Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
3
Marco
I hadn’t seen the point of getting into a bidding war with anyone. I don’t care for games at all. Plus, I don’t like to waste time. Especially when Eve was uncomfortable on the stage. I could sense the tension in her body. I’ve watched her speak on the same stage over a dozen times over the years, but this was different for her. She didn't care to be showcased. It made her uneasy.
That for some reason made me restless as well. Her discomfort bothers me, and I wanted it to come to an end. I also didn’t care much for her being up there for all the men of Snow Hills to leer at. I knew for a fact that there were many who were going to bid on her. My ears have been burning since I stepped into the holiday party.
I’d thought about Crane’s approach, but he and Liza have been dating for a little. If I did the same, the townspeople would’ve probably tried to stop me, and then someone would get hurt. And it wouldn’t have been me. So I gritted my teeth and waited for my opportunity.
It took everything in me to manage my self-control. Normally, patience is easy for me. I could stalk and watch my prey for days, waiting to strike. But all of that goes out the window anytime Eve is involved. The woman is under my skin.
Eve gives me one last look before she rushes off the stage. She doesn’t come out like the other woman. I find myself moving toward where she disappeared. I stop when I get to a hallway and see her talking to Liza and Crane. She has her back to me. Eve grabs Liza and pulls her back into the room. I'm pretty sure Liza and Crane just exited that same room.
This only makes me lean more toward the idea that Crane isn’t here for business. If he had been, that went out the window when he laid eyes on Liza. A concept I wouldn't have been able to understand myself until three years ago when I first met Eve.
A year ago, I was called and begged to do one more job. They’d thrown a ton of money at me, but I couldn’t take it. What if I was gone and something happened to Eve was the only thing I kept thinking when considering their proposition. I might not be all over her, but I keep my eyes on her. I know she’s safe, and I keep it that way. So leaving town was never even an option as far as I was concerned. No matter how much they offered.
“We don’t take checks,” Carlton says, coming up to me with his pouch. I stare down at the man. Something isn’t right about him, but I can’t put my finger on it. I try to keep eye contact, but he pulls it away.
“I have cash.” I pull out one of the three envelopes I have inside my back pocket and hand it over. Each of them is holding five grand. I’m always prepared. I didn’t have a clue what someone might bid on Eve, and I wasn’t going to lose. I never do.
“Oh,” Carlton is surprised that I have the cash ready. I keep my eyes on him as he scurries back off. I take one last glance down the hallway to see Eve slip into the room she’s been banging on the door of. It’s a dressing room or one they’d been using as one today.
Knowing where she is, I track after Carlton, keeping a nice distance as I watch him. I grab a chair and sit. As big as I am when I’m standing up, I’m unmissable. At least now I can blend in to a degree as I try and put my finger on why Carlton makes me uneasy.
That’s the thing about psychopaths: They are the hardest to read. They try to blend in but still have quirks that make them stand out. But there are some people that are fucking odd all around and aren’t psychopaths.
My attention shifts to Eve as she reappears with her arm locked with Liza’s. When Eve first moved to town, I wasn’t sure Snow Hills would be a permanent home for her. Her job with the mayor was something to add to her resume to move up and into a bigger city. You can’t get very high in ranks around here. Unless one day she wanted to be mayor herself.
I push those thoughts away, not wanting to think about Eve moving. It sends my mind in a tailspin of having to pack my life up and settle in again somewhere new. I tell myself I wouldn’t follow after her, but I would.
The distance between my cabin and her in town is hard enough. The hold I have on my control is slipping. I grip it as hard as I can, but the rope is tethering away by the second. I’m falling. I should be finding another exit strategy, but I’m letting the rope unravel, and I’m not doing a damn thing to stop it.