Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
He shrugged. “And I don’t care, Hayley. You’ll do as I fucking say.”
I picked up the nearest thing to me on the counter—the toothpaste—and threw it at him. He ducked, and it slammed against the wall. I squeaked when he wrapped a hand around my throat and shoved me against the wall. “I said you’ll do as I fucking say!” he roared in my face.
“Hey!” Miles barked, rushing into the bathroom. He shoved Damien back from me. “Go take a fucking breather, bro,” he ordered.
Damien shot me one last, withering glare before he stalked from the room. Miles pointed a finger at me. “I’m with Damien on this, Hayley. No class.”
He followed after Damien. With an enraged scream, I began tossing everything to the floor, tears pouring down my face. I hadn’t wanted this. Damien had pulled me right into the center of his dark and dangerous world—a world I hadn’t wanted any part of.
And now, there was no way out.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Damien shouted, wrapping his arms around me from behind. He dragged me out of the bathroom and tossed me onto the bed.
“I hate you!” I screamed at him, hating that he was seeing me crying. I didn’t want him to see me reduced to this mess, but I couldn’t fucking hold it in any longer.
He blew out a soft breath and leaned over me, caging me in. “Hayley, you can hate me as much as you want right now, but I’m not letting you get hurt, you hear me? You’re safe here.”
With that, he stood up and went into the bathroom. I curled up on my side, feeling sorely sorry for myself.
I should have listened to Lacie.
I should have listened to my fucking head.
If I had, I wouldn’t be in the predicament I was in now.
8
Things were changing.
I was changing.
Over the past week, I’d somehow fallen under Damien’s thumb, doing as he said without complaint. And after missing a week of school, I’d withdrawn from my classes, telling myself I’d just go back next semester. But I didn’t know if that would be true.
Would I even be alive next semester?
That thought had a shudder wracking down my spine.
I sighed and set the remote on the couch beside me before getting up, wanting to go out on the back porch to get some fresh air. I hadn’t left this house in a week. I’d even begun to avoid Lacie’s phone calls. What could I tell her? Damien had made it clear that I couldn’t tell anyone what he did, what I was now caught up in. She’d want to know why I hadn’t been to class, why I wasn’t staying in my dorm anymore. She’d have so many questions that I wouldn’t be able to give honest answers for.
I pushed open the sliding glass door, nodding once at Quinn who was on my protection duty. He was a funny guy, always cracking jokes to help brighten my mood. He was nice—sweet, really. It was always hard to remember that he worked for Damien.
And men that worked for Damien weren’t good men. There was no way in hell they could be.
But what did that make me? I felt safe with them. I was falling in love with Damien despite how bad and toxic he was for me.
What kind of woman did that make me? To love a criminal?
Suddenly, Damien appeared on the back porch and grabbed me, flattening me against the wall. He pressed his finger to my lips, a gun in his other hand. I swallowed thickly and nodded at him, showing him I understood.
“Stay,” he whispered. “Don’t move.”
I nodded again. He released me and moved towards the door, crouching low. He slipped into the house a moment later, leaving me alone outside. I swallowed thickly, trying to keep my breathing even and calm though I just felt like panicking and running.
You’re safe with him, I reminded myself.
Suddenly, a gunshot sounded through the air. I bit my tongue to keep from shrieking. A minute later, Damien stepped back outside, his eyes finding mine. My lips trembled.
“Come here, darlin’,” he whispered.
I rushed towards him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, crushing me against him. “What—”
“Quinn heard someone enter the house right as you stepped outside,” he informed me. “I was already coming down the drive.” He sucked in a ragged breath, burying his face in my red hair for a moment. “They got sloppy. Coming here was stupid.”
“Is—” I sucked in a sharp breath, “is it over?”
Damien nodded. “It’s over, baby girl. Shouldn’t be any more trouble.”
I lifted my lips up to his, tears that were a mix of fear and relief coursing down my cheeks. “Can—I need—”
Damien put his gun at the small of his back and then gripped the back of my thighs, carrying me into the house. He cupped the back of my head, his other gripping my ass cheek, and he pushed my head into the crook of his neck. “Don’t look,” he ordered.