Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
The beautiful brunette merely clings tighter to my neck, pressing her curvy form close as I stride from the safe house. Then, I load her into the Maserati before we take off into the night, leaving this shitshow behind. After all, Sydney didn’t deserve this. I’ve ruined the sweet girl’s life in more ways than one, turning it into a huge, non-stop clusterfuck, and I wouldn’t blame her if she wants nothing to do with me going forward.
11
SYDNEY
Even after a long, hot shower, I’m still shaking like a leaf. What the hell just happened? I was kidnapped and nearly assaulted by two men that I just met tonight. What if Ranger hadn’t shown up when he did? Well, I know what would have happened, but I refuse to let myself follow that train of thought because it would make me nauseous to my stomach.
Yet I don’t know what to think about Ranger either because yes, he was my knight in shining armor. But by no means is he faultless either. He staged a hijacking and then lied to me about it. He scared a plane full of passengers for no reason. What sane man does that?
But these issues must be addressed, and as a result, I sit on the white couch in his penthouse, my hair plastered in a wet mess to my back. I have no make-up on and I’m sure I look ghostly pale, but I don’t care. This conversation is too important and can’t be postponed anymore.
“Ranger,” I manage in a steady voice. “What’s going on?”
Then, to my horror, I begin to cry all over again. This is not what I wanted. I wanted to appear strong and confident after the abuse I’ve suffered, but now, here I am bawling like a baby.
The handsome man quickly shushes me and comes to sit at my side, his big form reassuring with its bulk and heft.
“It’s okay, Sydney, you’re safe now,” he says in a low voice.
“But what if they come back?” I sob. Ranger’s eyes deepen to a midnight shade as he growls.
“I’ll kill them, what else? But Sam and Clement aren’t going to come back because they’ll be rotting away in a prison cell for the foreseeable future. I guarantee it.”
“But–”
“No,” he says in a rough voice. “I’m a powerful man, Sydney. I haven’t always conducted myself well, but I promise you this -- you’re safe now, and there’s no need to worry anymore. Ever.”
I merely sniffle pathetically while wiping at my tears, and the gesture causes Ranger to sag. He lets out a sigh too, shaking his head.
“I’m so sorry this happened, sweetheart,” he says in a low tone. “You didn’t deserve any of that, and you wouldn’t have had to suffer if it wasn’t for me and my idiotic decision-making process.”
That only makes me cry harder as Ranger looks on with an agonized stare.
“It’s my fault,” he continues muttering. “I never should have taken the job as an air marshal because all it did was to create resentment. You know that most of the other trainees never even graduated college? Oh sure, a couple had a year or two of secondary education, but I was the only one with a bona fide degree.”
I sob a little. “Why does that matter? I don’t have a college degree either.”
Ranger shoots me an agonized look.
“For you, it doesn’t matter, Sydney, because you’re not like them. You don’t get consumed with jealousy and envy, but that’s what happened to Sam and Clement. They got a glimpse of my lifestyle, which only reinforced everything that they don’t have.”
“You think?” I add through my sniffles.
Ranger nods, tormented.
“I’m sure of it. I’m a billionaire, and the CEO of a massive company. Yet I didn’t think twice about inviting them into my penthouse or taking them to fancy restaurants and covering the bill. I went on vacations too, and they were to places Sam and Clement had never heard of: St. Tropez, or Chamonix, or even Eze in the South of France. They don’t know that shit. Those two lunkheads have never even left the continental U.S.,” he snorts.
“Neither have I,” I remind in a small voice.
Ranger merely sighs again, his broad shoulders sagging.
“I know, but you don’t resent me for those kinds of things. I never should have talked about my lavish vacations, or the hotels we stayed in, or the fact that I have a private jet. Instead, I should have been more aware and just stayed in my lane. What the fuck is wrong with me?”
I hiccup a little.
“It’s not your fault,” I say in a low voice. “You can’t read minds.”
But Ranger merely shakes his head again, his voice vibrating with anger and resignation.
“I should have realized that those fuckers would get jealous and vengeful. And you, Sydney, were the tinder that transformed their rage from a simmering boil into an out-of-control conflagration. They wanted me to get fired, don’t get me wrong, and I deserved to be fired by the TSA too. But those assfuckers just couldn’t stomach the thought that I was able to take you home with me after everything that happened.”