Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
I met my ex at sixteen at a club where I’d used a fake ID to get in. He was eighteen, charming, from the wrong side of the tracks. All that cliché stuff that appealed to me because I knew my father, lawyer to the stars, would hate him the most.
I didn’t intend to get pregnant.
Or get kicked out of my own home for refusing to give up my child for adoption.
Or end up with an abusive criminal.
That’s why I left my ex. Though in his mind, I was still his.
One day, I’d save enough to get Callie and me as far away from him as possible.
Sucking up my courage, I got out and rounded the hood, ignoring the catcalls from a couple of guys leaning against their car.
I stepped into the yard, and a tall guy with a gun tucked into the waistband of his pants blocked my way.
“Who the fuck are you?” he shouted to be heard over the music.
“Relax, Kai!” My ex’s friend, Brix, clamped a hand on my interrogator’s shoulder. “She belongs to Andros.”
Nathan Andros. My ex. His family owned a Greek restaurant in Culver City. They’d disowned him a long time ago. Just like mine disowned me. But that didn’t make me his.
I belonged to no one but Callie.
Yet, I curbed my tongue, because despite the way it made my throat close with impotent anger, that imagined ownership was the only thing keeping me safe.
Brix gestured with a bottle of beer and yelled, “He know you’re coming?”
I shook my head. “It’s an emergency.”
“The kid okay?” he asked, as if he might even care a little.
“She won’t be. That’s why I need to see Nathan!”
“Shit, man, even I think the music is too fucking loud!” Kai turned on his heel and hurried into the house.
“This way!” Brix jerked his head toward the small porch.
It was like most homes in the neighborhood. Single story in the Spanish style. Bars guarded the windows and the front door.
As we entered the crowded house, the volume of the music lowered. It was still loud, but I couldn’t feel it reverberating through my chest like before. It was stifling hot with all the bodies inside. Alert, wary, I glanced around as Brix led me through the sitting room and into the kitchen. I didn’t see Stacie or anyone else I recognized from my old life. Brix turned left down a hall off the kitchen, leading to what I guessed were the bedrooms.
Crap.
“He’s down here?” I asked, attempting to sound cool.
“He’s in a meeting,” Brix called over his shoulder. Then he stopped at the third door and knocked. “Andros, it’s Brix!”
“I’m busy!”
“Sloane’s here! She said it’s an emergency!”
There was silence, then, “Let her in.”
Taking a deep breath, I prepared to face my ex.
Brix opened the door and gestured me in, and as soon as I stepped inside, the door closed behind me.
We were in the main bedroom, but it was small. Two guys sat in armchairs near French doors that led into the backyard. Behind them, the yard was dark and empty, like the guests had been told it was off-limits. My ex stood near them. And on the bed, looking a little worse for wear, was a gorgeous brunette.
A way-too-young gorgeous brunette.
Nathan gave me a hard look. “What couldn’t wait?”
I glanced at the two men, then back at him. “Can we talk in private?”
“It can’t wait?” he pressed. “I’m in the middle of something here.”
“I only need five minutes.”
One guy gently tapped the other. “Let’s give them a minute.”
“What about her?” The other stared at the brunette like she was a piece of meat.
The girl tensed but said nothing.
“We’ll talk,” Nathan answered. “I’ll be right out.”
The two men were tall. They had a few inches on Nathan and plenty of muscle. The one who had excused them eyed me with a flirtatious smirk as he approached. “Hey.” He jerked his chin as he leaned past me to open the door.
Stepping aside to let them out, I gave him a practiced friendly but platonic smile as I said hey back.
Once the door closed behind them, Nathan crossed the room to me. I tensed as he reached past me to lock the bedroom door.
Intimidation tactics.
Then he put his hands on my hips and yanked me into him. “My girl’s looking tired. You should let me take care of you.”
When I’d first met him in that club, I’d thought him the sexiest guy I’d ever met. His father was Greek, but his mother was Danish-American. That heritage had resulted in beauty for Nathan. Olive skin, dark hair, and striking light blue eyes.
He was all charm and humor, and he’d wrapped me up in affection and attention that I’d been missing at that point in my life.
I was too naive to realize that he got off on taking a good girl and dirtying her up. That I was some kind of prize to him. Something he owned, not someone he loved. Two years after Callie was born, I’d gotten the courage to leave him. He’d haunted my doorstep for a year after that, trying to cajole and threaten me. Thankfully, he’d grown bored. Now he appeared every few months to drop off cash and remind me who owned me. He’d even beaten up a guy I’d dared to date when Callie was five. I hadn’t dated since.