Page 22 of Grimm

“No. I like this one. This author—” She paused to look at the cover, having forgotten the name. “Bruder Grimm. He’s great at bringing the story to life. It’s like I’m right there in the thick of it with the hero.” When she brought her gaze back to him, his eyes had widened. Had she said something wrong?

“You enjoy it that much?” he asked in a somber tone, as though he were hesitant to hear the answer but wanted to ask, anyway.

“Yes. It’s really good. Have you read them?” She got up from the couch and went to the spot she’d pulled the book. “There’s other books here by the same author, but they don’t look unread.”

He continued to stare at her with surprise.

“I’m being careful not to hurt the spine,” she insisted, showing him how she eased the book open so as to not crack it. His reaction remained the same. “Was I not supposed to touch these?” she asked more quietly as she removed her finger from the book and slid it back into the spot she’d taken it from.

He rounded the couch until he was at her side then he pulled the book back from the shelf.

“If you like it, you should finish it.” He handed it back to her. “You can read anything in here.”

She pressed the book to her chest. “Were you looking for me?”

His brows rose. “I noticed you in here. Did you finish unpacking already?”

Her mouth dried. “Yep. All done.” Technically, the truth. She’d finished.

“Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ in there?”

“Because you’re obsessed about asses?” She maneuvered around him and plopped back on the couch. “Don’t you have a meeting or something?”

He checked the time. “I have some time.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to get back to this.” She lifted the book. “I only have a little while before I have to get ready for the party.” Distract from the original question. Best way to keep him from pressuring her and making her lie.

He stared at her in silence for a long moment. “Read your book.” He slipped his hands into his pockets and made his way out of the room.

She let loose a heavy sigh. She’d avoided him for the moment, but she couldn’t hide it from him forever.

Chapter 9

William stared at the blinking curser on his computer. He’d just finished the last sentence of the second chapter. It was like having a brick removed from his chest every time he wrapped up a section. But these words had come much easier after seeing how much Daniella had been enjoying the book.

It had been hard not to out himself, that she was turning the pages of the first book he’d had published years ago. But he’d kept silent. He’d tell her at some point, but there were other matters that they needed to get sorted out first—like her missing roommate and Marcus’s missing product.

“Hey, boss.” Tommy entered William’s office.

“You’re here.” William pushed out of his chair and went over to the bar he kept well stocked in the corner of the room. “Finally.”

“Sorry.” Tommy muttered. “Got caught up.”

“What did you find out?” William poured himself two fingers of bourbon, then returned to his desk.

Tommy fiddled with his phone, then turned the screen for William to look.

“Steven’s been selling outside of Komisky’s territory. He has his own stream of customers, and it looks like he’s working on one of Jansen’s crews,” Tommy explained. “Working on two crews with two different bosses, this guy’s either stupid or has some balls on him.”

“And Megan?” William asked. Steven could do whatever the fuck he wanted. If he wanted to work for another family and risk his neck, that was his call. But if Megan was as innocent as Daniella believed, she could be in trouble.

“You’re not going to like it.” Tommy swiped his phone again with a shake of his head. Flipping the screen around, William took in the image before him.

A young woman, about the same age as Daniella, stood next to Steven on a street corner. Her arm was linked through his, but she had a blank look on her face. He recognized the vacant stare.

“She’s using?”

“William, I followed them for an entire day. He was feeding her pills like fucking tic-tacs.” Tommy sighed and stuffed his phone into the inside pocket of his jacket. “It doesn’t show great on the photo, but when I got closer, her cheek was purple and yellow. Like a big ass bruise was finally healing.”

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