Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
He was silent, observing me.
I had a feeling he was considering my words, sifting through them.
And then I knew he had been, because he said, “I don’t believe you.”
“What a surprise.” I sneered.
He stepped even closer, softening his tone. I could feel the heat from his body. “You have claimed over and over that you don’t know where my sister is. That’s what I don’t believe. You do know where she is.” He stepped back, and when he spoke again, tone matched his gaze, both suddenly cold and calculating. “My sister isn’t here, but it’ll be fun to find out how your friend thinks he can fool me.”
With that, he turned and started forward.
I was stunned enough that I didn’t move, and a guard had to grab my arm and guide me forward.
I almost stumbled over my feet, but I couldn’t go there. I couldn’t think about Brooke, or Blade, or what was going to happen next. If I did, I was going to do something to get myself killed. And I couldn’t do that. Not yet.
I had people to live for. I had a mission to live for.
Pay attention! I heard Blade reprimand me in my head.
He was right, or my training was right.
I had to take note of what we were doing, always. I had to remember everything.
We went to a back elevator, in a back hallway. It was the cargo elevator, the one the workers used for food and laundry and who knew what else. It took us to the top floor, and the hotel worker seemed nervous. She dropped the key card twice before the guard used it instead.
The doors opened.
We stepped out to a small hallway, turned immediately to the left, and another door opened for us.
It was the penthouse. Or so I assumed because it was grand enough to overlook the bay behind the hotel.
It had a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and there were three rooms just off the main one. Three bedrooms.
I knew, without looking, without asking, that Kai Bennett had rented the entire floor. He wouldn’t let his privacy or security be challenged by having outsiders so close.
The worker spoke to him as I walked to the window, looking out over the pool and water beyond. She was still nervous, but there was also a hitch in her voice. She wanted to impress him. She would’ve slept with him. I heard that too in her voice. She was offering her body, and when he didn’t reply, but his guard did, it was a rejection.
Why I cared was beyond me.
It just made me burn even more with hatred. I hated Kai Bennett.
He could fuck whoever he wanted.
The worker said her goodbyes, adding that if we needed anything, her number was on her card. She was the manager, I realized, but it didn’t matter. She still wanted Kai, not even noticing there was a female in his presence being kept there against her will.
Maybe that was on me? Maybe I should’ve made it more apparent, but chancing a look at Kai where he stood a few feet away, I knew it wouldn’t have mattered.
Power oozed out of him. I could’ve told her I’d been kidnapped, and he would’ve just laughed, saying I was making a joke, and she would’ve believed him. He could’ve said I was sick. I was bipolar. I was off my meds. Anything, and she would’ve believed him.
The door shut behind her.
Kai nodded to his guards, and they all dispersed as well.
I didn’t look. I knew a handful would stand guard outside our door. They would all take their turns, and the rest would either sleep in the other rooms or relax.
For all the badness in him, Kai treated his guards well.
He spoke from behind me. He was close, but I didn’t know how close. I didn’t look to see. “You can have the room on the right.”
I could’ve baited him, said something about not trusting me, not making me sleep with him, but I didn’t. I bit my tongue, and I felt him leave the room. The other bedroom door closed.
I still remained. A full minute, maybe more. My eyes were blinded, with emotion or tears, I didn’t know.
I felt trapped.
And helpless.
And… I wasn’t sure the exact reason for either of those emotions, because under both of them was another one, one I didn’t want to feel at all.
Instead of naming it, I turned for my room.
I stopped short in the doorway. He’d given me the bigger of the two rooms. This was the master suite, with a king-sized bed in the middle of the room and an ensuite bathroom—glass-walled shower, clawfoot bathtub, two sinks.
I turned and found that yes, there was a balcony, but as I moved toward it, my heart sank. Like the one at the house, it was at least thirty floors up.