Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
When I spotted the shoes he brought, my heart warmed.
A black leather pair of ballet flats rested on the carpeted floor of the closet, and under the circumstances, I couldn’t have picked a more sensible style of shoe. I tried not to think too much about Julius and his thoughtfulness, but it was hard not to. When I slid them on, they were a little big, but maybe only half a size.
When I was as satisfied as I could be with my appearance, I walked out of the closet, careful to not put too much pressure on my injured foot. Julius stood from his seated position on the bed, noticed my limp immediately and frowned. “I forgot.” His mouth pursed. “It hurt a lot?”
Keeping my eyes on the ground at his feet, I reached up to place loose strands of hair behind my ear, and muttered, “Taking the packed gauze out of the wound wasn’t exactly fun.”
“No,” he stated, his tone gentle. “It wouldn’t have been.” He watched me closely a moment before he checked his wristwatch and sighed, “We have to go.”
He turned and left the room without speaking another word, leaving the door open behind him. I took it as an open invitation and followed like the pet I was.
I get to sit in the front of the black, scary-looking SUV this time around. And from the moment we are buckled up and ready to go, Julius starts lobbing rules at me.
Pressing a button on the driver side of the car, all the doors lock at once, and as the car is set into motion, Julius begins talking. “I don’t want you to misunderstand me, Alejandra, so it’s better if I tell you how this is going to go down. If you attempt to gain the attention of any passersby while we are driving, I’ll punch you so hard, right in the mouth, hard as I can, and you will pass out.”
I see. Not a violent guy at all.
That’s reassuring.
I remain silent as he goes on. “If you tell anyone in the outside world that you’ve been kidnapped, I will shoot those motherfuckers right in the head, right on the street, and let their deaths be on your conscience.”
Again, good to know. Not that I expected anything else.
“If you try to escape me—which would be foolish, to say the least—I will lock you in my closet without food or water up until the time you starve to death, at which point, I will deliver you to Vito Gambino and be on my way, back to living my life.”
Ouch.
That one stung a little.
He does not look at me the entire trip, just drives carefully with his eyes on the road. Eventually, the car slows to a crawl then stops completely in front of an old style redbrick bungalow. “You will not look at anyone. You will not talk to anyone. You will be polite, and you will not speak unless spoken to, understand me?”
“I understand,” I mutter reluctantly.
He nods, sighing lightly, looking somewhat reassured. “Good. That’s real good.”
Julius steps out of the car and walks around to the passenger door just as I move to step down onto my sore heel. I hiss lightly and lift my foot again to take the pressure off, but Julius is there before I can blink and lifts me down off the high seat of the SUV and lowers me carefully until both of my feet touch the ground together.
The soft scent of his aftershave has me near salivating. He smells divine. I swallow hard then blink up at him, his hands still clutching my waist, and mumble, “Thank you.”
He ignores my appreciation as much as he ignores my warm gaze and takes my hand, tucking it into the crook of his elbow. “Don’t put all your weight on it. Use me as a crutch.”
I’ve used people as a crutch my entire life, Julius. Don’t ask me to do the same with you. I’m afraid to.
Because I could definitely get used to using Julius as a crutch. And a fine crutch he’d make.
The gentle wind blows my hair into wretched snarls as we move in sync. We walk to the front door of the home in silence, because, quite frankly, there’s nothing more to say. He steps forward, lifting his finger to ring the doorbell. Choir bells chime in the distance and the door swings open.
A pretty, short woman with curves to kill and skin the color of melted chocolate gasps when she spots Julius. The jeans she wears look painted on, and the black, long-sleeved tee hugs her large bosom. The only thing out of place is her white and pink fuzzy bunny slippers. Her soft brown eyes are surrounded by long, thick lashes, and her long brown curls hang loosely to her hips. Her gaping mouth quickly turns into a smile. “You said you had work.”