Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
Crap.
“Wherever I want. Stop following me.” I grip the bag harder and speed up my steps. “I don’t need your protection.”
“Of course you do.” Alpha matches pace with me easily with his long legs. “You thought we weren’t watching the fucking backdoor?”
“A girl can dream. I’m going to call Dad after work, so you might as well give up now. You’ll be on your way back home tonight.”
He barks a hard laugh. “You’re fucking stubborn, I’ll give you that. But the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, little girl. Your Daddy’s not going to call us back until he knows you’re safe. And until then, get used to us.”
“Hey!” I stumble when the bag’s weight suddenly vanishes.
“I’ve got it.” He tucks the bag under his arm like it doesn’t weigh a thing.
That’s it.
I whirl on him and press an accusing finger into his chest. It doesn’t budge. “Give it back. I didn’t ask for your help, and I don’t want you here.”
“Don’t be dumb. It’s heavy and I’m stronger.”
“I think I know how much I can handle, thanks. This is my job. I managed it before you got here and I’ll manage it when you’re gone.”
“Good for you, but accept a little fucking help once in a while. And you’re wasting your breath. I’m not fucking going anywhere.”
Argh! It’s like arguing with a brick wall. “Fine! Just shut up and try not to scare anyone.”
His lips curl up in amusement, but he doesn’t say anything, leaving me to lead the way. I stomp the rest of the way to Mrs. Albert’s house. The sooner I’m back, the sooner he’s out of my hair.
As much as I hate to admit it, the walk does go a lot faster with Alpha’s help. If I’m stuck with these guys pretending to be heroes, then I might as well make use of their muscles. Fitting for a bunch of muscle heads.
Mrs. Albert gives Alpha a strange look when we stand on her doorstep. “Faith, darling. Did you hire someone new?” She peers over the top of her glasses, a little skeptical, but with a touch too much interest if you ask me. She’s old enough to be his grandma!
“No, Ma’am,” Alpha says, pouring on a level of charm that makes me narrow my eyes. “Just a friend of the family.”
She smiles as he sets the books down in her living room. “Oh, that’s nice, then. Maybe I’ll see you next time I visit the store.”
He tips his head. “Maybe.”
I want to scream, but instead I say goodbye and start back towards the store without even checking if Alpha is behind me.
Of course he is.
“Why do we piss you off so much?”
The question is casual, but dredges up so much inside me that I don’t think I could articulate a good answer even if I wanted to. Obviously, Alpha knows who my father is, but I bet he doesn’t know what happened to us.
Dad basically vanished from my life for years after the attack. He doesn’t know anything about the nightmares or the panic attacks. By the time he got back in contact, he had a whole new life and so did we.
But I go with the straightforward answer. “You broke into my house. I thought… I thought a lot of things, okay?”
“And I’m real fucking sorry for that. We were trying to get in and out so it wouldn’t come to this. The least you could fucking do is be civil.”
“Civil? If I wasn’t, you’d know it. I haven’t shot you yet, have I?”
He chuckles and stays quiet after that, but I can’t relax with him there. It’s like a deadly shadow hovering over me, or my own personal raincloud blotting out the sun. Logically I know Alpha wasn’t involved in what happened to me and Mom but that doesn’t mean I like having him hover near me. It makes me less observant than usual, and I don’t even notice the roar of bike engines until I hear the squealing of tires.
“Fuck! Get down!”
Three motorcycles brake hard and fast, carrying men in blacked out helmets. Alpha is on me before I have the chance to scream, wrapping me in his arms and carrying us both over a picket fence into someone’s yard. There’s a crack like a lightning strike—or a gunshot, and one of the fence posts splinters. Another shot thunks into the house behind us. Two more cracks follow.
Now I scream.
Alpha and I roll over two or three times, before he cages me in, using himself as a human shield. “Stay down and stay quiet,” he hisses, his steely eyes boring straight into me. I didn’t even know he was carrying, but there’s a gun in his right hand. “You can lose your shit later.”
I whimper. “What’s happening? Why are they shooting at me?”