AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Exactly. And, what I’m asking is for you to trust me and become someone I can call a friend.”
“Okay,” she conceded before slowly stepping away from me and the door.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely, seeing her in a new light.
Straightening myself up, I tucked the ledgers under my arm and exited the room. I was half expecting Eris to call her father as soon as I entered the stairwell, but she didn’t.
And Cali was doing a much better job than I could have dreamed of. Although I had been upstairs much longer than expected, he was now just outside the open front door with Armand’s men circling him.
With Armand still focused on the drunk country bumpkin making a scene at his daughter’s fancy engagement party, Lucien raced to me to collect the books.
“Change of plan. I need you to take these, get out of here, and say nothing to anyone until you hear from me. Understood?”
“Got it,” Lucien said taking the ledgers from me and rushing out the back door to the beach.
When he was out of insight, I turned my attention to the final part of our plan, stopping Armand from killing Cali. Pushing past the captivated crowd, I slipped between the men who circled Cali and stood in front of him. I held up my hands.
“Okay, everyone, just relax. The hillbilly’s an asshole, but he’s also very drunk. Tell them how drunk you are, Cali,” I said looking back at the wild man who had somehow kept himself from shifting to his wolf.
He looked at me with fury in his eyes. For a second I almost believed that this wasn’t an act.
“I said, tell them how drunk you are, Cali.”
Catching himself, he replied, “Really drunk.”
I turned back to the crowd. “He’s confused by any alcohol that doesn’t come from a jug.”
Someone in front of us snickered.
“Look, he’s an embarrassment to me. He’s an embarrassment to my mother. But, what can I say? My brother loves him. So, if I let anything happen to him, I’ll never hear the end of it. Let’s just end this with an apology and send him home to sleep it off.”
When everyone looked calmer, I turned around. “Cali?”
“Yeah, where’s my fuckin’ apology?” he yelled at Armand.
“Okay, enough for you,” I said turning Cali around and escorting him out.
“I want my fuckin’ apology,” Cali shouted over my shoulder.
“The show’s over,” I told Cali under my breath. “Rein it in, Dicaprio.”
That seemed to register in his drunk brain. Looking me in the eyes before turning around, Cali continued to simmer as Hil, my mother, and I led him off.
No one questioned as I poured Cali into his truck. Nor did they say anything when I got in with them and drove off. Everyone knew we were from Manhattan. No one expected Hil or my mother to know how to drive.
Exiting the feeder road that led to the beach house, it wasn’t long before a van with blacked-out windows pulled up behind us.
“Jimmy?” Hil asked staring through the back windshield.
“Jimmy,” I agreed watching the van through the rearview mirror.
“Were they there?” Hil asked feeling free to speak.
“Was what there?” My mother asked, still in the dark about everything.
I peeked across the truck’s bench seat at my mother.
“Hil’s asking about what Cali just risked his life for.”
