Royal Haze (The Painted Daisies Book 5) by LJ Evans

Author:LJ Evans [Evans, LJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: That's What She Said Publishing
Published: 2023-07-11T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Nikki

RIVER

Performed by Bishop Briggs

For a few minutes after D’Angelo had left, she’d just sat there. Stunned. Cold. Heart still beating as wildly as it had when she’d almost fallen over the edge of a building. The sound of the ladder colliding with the ground rang through her head just as much as the gunshots had.

He’d almost been shot.

She’d almost died.

Her body felt like it was quivering from the inside out.

She had to get out of these wet clothes.

The boat wasn’t intended for overnights. It was a day cruiser, so it was designed loft-style with a bed in the hull, a galley with a sink and refrigerator but no stove, a long bench seat with a small table, and a tiny latrine. While the interior of the boat was minimalist, the materials used were luxurious. High-end leathers, titanium, and even hints of platinum. She was pretty sure she’d heard these boats went for millions—more than some yachts twice its size.

Near the bed, there was a wardrobe cabinet, and when she opened it, she found several pairs of ginormous sweats along with a couple of men’s swim trunks. She glanced at the cabin door before struggling to get out of the drenched jeans and sweater clinging to her frame. They landed with a soggy slap on the waxed wood. The sexy red bra and underwear set she’d put on this morning to boost her spirits were just as wet, and she barely hesitated before removing them as well. Then she pulled on the sweats that seemed to have the smell of the ocean entrenched in them. The top went almost to her knees, and even after rolling the waist several times, the bottoms still wouldn’t stay up. She searched around in more drawers, found a spare rope, and wrapped it around her waist. It would have to do.

She took the bird-of-paradise and daisy pins from her jeans and slid them into the sweatshirt’s pocket. Her heart did a funny clench when she thought of the snow-globe ornament she’d left behind at the apartment. That and all the clothes they’d bought the day before. What a waste. They were back to where they’d started. A single pair of everything.

There were towels in an open shelving unit next to the small latrine that she used to wring out her hair. She turned back to the galley, exploring the handful of cupboards. They revealed fishing gear, a worn ukulele, some bottles of water, and enough alcohol to get really drunk. If she wasn’t so afraid of ending up with another migraine, she would have cracked open the vodka and taken a swig just to calm her nerves, to hopefully stop the shaking and shivering.

She stilled when she heard movement on the dock outside the boat. She moved cautiously to the steps, peeking her head out. D’Angelo was striding down the quay, looking more beastly than ever in the rain that still hadn’t let up. His black hood shadowed his face, and his hands were full.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.