Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
The stinging slap echoes throughout the bedroom suite. “Shut up, you little whore.”
I clutch at my face, knowing it’ll probably bruise. Hell, I’ll be lucky if I manage to get through this with just that. But Lionel didn’t raise a daughter that couldn’t take a beating. “You’ll still never be as good as him.”
“You think I don’t have plans? I know exactly what to do and it starts with getting that laptop from you, bitch. I know you hid it somewhere.”
Before I can tell him to go to hell, there’s a loud crash downstairs. It’s the awful wail of metal and glass meeting. The noise is followed by a series of quieter pops. Gunshots. I’ve been to enough of my father’s business meetings to recognize the sound.
For the first time since the conversation started, Gabe’s face goes white. “What was that?”
I give him a triumphant grin. “That’s the sound of my man coming for me.”
He’s my protector and my shield, the one person I can count on. I knew that he’d come. He’d charge into the mouth of hell at only a word from my lips. That’s how much my man loves me.
“We’re leaving,” Gabe announces.
But it’s already too late. I can hear the bedroom doors down the hall being kicked open. “In here!”
Just like that, my bedroom door gives way in a flurry of splinters and Ryker rushes in. His friends are behind him but the smile he gives me takes my breath away. Everything is right in my world now because he’s here.
He crushes me in a tight hug, his familiar scent and warmth surround me. His solid presence comforts me, letting me know this nightmare is over now.
“I was so worried,” he whispers when he pulls away. He cups my face and I know the moment when he sees the bruise on my cheek. The fury in his gaze has his attention snapping to Gabe. “What the fuck did you do to her?”
“N-nothing. She slipped,” Gabe takes a step back as he eyes Ryker and his two big friends. They’re dressed all in black, even wearing ski masks. No one but me would be able to identify the three of them.
“You’re dead,” Ryker growls.
I put a hand on his arm. “No more red streets.”
He wants to argue. I can tell that he does but after a moment, he snaps his mouth closed and nods. “Take him downstairs with the others.”
Colt and Brody drag my stepbrother away as he attempts to bribe them with money, fame, and political power. Poor Gabe. He never realized that there are the few rare men in the world that can never be bought.
“What’s downstairs?” I ask when we’re alone.
Ryker grins. “Agent Swanson. He’s a big fan of yours.”
Now that everyone is gone, my knees are shaky and my breathing is shallow. Black spots float in front of my vision, but I blink them away. “I was so scared.”
He gathers me in his arms and sits in one of the chairs. It groans under his big frame, but he doesn’t stop holding me. “I know, angel. I’m here now. No one is ever going to hurt you again.”
I snuggle deeper into the warmth of his chest as he presses kisses to the crown of my head and rocks me. It’s hard to believe that just this morning, we were cuddling together in bed. “How is Luna? I tried to protect her.”
“She’s fine, thanks to you,” he says. “The vet gave her a clean bill of health an hour ago. She misses you though. Keeps looking at me and whimpering.”
The thought makes me smile. I want more than anything to be back at Ryker’s house with him and his dog.
“I love you,” he whispers into my hair. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
My heart fills with peace at his words. I already knew he loves me but hearing the words out loud gives me a giddy feeling. He loves me. My fierce warrior loves me back. “I love you too.”
He tightens his hold, pulling me even closer. I wiggle against him, smiling to myself when I feel that tell-tale ridge in his pants. He doesn’t just love me. He’s crazy for me.
He groans when I grind against him again. “Agent Swanson will have questions for both of us in a few minutes.”
“That sounds like plenty of time for—”
Ryker’s phone rings. I try to disentangle myself from him to give him privacy, but he’s too strong for me to escape.
He frowns at the screen before answering, “How the hell did you get this number? Yeah, you’re not talking to her. I’ll tell her and if she wants, she’ll come down there. Otherwise, you can go to hell.”
He jabs at his phone screen and meets my worried gaze. “That was your Uncle Bruce. Your dad is awake.”