Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
“I don’t need to be asked,” he states, staring down at me. “They fucked with you. They tried to fuck with us. They knew who they were messing with and the risk they were taking.”
My eyes bulge out and I rise up off the couch, turning to face him. “Maybe they did, but what about the other guys who lived in that house? Did you even think of them? You can’t control a fire, Killian. More people could have been killed—innocent people!”
His jaw ticks, but I don’t see the merest sliver of guilt in his eyes over the possibility that there could have been collateral damage. “I told you that I would take care of it, and I did. Were there risks involved? Of course. I was willing to live with them. If those other guys weren’t associating with scumbags, then they wouldn’t have been in my path. They were. Luckily for them, they all survived. It’s a happy ending, Brynn. End of fucking story.”
I shake my head, unable to believe his callousness. “Is this why you weren’t worried when Aiden said Kyle had a new plan to come after me? You knew he wouldn’t have a chance to enact it?”
He shrugs, and I take it as a yes.
He’s defensive. I think he hardly wants to talk to me right now, but in another sense, I think he does. I think he wants to talk to me more than anything.
“What if someone saw you?” I ask. “What if there’s evidence? You could get in trouble for this.”
“I’m not going to get in any trouble. It’s over. It’s done. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
A chill passes over me, and I think Toast is detecting a disturbance because she comes over to brush against my leg and look up at me as if to ask if everything is okay.
Yeah, everything’s great. Your new daddy is an unrepentant murderer, that’s all.
I bend down to scoop her up. I kiss her on the head and stroke her back, and as I do, I try to figure out where the hell to go from here.
I don’t think I can stay here tonight. I don’t know how I feel about Killian, but I know how I feel about what he did, and right now, being around him doesn’t make me feel safe.
The problem is, I don’t have anywhere to go.
But I suppose he doesn’t know that. At least not yet.
“The locks have been changed at my apartment,” I say, hating how thick with emotion my voice sounds. It’s hard to come off casual and nonconfrontational when I sound like this. “I can’t imagine Aiden fucking with me when he has to realize how narrowly he escaped death last night, so… I think I’ll stay there tonight.”
I can feel his gaze on me, but now that I’ve made up my mind, I don’t want to risk anything changing it. I kiss Toast on my way around the couch, and I head for the kitchen to grab a couple of tins of her food.
“I don’t want you to go.”
Killian’s voice behind me slows my steps, but doesn’t stop them.
I don’t answer him, and apparently, he doesn’t like that.
His voice harder but rawer at the same time, he says, “Don’t go, Brynn.”
My heart aches, but I have to. I need time to sort out my own thoughts, time away from him to process everything.
“It’s not goodbye,” I say softly. “I just… need some space right now.”
His voice is closer when he speaks, startling me. I didn’t hear him move, but he’s right behind me. “And what if I say no?”
My heart sinks, but my will is resolute. “Then maybe it is,” I state, hating the hint of fear in my voice when I say it.
But how can I not feel a little afraid?
Knowing what he’s capable of, how can I even be sure he would let me say goodbye?
Killian grabs my hips and turns me around to face him. I look up at him, trying my best to hide all my conflicted feelings, but I feel certain he can see right through me. I know he can see my fear no matter how hard I try to mask it, and I think if he truly cared about me, it should bother him.
But I don’t think it does.
If it does, maybe he is quickly accepting the reality over his preference. He wants me to want to stay, but… maybe that part is negotiable.
I swallow audibly, and the faintest glimmer of amusement returns to his moody blue eyes. “All right,” he says simply.
My heart rebounds quickly, soaring with surprise. “Really?”
He nods, bringing a hand up and caressing the curve of my jaw. “Of course. You’re not my prisoner. If you’d like to stay the night with Stacie, you’re free to go.”