Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
I glance around the lodge area. No one’s around. I’m sure Aurora, Bells, and Clover are likely in their bedrooms. Well, in the bedrooms of the men who live out here. It’s a love fest.
I came here to get the story for Aurora. She became the obsession of one of the men on my list. I’m going to ruin that bastard’s name. There’s no way I’m going to let everyone think the late Kent Kingston was a great man. I’ll be exposing him along with everyone else.
It’s a miracle Aurora, Bells, and Clover found this place. I mean, aside from the car crash that led them here. The men that live in this-high tech compound came to their rescue. Four very interesting men. I poke at them, looking for a scoop, asking what they do for a living. All they ever say is that they’re retired. I can never get them to elaborate on what exactly it is they’ve retired from, and they’re all way too young for an AARP discount. Which only makes me more curious.
It didn't take me long to figure out that all of them are deadly. For all I know, they could’ve been mercenaries or hitmen. That should scare the crap out of us girls, but it obviously doesn’t, considering I’m the only one left who hasn’t shacked up yet. I keep telling myself that whatever job they had before was on the side of the good guys.
The one thing I know for sure is that I’m going to need their protection going forward if I want to stay alive. I have no doubt the powerful men I’m going to out will come for me. But they’ll have to find me first. This giant compound is hidden away. They can track me to the airport, but after that I went off the grid. I’m scared, but I know what has to be done. I click the send button and then slam my laptop closed. I toss it over to the other end of the couch. I lean back and close my eyes, telling myself I can handle this.
“You're still here, Red? You already got your story.” My stomach flutters at the sound of his voice. I hate myself for it. I’ve been trying to fight my attraction to him. I open my eyes to see Tiernan.
Why are all the hot men assholes? Hot is actually putting it mildly when describing Tiernan. The man is built. I barely come up to his chest. I’m used to having to look up at people. I’m short at five foot two. It’s why I always wear heels. I’m not only short, I’m tiny too. He stares at me with those cool blue eyes waiting for an answer. He folds his arms over his chest, and I get that glare he always sends my way.
Tiernan has been a jerk to me since I got here. He glares at me while muttering words I can't hear under his breath. For the most part when I walk into a room, he walks out. Other times, he lingers and does things to annoy me. He really wants me out of here. I have no freaking clue why. He doesn't have a problem with any of the other women. I’m scared he might just kick me out into the snow. Then where would I go?
“I’ll be out of your hair soon enough,” I say as I stand. I might want to think about having a Plan B as far as my safety in case he does decide to toss me out. “I can only put up with you being an asshole for so long.”
“Red.” His tone is filled with warning. If he’s going to be an asshole, I might as well be one back.
“Jerkface,” I toss back.
He drops his folded arms from his chest. Something dark flashes in his eyes. “Don’t talk shit, and there won’t be no shit.”
I give him my best smile. “That’s a double negative that makes no sense.”
He takes a step toward me.
I lick my bottom lip.
His nostrils flare. His hands fist at his side, but he doesn’t say anything else to me before he turns and leaves the room. He’s confirmed I’ve overstayed my welcome, and my days of staying here are numbered.
2
TIERNAN
Why does she have to tempt me? That smart mouth of hers is going to get her in trouble. I was so close to grabbing a handful of her red hair and bending her over the counter. But I can’t. Daphne’s dangerous, far more dangerous than any of the assassins and mobsters I’ve dealt with in the past.
Daphne’s a reporter, one who gets far too many visitors to her blog and her articles for some pretty fucking huge news operations. I can’t get close to her, especially after she’s already mentioned that I look familiar to her.