Page 122 of Exposed

“Let’s see what happens this week,” Tim says, making the decision for the group.

I glance to the back of the house through the windows. Goldie is sitting with Annette, Landyn, and Evie. She fits in like they’ve been friends forever. She was that way with Trippy, Laken, and Willa too.

She’s just that way.

Sweet. Social. Agreeable.

Very fucking different from me.

Our differences never cease to amaze me.

Tim frowns at me. “What?”

“What?” I echo, throwing his word back at him.

Tim leans forward and lowers his voice. “I know that look. This is not Afghanistan or the jungles of Colombia. I get you want this wrapped up. I do too. I know how long you’ve been working on Carter. Hell, it’s how we met during Micah’s case. But do not go Ranger on me to get this done faster because of her.”

I tell him the truth. “Going Ranger on you would mean bursting through the windows of The Pink after being dropped in by a chopper. That seems a little dramatic for Miami.”

He pins me with his I’m-your-supervisor look. “You know what I mean.”

“If you decide to go Ranger, I want in on that,” Micah pipes in.

“I’ve been chased by enough cartel henchmen to last a lifetime,” Brax says as he throws the football back and forth with the boys to catch as they run and jump in the pool. “You two can go Ranger. I’ll be your backup.”

Micah grins. “You’re a good backup dancer.”

Brax glares at him.

I turn to Tim. “I promise not to go Ranger on you.”

He nods, grabs his beer, and leans back in his chair. At least I’ve appeased him.

For now.

Making a phone call is not going Ranger. I’ll do anything and everything I can to keep Goldie safe.

If that means working with the men who flip off the law on a regular basis, so be it.

Goldie

“Let me get this straight.You signed over your share of The Pink and the rest of your inheritance to your brother?”

I look over at Landyn. “I had no choice. I was by myself and didn’t know what to do. Dex threatened that if I told anyone about him or the business going on at The Pink, I’d suffer the consequences. And since I had seen the effects of his so-called consequences, I was not anxious to experience them first hand.”

Landyn is young and beautiful and sweet. I haven’t made any friends outside of a few employees I hit it off with at The Pink since I moved to Miami. I’ve been afraid to reach out to any of them since I left. They don’t need that kind of attention from Dex just because they were associated with me. I did everything I could to cut communication with them.

I’ve been busy trying to keep the sinking ship that’s Amare afloat and watch my back in the process.

Since they arrived, these ladies have interrogated me in a much different way. I haven’t minded it one bit. This is the kind of questioning I’m used to.

About King.

About my brother.

About how I had the nerve to sneak back into The Pink.

And about Trippy, Laken, and Willa. They confirmed what I’ve learned in the last week—Kingston Jennings does not introduce anyone to his family or his friends for that matter.

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