Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Get dressed,” the man growls, and I rush to obey despite my recent thoughts.
“Nash,” Hollis growls. “Put the fucking gun away.”
Nash, as Hollis called him, presses the gun harder against Hollis’s temple.
“Fucking try me, asshole,” the man growls. “Put these on.”
I swallow, wondering what he’s going to want from me, when Nash steps back and pulls out a pair of handcuffs, tossing them in front of Hollis.
His jeans are still around his thighs, his heavy cock no less impressive even as it rests against his thigh. My first instinct is to reach for him, to pull up his jeans and cover that exposed part of him, and my stomach swims with guilt for my lie. I lock eyes with him, and I’m greeted with a different look from the one he was giving me before this guy came in. Before I thought he really hated me. It fed some deep part of me that may always believe I’m not worthy of anything good. Right now, he looks apologetic, and I can’t tell if it’s guilt or some level of his own fear. Then it shifts again, as if blinking his eyes made him realize something he never considered before.
Hollis glares at me as if I’m the one responsible for all of this happening as he picks up the cuffs. In a way, he may be right. Had I left when he told me to, he wouldn’t have a gun pointed at him.
“Nice fucking try,” Nash growls when Hollis attempts to put the cuffs on in the front. “At your back, asshole. I said get some fucking clothes on.”
His harsh tone makes me scramble up to standing. I have to leave the room to get my dress, having left it on the bed while Hollis was out getting food.
“How the fuck did you know?” I hear Hollis growl.
“You had two drinks,” the man explained. “One was diet. I didn’t figure you were watching your caloric intake.”
My hands shake uncontrollably as I try to dress, causing me to drop the garment to the floor twice before managing to pull it over my head. I slip my legs into my panties, knowing that the barrier will provide no form of protection once this man gets me back to Alessio.
I look toward the window, wondering how badly I’d be cut if I jumped through the thing. I’d never have enough time to open it and climb out, but a shadow crosses the doorway, and there the man is, his gun now pointed at me.
“Don’t even think about it,” he snaps.
“Nash!” Hollis growls. “Leave her the fuck alone.”
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on,” the man says, his eyes darting from me to Hollis. “But we’re going to get to the end of it. Come on.”
My body moves instinctively, just like it’s done when commanded by anyone connected to the Severino family.
By the time I make it back into the living room, Hollis’s pants are pulled up, and he’s sitting on the couch, hands cuffed behind his back.
“We’ll take your truck,” Nash tells Hollis before turning back to me. “Do you know how to drive?”
I nod, thinking his question is ridiculous. Doesn’t everyone fucking know how to drive?
We’re instructed to climb into the truck, me behind the wheel and Hollis in the passenger seat. Nash climbs into the back seat of the double cab truck, his gun still out and directed at Hollis as if he expects the guy to perform a magic trick and suddenly be out of the handcuffs.
I feel Hollis’s eyes burning on the side of my face, and I hate the look of betrayal in his eyes when I have to look over my shoulder to back out of the garage once the door is fully up.
I’m frozen, locked in his stare.
“Rape?” he snaps, making my chin tremble once again. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“He’s going to kill me,” I whisper.
“He isn’t one of Alessio’s men,” Hollis growls, but it doesn’t make me any less scared of what’s going to happen to me.
I look back at the man who seems as invested in our conversation as the two of us. Tears burn my eyes, and for the first time in as long as I can recall, I don’t fight them.
“Mads,” Hollis whispers, and I’d like to think he’d reach for me, comfort me in some way if he could. “Swear to fucking God, Nash, if you don’t fucking take these cuffs off…”
“Not going to happen,” Nash says. “Let’s fucking go.”
“Where the hell are you taking us?” Hollis demands of the man before turning his eyes back to me. “You’re not in danger, Mads.”
“I’m going to let Angel sort this shit out.”
“Aw, shit. This is worse than I thought,” Hollis mutters.
Chapter 25
Hollis
My thoughts race as Madelene drives toward Angel’s office. She seems no less scared even after being told Nash isn’t part of Alessio’s crew. I can’t tell if she thinks I’m lying or if she believes I’m part of whatever the hell is going on right now.