Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
I sank down on the bed and stared down at the phone. Canyon’s name with a heart emoji beside it. What was I supposed to believe? I needed to talk to Pepper. She would help me sort this all out. Make sense of it all. I typed in her name, then pressed Call on my cell.
Three rings, then voice mail. Ending the call, I decided to text her instead.
I need you. It’s a 911 kinda thing. I am currently being held at your brother’s club or whatever this place is. He thinks I’m unsafe at home. Call me.
After pressing Send, I waited for the phone to ring or even to see that she had read my text. Neither happened. I tried calling again. Three rings, then voice mail. She would call me as soon as she saw this. I placed the phone on the bedside table and lay back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. Maybe Pepper would read it and come straight here. Not even call. She’d be so mad at Micah that she would burst in here and take me home.
The knock on my door had me scrambling off the bed and hurrying to the door. Perhaps that was Micah and I was getting to leave. I unlocked it and swung it open to find Nina standing there with a tray of food, just like Tex had promised. Disappointed, I forced a smile.
“Thank you, Nina,” I told her, although I wasn’t in the least bit hungry. I reached out to take the tray.
“I know you’re ready to go, and that food won’t make that any better, but I did add a large slice of my coconut cake. It can give you a brief moment of joy maybe.” The pity on her face didn’t reassure me that I would be sleeping in my bed tonight.
“I’m sure it’s delicious,” I replied.
It wasn’t Nina’s fault I was stuck here. She had been nothing but kind to me. I’d manage to eat some of it just not to hurt her feelings or seem ungrateful.
“Try and get some rest. All will look better in the morning.”
I started to tell her Pepper would be here to get me before morning but thought better of it. I didn’t know how the roles or chain of command worked around here, and if Nina answered to Micah, then as nice as she was, I couldn’t trust her.
“I will,” I assured her, although it was a complete lie. I wasn’t getting any sleep in this room.
“All right then, I’m heading home for the day. My ol’ man is working at Throttle tonight. I’ll be here in the morning, bright and early. Come on down to the kitchen when you get up.”
She didn’t live here? Who did all these rooms belong to? No. It didn’t matter. I was leaving soon. No need to worry about it.
I nodded. “I will.” Another lie. “Good night then.”
Once the door was closed and locked, I walked over and set the tray on the dresser. My mouth was dry, so I took the water, but I didn’t want anything else. Not even the coconut cake. I checked my phone again, and nothing from Pepper.
Frustrated, I used the bathroom, then lay back on the bed after taking a few long drinks of water. It surprised me when my eyes grew heavy. I hadn’t expected that, but then it had been a long day, and maybe resting my eyes for a bit wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Loud knocking on the door caused my eyes to snap open, and I blinked, confused. Then, reality set in, and I remembered exactly where I was and why. Hurrying to get up, I rushed to the door, almost tripping over my heels I had taken off before lying down. I caught myself before I face-planted and then made it to the door just as another knock rattled it.
Quickly unlocking it, I swung it open to see Tex standing there.
A small smile tugged on his lips. “Getting a nap, darling?” he asked, amused.
I nodded.
“Get your shoes on and grab your things,” he said, then stepped back and waved his hand for me to come out of the room.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I went to slip on my heels.
“Your apartment,” he told me with a slight curl to his lips. “Seems you’ve been granted your request.”
Relief washed over me, and I let out an excited squeal as I grabbed my phone and purse. Pausing at the door, I stopped to throw my arms around his neck and hug him. It was a reflex sort of thing. I was happy. He tensed at first, and then a low chuckle escaped him, and he returned my hug.
“What the fuck?”
Micah’s voice startled me, and I dropped my arms from around Tex and spun around to look at him. He was stalking down the hallway toward us. I took a step back, not sure if I should run now or start screaming. Had Tex been wrong and I wasn’t supposed to leave? My stomach sank, and I felt tears start to burn my eyes again.