Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 160(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 160(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
“I don’t want anybody buried,” I tell him. I don’t think Brody and his Army friends want to hurt anyone. They’re not violent men. But they’ll do whatever it takes to keep me safe from Kyle.
“I’m going to be right there,” Brody reassures me. “Ten feet to your left. What’s the word you say to indicate you want out?”
“Lamb,” I answer automatically.
His friends nod along but it’s obvious from their expressions that they don’t know it’s a pet name. That it’s now my favorite word in the whole world because only Brody calls me by it.
The four of us arrive at the barn in just a few minutes. I don’t know where Sierra is, and I didn’t ask. I don’t want her around in case this turns out badly. Please don’t let Brody or his friends get hurt.
As soon as we’re in position, the message from Kyle comes through. He tells me to meet him in the barn. I’m not surprised that he thinks he can do this. There are always men like him out there in the world, the ones that think they can control another person. They simply decide that a certain woman belongs to them.
“It’s almost over,” Brody squeezes my fingers again and points to an empty stall. This place smells of hay, horse, and manure. The combined scents all tickle my nose in the early morning air. “I’ll be right there, out of his sight. But I’m not leaving you.”
“You’ll be safe?” I ask. It’s the thought that terrifies me. What if something happens to Brody and his friends? They’re amazing men and I couldn’t live with myself if they got hurt because of me.
They’ve already moved the horses out of the barn and into a pasture far away. There’s no risk to them and I love that they care so much about their animals. These three are good men.
“Look up there,” Brody points to the dark corner of the barn where something faintly glints. “Colt will pull the trigger before he’ll let anything happen to either of us. We have your back.”
There’s the faint rumbling sound of a car engine then Brody is pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Just keep him talking. Let him rant as much as possible.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him I love him as he melts into the shadows, but I don’t. Instead, I pull his jacket closer to my shoulders. I can’t seem to get warm ever since I realized that Kyle was here on the ranch.
“Charlotte, Charlotte, you’re OK.” Kyle pushes his way into the barn seconds later and I hate the way he says my name. I hate that he insists on calling me that. He stops about three feet in front of me and for that I’m grateful. He’s dressed in blue jeans and his usual indie band t-shirt.
“What are you doing here, Kyle?” My voice doesn’t shake by some miracle. Ryker told me to ask as many open-ended questions as possible.
“What do you mean? You had me worried, baby.” He scrubs a hand down his face. His clothes are rumpled, and his normally big eyes look even larger with all the puffiness under them. Did he sleep at all once he decided to come here? How many hours has he been driving?
“Why were you worried?” I try to keep my tone light. “I called the school office and let my friends know that I was taking some time off. My brother’s friend owns this place.”
At the mention of Brody, Kyle’s expression changes. There’s a hard glint in his eyes and his stare is downright menacing. “You came out here to whore around with him, didn’t you?”
“He’s just a friend,” I quickly reassure him. My heart twists at the description and I hope Brody doesn’t read anything into it. He’s the first boy I ever fell in love with. He’s the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.
“You were supposed to come home to me,” he insists.
“You mean the lipstick on my walls? The way you broke into my place?” Too late, I realize my tone has turned accusatory. But right now, anger is replacing the fear. This man has spent months terrorizing me, making me look over my shoulder.
“Don’t act like you haven’t been teasing me! Leaving all of those hidden messages in your videos for me to find.” He takes a step closer. There’s a knife in my jacket pocket but I don’t want to use it. Please don’t let him get too close.
“And that makes it OK for you to follow me? That means you can send explicit messages and destroy my property?” I didn’t expect that confronting Kyle would feel so empowering. But this moment right here with Brody and his friends protecting me is giving me back everything I’ve lost over the past months.