a second head, hiding a grin as he scratches his chin.
“No way that’s some big revelation. You know you’re Mr. Uptight incarnate, Wardhole.”
Fuck, does that sting.
It’s the first time I’ve heard that name since Paige slipped away—I mean, not counting the annoyed, harsh whispers behind my back every time I’ve been in the office ever since. She beat me to a pulp in the popularity contest.
“Tell me one thing—have I always had this Wardhole affliction?” I ask with a sigh.
“Nah, not always.” He nods and looks away, his green eyes lit in the evening sun. “I remember a time when you were happy.”
“Let me guess, the stone age?” I roll my eyes. “Now this sounds like some sappy chick flick shit, Nicholas.”
“It was recent.” He meets my gaze. “For a few crazy weeks behind all the stress, you were happy and you know it.”
Damn him, I know what he’s implying, and I don’t want to talk about it.
“Tell me how it went with Mother,” I grind out.
“Shitty. I pulled no punches. I told her if she ever meddled in our lives again, or if I ever found out she was driving with a suspended license, it’d be jail time no matter how much time and money I had to spend on locking her up.”
“Did you tell her Osprey wouldn’t even print the trash she sent? Bet it killed her to find out it was too much for that jagoff when the Tea was drumming them over Parnell nonstop.”
“Yeah. She shrieked like a banshee and asked if you put me up to laying down the law. I told her we came to our own conclusions, and I was done hearing her excuses. So, if she wanted to try me, she damn well could but she’d be sitting in a cell by nightfall. She hung up when I said I wasn’t having your ruin on my conscience.”