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 growl and mutter something under my breath about him being a bastard. I don’t care if it makes me a possessive asshole. I nearly lost my woman. I’ll fight all the demons in hell if that’s what it takes to make sure she stays by my side.
Charlie takes a seat on the bed, careful not to jostle me. She lets me hold her hand while she uses her other one to brush the hair from my forehead. “He wouldn’t leave my side until he knew he could deliver me safely back to you.”
“He still shouldn’t be looking at you,” I grump even though I owe Ryker. He stood guard. He was a shield around my woman when I couldn’t be, and that’s a debt I’ll never be able to repay.
“You scared me,” she murmurs.
“You scared me first.” I lean into her touch. All I want to do is take her in my arms and roll her underneath me. I want to make love to her until I forget the terror I felt when I realized Davis had kidnapped her. I need to make love to her over and over again until I can finally reassure myself that she’s safe.
She hesitates then says softly, “How did you know? I didn’t even realize Davis was in on it.” Her eyes go round. “Is he—Ryker hasn’t told me anything.”
“He’s gone, lamb. He can never hurt you again.”
She’s quiet for a long moment, processing this. Outside the hospital window, thunder rumbles in the distance. The darkening sky promises rain and I need to gather my lamb in my arms and take her back to my home. It’s our home now, if she’ll share it with me.
“Kyle?” Her voice sounds tiny and broken.
“He’s confessed to a lot of crimes. He’s going away for a long time.” I don’t want to share all the dark things I learned about him and his father. The twisted games they would play with their victims, starting with Davis’s wife and Kyle’s mother.
“Why did you come find me?” She asks again. She’s picking at the hospital blanket, toying with a loose string. I watch her wind and unwind it around her little finger.
“Luke and I had a hunch that something wasn’t right. He found evidence that Kyle had an accomplice. It’s what he and his dad would do. One of them would stalk a woman while the other would gain her trust by acting like her rescuer.”
She shivers. “That’s really disturbing. Is that why he came to the barn?”
I hate telling her these things, but it will all come out eventually. As it is, I’m worried about the media coverage. So far, Luke has managed to keep most of it quiet. Still it’s only a matter of time before something like this becomes front page news. Every talk show in America will want to feature my woman. They’ll start calling and hounding her. “They probably thought it would push you right toward the Dean and then he could convince you he’d keep you safe. Kyle did a good job of acting like an obsessed stalker when I talked to him. But he slipped a few times and that’s what tipped us off.”
“Yeah, I guess it all makes sense.” She stops toying with the blanket and pushes to her feet. She gives me a smile that looks so damn sad it breaks my heart. “I should let you get some sleep now.”
Charlie
I’d hoped Brody would say something about coming to find me because he’s in love with me too. But I’m pretty sure I’m alone in this. He hasn’t said a word about feeling the same way. Elliott was right. I have some stupid trauma fixation on this man.
I finally stop twisting the loose thread from the blanket. Brody was here when I needed him. I should be grateful for that and not make things weird between us by acting like sleeping with him meant anything. We’re not a couple, and we never will be.
I’m careful not to bump him when I stand from the bed. “I should let you get some sleep now.”
“You sit that cute ass right back down. I’m not done talking to you yet.” He’s using that deep commanding tone I like so much, the one that always makes my panties wet. I probably shouldn’t be getting turned on because he’s in a hospital bed and I bet that makes me a horrible person.
Still, I can’t stay here and do this. I can’t stand here and tell him what’s bothering me. He’ll just rip my heart to shreds and that’s something I really don’t need right now. “I need to go.”
His gaze bores into mine so intense that I have to look away for fear he’ll see all my secrets beneath the surface. “No, I let you run once and I’m not fuckin’ doing it again. So if you leave, I’m going to follow you even if I have to crawl. Or worse, get a piggyback ride from Ryker.”