Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Diego and Judith exchanged a glance before she turned back to me, her expression serious, but somehow kind.
Jesus, this woman was giving me emotional whiplash with how quickly her moods changed.
“Come with me, mija. Let’s sit down and talk about this.”
I followed her into a large living area with cathedral ceilings. The walls of the room were a beautiful sky blue with a border of shimmering copper leaf that matched the blown glass table lamps. Two enormous distressed brown leather couches sat in the center of the room, and to my right, a carved black marble fireplace dominated the wall. Judith sat on the couch, then patted the space next to her.
“Please, have a seat.”
I did as she asked, as far away from her as I could without being offensive.
Her shark stare was back and it made the hair on the back of my neck prickle.
“What’s up?”
Diego sat across from us and absently moved his braid from behind his back so it lay over his shoulder. I couldn’t read his face, but I did notice the way one of his fingers tapped out a nervous rhythm on the cushion next to him. His tapping finger stilled and I looked away, refocusing my attention on Judith.
Sliding down the couch, Judith took my stiff hand in her own. “Hannah sustained some serious injuries from the attack.”
My stomach bottomed out, and I felt dizzy. “What? You said she was all right.”
“She is,” Diego interrupted. “But she looks bad, really bad, and she knows it.”
“And,” Judith added in a tense voice, “She isn’t handling things very well.”
“For fucks sake,” I snapped, my temper sparking as fear for my friend made my heart race. “Stop pussyfooting around and tell me what’s wrong with her.”
“She’s suffering from PTSD,” Judith said and squeezed my hand tight. “Her mental state is very fragile. If I can convince her to see you, I must have your word that you won’t do or say anything to upset her—and understand, I can’t force her to see you. She needs time to heal, to deal with things on her own, and I promised her she’d have it.”
I wanted to cry, but I smoothed the shimmering cream silk skirt of my dress then nodded. “Okay. But she’s all right?”
She relaxed a little bit, and her grip on my hand lessened. “She’ll be fine, she just needs some time to heal.”
Worried she was all alone with virtual strangers, knowing her parents wouldn’t give a shit, I asked, “Is Leo with her?”
“Yes.” Judith let out a soft huff. “He won’t leave her side unless we drag him away.”
I may have been stupidly jealous of him in the past, but I was grateful he was with Hannah. I know he loved her just like I did and would keep her safe.
Judith stood and Diego followed suit. “Let me go check on Hannah and see how she’s doing. I may be gone for a bit, so feel free to entertain yourself.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone. “No problem, I’ve got a ton of books to read on my phone. Please, take your time.”
After they left, I sent off a series of text messages to my family, letting them know my new address and sending my mom pictures of Mark’s house. She worried about me staying with a strange man, even if his intentions were honorable. I’m hoping the pictures will help her relax once she realizes how nice Mark’s place is, and how big. My dad had evidently had a long talk with Mark at some point, not that anyone had told me about it, and seemed to think I was in good hands.
Licking my lips, I hesitated while texting with Winter, my younger sister, who was a senior in high school. Usually, I was pretty honest and open with her. We’d giggle about sex and the guys I was dating, but talking with my bubbly seventeen year old sister about Ramón wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t even know how to describe what was going on between us. He seemed so…into me, but we were strangers.
Shit, I wondered if he was a stage-five clinger like Hannah.
As soon as I had the thought, I dismissed it with a soft laugh. Of all the things Ramón appeared to be, needy wasn’t one of them. Then again, he did like to micro-manage my life, but that was more a control issue than a dependency one. I’m not the kind of girl that usually likes any guy thinking he can tell me what to do, but I hadn’t put up much of a fight when he’d assigned me a bodyguard without my knowledge, had me followed, and showed up uninvited into my bed every night. Arguing with a man about buying me fabulous clothes, making sure all my needs were taken care of, and basically spoiling me seemed kind of petty and stupid when I thought about it.