Total pages in book: 224
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
“Fuck,” I breathe out and look at Gabe. “No. They do not need this right now.”
“We need to talk to Reese,” he says.
“I need to own this,” I reply. “It’s on me.” I scrub my jaw and look between them. “I need to call him.” I grab my phone from my pocket and dial Reese.
“Reid,” he answers.
“Are you with Cat?”
“Yes.”
“Then I need to see you. I’m at Gabe’s. Can you come here?”
He’s a silent a beat, clearly weighing his words. “Yes. Any details on the phone?”
“Cat and Carrie were followed today by a man who hates me. He confronted Carrie after Cat left, but I’m concerned he’ll go after anyone that matters to me.”
He’s silent but I swear I can almost hear his mental cursing. “Understood. See you in a few.” He hangs up and the doorbell rings.
“That will be Carrie,” Gabe says, eyeing me.
Suddenly I want to kiss my fiancée and tell her I was an asshole back at the apartment. I hurry forward and open the door to find the last person I expect to see, considering Gabe’s comments ten minutes ago: My father. And he’s not alone. Carrie is standing next to him.
Chapter ninety-seven
Reid
The past that he can never escape…
“I love you.”
Those words stop me in my tracks, which in this case is on a sidewalk on my way back to my apartment after leaving a dorm party early so I could study. I pull Kelly in front of me. “What?”
“I love you. I just thought you should know.”
“We need to talk, Kelly,” I say, because yeah, she’s a pretty redhead with a heart of gold, but she’s not my woman. She’s not the woman for me She’s a person I fuck and that line is it for me. “I told you what this is. It’s college fucking.”
“I know,” she says, pushing to her toes to kiss me. “I need a soda to take back to your apartment.” She darts away and into the store to my right.
I scrub my face and grimace. Fuck. This has to end tonight. I’m not in love with her. I’ll never be in love with her and I hate what that means. I’m going to hurt her. I’m going to cut her and deep.
I follow her into the store and she’s already walking toward me. “I got you one too,” she says, holding up her hands with a soda in each.
I stare at her and damn, she’s beautiful and sweet and I should be in love with her, but I’m just not wired that way. I’m not in that place in my life or maybe just with her.
The door opens behind me and Kelly’s eyes go wide, terror on her face. I whirl around and find a guy in a ski mask, holding a sawed-off shotgun he’s waving between me and the kid behind the counter. And he is a kid, a few years younger than me. I take a step toward the asshole and he does just what I want. He points the gun at me and me alone. “Hands up or I’ll shoot!” he shouts.
“Give me the gun,” I order.
“Back off, dude,” the masked man orders. “Or I will shoot you.”
I stare into his eyes, seeing the panic in them and I believe him. He’s going to shoot, and if it’s not me, it’s the kid behind the counter. “I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else,” I warn. “So either leave or shoot me.”
“Hi,” Kelly says, jumping to my side. “Hi. Please don’t hurt anyone.” She darts forward, right in front of me. My heart lurches and I grab her arm to shove her behind me, stepping toward the gunman.
I release her and he shouts, “Back off now! Get me the money. Get it now, now, now!” He looks toward the guy at the register and the gun swings back my direction and everything goes into slow motion.
Kelly darts in front of me again and a moment later, she’s on the ground and I’m staring down at her blood pooling around her body. The gunman rushes for the door and I kneel next to Kelly, my heart in my throat. “Kelly,” I breathe out. “Kelly. Damn it.”
Her mouth is open and she’s trying to speak, but can’t. “Don’t try to talk,” I say, applying pressure to the wound in her chest. “Get an ambulance! I need an ambulance.”
Kelly starts to convulse and I know even before it happens what that means. She jerks and then goes still, her eyes no longer blinking. Sirens sound and the kid behind the counter appears and kneels beside me. “What can I do?”
“Hold pressure on the wound,” I say, and the minute he takes over, I try mouth to mouth, damn glad my mother made me learn it. I breathe into her mouth and keep trying but I know she’s gone. I know she’s not coming back but I have to try. I have to try and I do. Over and over and over again until someone is grabbing me and pulling me off of her.