Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“I-I’m okay honey,” she stammered. “I’m okay.”
And at that, I lost it because who was this woman to come marching into our home, insulting everything, breaking furniture, and then literally hitting my mom? I flew at her in a rage, ready to punch, bite and scream, all my frustration and heartbreak erupting at that moment.
But in a flash, Miss Lane pulled a gun from her purse and pointed it directly at me. My feet skidded to a halt, arms still outstretched.
“Stop,” she said in dead voice. “Don’t move.”
Muscles twitching, I didn’t move an inch. Oh my god, was this really happening? Was a strange woman threatening us with a gun, right here in our living room?
But something had changed about Miss Lane. Because she’s never been a nice person, but she’d been alive at least. There’d been a person behind those cold blue eyes, someone with her own life, her own needs and wants, her own dreams. What they were, I couldn’t be sure, but all that was gone now. All that looked back at us was a pair of lifeless blue eyes, cold as ice.
“You’re a slut,” she said tunelessly to me.
My hands up, I decided to give her whatever she wanted.
“Yes,” I nodded slowly. “Yes, I’m a slut. You’re right Miss Lane, I’m a slut.”
Those chin jerked at me.
“You’re a slut of the worst kind. Young, nubile, you tempt him. You make him want you, when he shouldn’t.”
Again, I was gonna agree with anything she said.
“You’re right,” I said, nodding slowly, hands still up. “You’re one hundred percent right, I’m the one who tempted him.”
Beside me, Mary still sat motionless on the ground, quivering with fear.
“Please let my mom go,” I said in a low voice. “Please, she has nothing to do with this.”
“No!” came the harsh word in a furious burst, gun wavering between the two of us, making us both cower. “No! She stays!”
I nodded, breathing shallowly, heart beating like a drum.
“Okay, okay,” I said slowly, totally still, my hands still up. “But please, my mom had nothing to do with this. Just please, take whatever you want, but leave us alone. Please,” I whispered again.
But Miss Lane was on a rant, and couldn’t be stopped.
“You’re a slut!” she screamed. “Say it!”
I nodded furiously.
“I’m a slut,” came my voice. “I’m a slut.”
“You’re a slut who tempted Thorn Channing!” she screamed, even more furious this time. “You’re a slut with a dirty cunt, you made him want you!”
I nodded, eyes wide and frozen.
“I’m a slut who tempted Thorn Channing,” the words came out, frozen with fear. “I have a dirty cunt, I made him want me.”
“And that’s why you deserve to die!” she screamed now, voice going even louder and higher. “You deserve to die because you have a dirty cunt!”
My mouth opened and closed, frozen. Could I say it? Could I say “I deserve to die”? The words were so horrible and my brain screamed. I didn’t deserve to die. I didn’t deserve for this to happen. Sure, I’d made some bad decisions, but dying? Being murdered, right here in the living room, in front of my mom? I couldn’t say it, I wouldn’t.
Miss Lane’s eyes narrowed then, her finger on the trigger, all sanity gone at this point.
“Say it!” she screamed. “Say, ‘I deserve to die!’”
My mouth opened, but the words just wouldn’t come out. My throat wobbled, vocal cords trembling, but I just couldn’t say it. And Miss Lane’s anger went ballistic, rising beyond fever pitch. Her finger began squeezing the trigger, and my eyes closed. Goodbye Mom, I prayed silently. Goodbye Thorn, I’m so sorry things ended like this. I love you.
But instead of a bullet, I was knocked over to one side, landing on the furry rug with a whoof. And at the same time, a dark figure tackled Miss Lane, struggling for a moment before wrenching the gun from her hands and forcing the woman face down on the rug.
I lay there, stunned and breathless, unable to move for a moment. But slowly, my eyes focused because it was Thorn on me. My big, dark lover had come to save the day, and at this moment, all two hundred pounds were draped on me, pressing me into the carpet, shielding me from any bullets.
“You got her?” came his heavy grunt.
My eyes rolled wildly. What was going on?
But the man who’d tackled Miss Lane sat up now, snapping cuffs around her wrists with one hand while pushing her face into the carpet.
“Got her,” he grunted. “She’s not going anywhere. You guys okay?”
And with that, Thorn moved off me. Oh god, it’d felt so good to have him here, that wide chest pressed against my back, the heavy thighs plastered to mine, the assurance of his masculinity, that confidence radiating from his big form. I sat up dazed, looking around as my mom ran over, bursting into tears while throwing her arms around my shoulders.