Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Gray shoved it into his pocket for now and helped Jayden put the case on his phone. But on the inside, he was reeling. Why was “tracker” the first thing that popped into his head? Was someone tracking him? His immediate thought after that was Alfred Lange’s criminal organization, which caused a brick of fear to smash right into his chest, only it was followed by the next option. Kellan Ford. Had he come remotely close to Gray’s phone? Hell, had anyone who could be working for Alfred?
It seemed unlikely.
Then, what the hell did he know? Gray wasn’t fluent in Spy…oh. Oh fucking Christ.
Darius.
Darius was definitely fluent in Spy.
Gray narrowed his eyes at nothing and left the elevator with an oblivious Jayden in tow.
Darius had had more access to Gray’s phone too.
Yanking up his hood as the cold from outside hit them, Gray placed a hand on Jayden’s shoulder and guided him across the street. There was a 7-Eleven on the next block, he remembered. They’d go there after dinner and buy a toothbrush for the kid.
The burger place was fairly crowded, but Jayden came to life in here and he sprinted to grab the only empty table. Gray smirked to himself and hollered, asking what Jayden wanted.
Another shrug was what he got in response. The boy wasn’t picky, Gray guessed.
While he stood in line to order, his thoughts returned to the chip. And whether or not someone knew where he was right now. More than that, if someone was watching. Darius was the likeliest candidate, but Gray couldn’t shake the unease at the risk of it being someone else. Not even Kellan posed a very big threat. It was Alfred and the vile monsters who worked for him.
“Next!”
Gray cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Hi. Two cheeseburgers with fries and medium sodas, thanks.”
His food was ready a couple minutes later, and he made his way over to the soda fountain before he joined Jayden.
“I got one Coke and one Sprite,” he said and sat down.
“I like Coke.” Jayden grabbed his soda and punched a straw through the lid. “How much I owe ya?”
Gray shook his head, torn between mirth and sadness. “Not a dime, buddy.”
“But Kellan and Pat gave me fifty dollars each,” Jayden exclaimed. “Do you know how much that is? It’s a hundred bucks.”
How did one respond to that? If Gray were to venture a guess, Jayden never expected anything for free, and he probably knew way too much about consequences and the cost of things. At the same time, he knew how to take advantage too. He had to, with the life he’d led. You couldn’t be a sucker on the street. Either way, Gray was beginning to look forward to showing Jayden what it was like to be taken care of for a change.
“You spend that on something fun for yourself,” Gray replied and unwrapped his burger. “Or you can save it.”
“Can I buy pajamas?” He was too fucking cute. The table appeared to be a little too high for him, so in his excitement, he scrambled to fold his legs under himself, and he gave Gray the most hopeful expression. “I had to throw away my old ones. They were too small. Jonas gave them to me.”
Gray smiled and reached over to help him unwrap his burger. “We’ll get you a set of PJs tomorrow. We’ll make it a rule—if it’s anything you need, like clothes, food, whatever, I’m paying. If it’s just something you want for fun, we can talk about it. Deal?”
Jayden took a big bite of his burger and chewed quickly, as if he couldn’t wait to respond. “Do I need pajamas, or do I want them?”
“I think you need them,” Gray chuckled. “At least one set. And they gotta be soft. That’s when they’re the best—when you put them on after your bath and crawl into bed.”
Jayden’s eyes lit up. “Jonas and I did that. We lived with his friend once and shared a bed. I didn’t mind. He scratched my back till I fell asleep.”
Fuck, Jonas should be here. The loss hadn’t even begun to fade yet, and Jayden had probably not started processing.
“He was great at taking care of others.”
Jayden nodded and filled his mouth with more food.
“Do you like everything on your burger?” Gray went for an easier conversation topic. “I remember my younger brothers hated pickles and onions when they were little.”
“Food is food,” Jayden said around his burger. “I love food.”
Gray laughed softly. “There’s no rush, though. You’ll get a stomachache.”
“No, I won’t,” Jayden huffed. “I eat normal.”
He didn’t. But it was normal to him. Maybe because he was used to being on the move. He ate on the go.
Gray didn’t push it—for now. Jayden seemed to be in a good mood, and it was infectious. In fact, Gray felt tons lighter. He had his direction now; he knew where he was heading.