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)
Expelling a sharp hiss, he fastened his jeans back up and sat next to me. The side of his leg and arm brushed mine.
Facing forward, his head dipped down. “I came here tonight to ask you to come with me. I don’t usually fly with loved ones, and you’re included there.”
I—what?
“Brooke loves you, and I know Tanner and Jonah are fond of you. No matter the circumstances of you coming here, you are considered a friend of the family.”
I felt him watching me, but I focused on my lap.
“That means something to me. If I find Brooke, she won’t travel back with me on a plane. I’ll have her driven back. It’s longer, but…”
He didn’t have to say anything.
They’d lost Cord on a plane. He didn’t want to risk Brooke.
“I get it.”
“But,” he said sharply, “it’s too long a trip for me. I have to fly, so I’m making an exception. I’d like you to come with me.”
“Where are you going?”
“New York.”
I frowned. “Levi is being kept in New York?”
“Outside of New York, yes.”
“Oh.” My frown deepened. I picked at my pants, smoothing out wrinkles that weren’t there. My mind raced.
What did this mean? My thoughts swirled.
“I’m sick!” I blurted. “You’re going to get sick.”
He fought back a smile. “I don’t get sick. Ever.”
Of course. I snorted. “You’re not human.”
He waited a beat. “Will you come?”
I wanted to go. That was the truth. But everything within me argued.
My mind: hell no.
My everything else: fuck yes.
I was still tingling from exploding in his arms a moment ago.
I looked up. “And if I wanted to go home?”
“I’ll have Tanner ride with you.” He didn’t hesitate. “You know the truth about Brooke leaving. I’m trusting you with that information. No one knows.”
“Not even your brothers?”
He nodded. “No one.”
“What agenda do you have? What’s your endgame here?”
“No endgame. I’m being selfish; that’s all.” He tipped my head up, raising my gaze to his. His finger caressed under my chin. “I want you to come with me. That’s it.”
Oh. Well. When he put it like that, I knew my answer.
“No.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I held still after giving Kai my response.
My heart pushed against my chest, beating hard, and he dipped his head in an abrupt nod.
“Fine.” He stood. His hand fell away from my face. His heat left my side. There was no comforting weight on the bed with me.
I shivered, feeling coldness in the room and knowing it was him pulling away from me.
“I’ll tell Tanner and Jonah to accompany you home.”
My mouth fell open. He left the room with quick and decisive strides.
He was actually doing it. He was letting me go, after what we’d just done.
The shock lodged firmly in my throat and remained there long after he’d left, long after I heard the door click shut behind him, and even when a staff person came in and began packing a bag for me.
I stood, shaking. “Those aren’t mine.”
“Mr. Bennett said to pack you clothes since your scrubs are gone.”
Right. Because they put them on a look-alike to trick Blade.
Everything hit me with a thud.
Fuck’s sake. I’d been kidnapped and now I was aching because I got to leave?
My head began pounding.
“You can go with him, you know.”
Tanner stood in the doorway, his arms crossed, one foot over the other.
“What?” I croaked.
He flicked his eyes to the ceiling. “I know what you smell like, darling.”
The back of my neck heated. I snuck a look at the staff woman, but she didn’t pause. She folded a shirt I’d worn every other day here. She knew it was one of my favored ones, then reached for another I liked.
“That’s none of your business, Tanner.” I stiffened.
“I know that. I just don’t care. Listen.” He gripped the sides of the doorframe and let himself fall forward, his elbows pointed out. He began pushing back and forth, his biceps bulging from the motion. “Yeah, how we brought you here was shitty. But you know our name. You wouldn’t have come if we’d asked, and you wouldn’t have helped find Brooke either. You know it. We know it. Kai’s the one who has to make those shitty decisions—but make no mistake, if it wasn’t him, it’d be me. We have a whole family full of sharks who want to come in and take what we have. We will not let that happen, any of us. We’re Bennetts. That means something, even with Brooke.”
He tipped his head forward, his eyes knowing. “And you know it too. What Kai should’ve done, and I’m assuming he didn’t, was emotionally blackmail you. He should’ve said there’s a damn good chance Brooke’s going to do something stupid when she sees him on that doorstep. She’ll get someone killed because she doesn’t act rational sometimes. She jumps before looking where she’s going. Kai could’ve said that, but he didn’t, did he? Chew on that a second, huh?”