Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“Then you can come inside my room.”
Well, you were basically ignoring me, so I wasn’t sure. I, of course, didn’t say that aloud.
He waited this time, stepping back as I walked inside his bedroom. My eyes did a quick scan, not wanting him to think I was being nosy, but I was curious. I wanted to see what his personal space looked like.
It smelled like him. I took another deep breath.
The door closed behind me, and the sound of the lock clicking in place had me turning back to look at him.
He grinned. “We have a condom balloon bandit on the loose. Thought I’d better lock it.”
I laughed. “I heard something about that.”
When he started toward me, my stomach did a flip as a wave of excitement hit me, but just before he reached me, he stepped to the side of me.
“I gotta get in here,” he said.
I spun around, realizing I was blocking his dresser. A wide, glossy black piece of furniture that had a dish in the shape of a horseshoe on it, filled with change, and a frame with a picture of a younger Than, Gathe, a gorgeous blonde girl, and another boy with hair so blond that it was almost platinum—all in swimwear with a lake behind them. I wanted to ask about the girl and boy I didn’t know. They all seemed close, and since that was the only photo he had in his room, I knew it must be important.
Than grabbed some sweats, boxers, and a few T-shirts from the drawers, then closed them.
Unable to help myself, I pointed at the photo. “You were young,” I said.
He paused and looked at it. “Eighteen. Summer after graduation,” he told me, and then a sad smile touched his lips a moment before he turned and walked over to drop the things he’d gotten on his bed.
“I recognize Gathe, but who are the other two?” I asked.
His gaze swung back to mine, and I wished I hadn’t asked. Where his smile had been sad, his eyes held pain. Loss. I recognized it. I felt it every day.
“That’s Saylor and…Crosby.” He told me, then took a deep breath and blew it out. “Crosby was Bane’s younger brother and my best friend. He was killed two years ago.” He shook his head.
I wanted to ask how he had been killed, but I didn’t. He hadn’t said he died. Killed meant something else. More violent. I waited to see if he said more, but he dropped his gaze back to the clothing on his bed for a moment.
“And Saylor was Crosby’s girlfriend and Gathe’s best friend. We were the same age, and our families were close. We grew up close, the four of us.”
She was? Did that mean she had been killed too? A car accident maybe.
He looked up and forced a smile. “Better go see what damage the condom balloon bandit managed to do,” he told me before heading into his private bathroom.
I turned to look back at the photo. Staring at Crosby, I didn’t see any resemblance to Bane really, but Bane’s son could have been a tiny replica. I imagined seeing that every day helped Bane. Halo had called him Hawkins Crosby Cash. They’d even named him after his uncle. Ironic that he looked so much like him.
Than walked back into the room and caught me staring at the photo.
“Hawkins looks like him,” I said with a small smile.
Than was silent for a moment, and I wondered if I’d said the wrong thing. He didn’t want to talk about Crosby, and I should shut up about him.
“Hawkins is Crosby’s biological son.”
I remained silent as that sank in. I glanced back at the photo of the blonde girl beside him. Than had said Saylor was Crosby’s girlfriend. But Halo…I frowned. Was Halo not Hawkins’s biological mother? I was confused.
“It’s really not my story to tell,” he said. “But it’s not a secret either.”
I shook my head, feeling like I’d pried enough, although I was more than curious about it. “It’s fine. It’s not my business.”
The corner of his mouth quirked as he began shoving his things into the duffel. “I dropped the Hawkins is Crosby’s on you. It’s not fair to share something like that, then leave you guessing.” He looked up at me as he zipped the bag. “Crosby was cheating on Saylor with Halo. Halo didn’t know Saylor existed. He knocked Halo up, and before she could tell him that the doctor had confirmed her pregnancy, he was killed. We didn’t know about her, but Linc found something that led Bane to her. Thinking she might be the reason Crosby had been shot. Found out she was pregnant, had a paternity test done, and it was Crosby’s. Moved her in here, and, well, as you saw out there, Bane fell hard and fast.”