Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Okay. Okay. I can do it.”
Just one more block.
Tightening his fingers around his phone, Will pushed himself, digging deep for a little more energy. Charlie wouldn’t lie to him. He wouldn’t abandon him.
Each slap of his feet on the pavement sent a shockwave up his legs while the cold air was razor sharp on his throat. He ignored it all. Even tried to block out the sound of the men shouting at him. As he reached the corner and turned, more shots were fired. He yelped when something whizzed by his ear, but he kept running.
At the end of the next block, another car sat at the corner in the muddy yellow lamplight. He stumbled and slowed. Was this the other car chasing him? Had they gotten ahead of him? Trapped him?
“It’s me! It’s me! Don’t stop!” Charlie shouted in his ear. The passenger side door swung open, and he spotted Charlie’s face grimly lit in the dome light.
A sob of relief nearly broke from Will’s throat and he pushed on. As he reached the car, he dove inside, his head and shoulders slamming into Charlie’s sturdy frame. The car lurched forward in a growl and screech of tires. The door slammed shut under the force of the vehicle racing away.
Will couldn’t bring himself to even sit up properly in the car. He dropped the phone and tightly wrapped his hands in Charlie’s shirt and jacket while keeping his face pressed against his shoulder. Terrified cries finally erupted from him.
“I know, baby. I’ve got you now. No one is going to touch you. I promise.”
Charlie shifted his body and a strong arm was suddenly wrapped around Will as best he could from that awkward position. For several minutes, Will stayed like that. Not moving. Not wanting to even think. He soaked in the reassuring scent and feel of Charlie. Safe. With Charlie, he always felt safe. Fuck logic.
“While I want nothing in the world more than to keep you right here, I need you to put your seat belt on,” Charlie said so very sweetly after they’d gone a few blocks.
The panic had ebbed enough that he could think about the fact that he was clinging to his ex-boyfriend like he meant to never let him go. He needed to pull his shit together. He was alive and unharmed. Charlie seemed to know what he was doing.
He pried loose a trembling hand and pulled himself upright in the passenger seat.
Charlie immediately stretched out his right hand and placed it on top of Will’s head. “Keep your head down.”
“What?”
“We’re still being followed.”
Will’s heart lurched to the top of his throat. He ducked and twisted to look out the rear window. There were car lights behind them, but how could Charlie tell if they were being followed?
“We can’t go to your place,” Will argued. There was no way he was willing to put the others in danger because of his mess. He grabbed the seat belt and jerked on it a couple of times until the damn thing finally released enough slack to allow him to click it in place. This whole thing was such a clusterfuck.
“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of our problem first,” Charlie reassured him, his hand slipping away to join the other on the wheel.
“How? I—”
“You got our location?” Charlie started. His voice tone was different from what he’d been using. Colder and harder. All business and no comfort. Was he talking to the other guys? The last time they’d seen each other, Charlie had been wearing an earpiece that connected him to West and Edison.
“What the hell is going on? Who the fuck are you?” Will demanded.
Charlie glanced at him briefly and then snapped his gaze to the road. “Later.”
“I’m serious. There’s no way you’re IT techs. That’s bullshit.” Anger and confusion bubbled up in his chest, filling his words. It felt better to let the irritation consume him. At least, it was better than the fear and panic.
“If I tell you, are you going to tell us what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into?” Charlie growled.
Okay. So, that might be a very fair point. If Charlie and his friends were risking their lives to help him, they deserved to know exactly why someone very much wanted him silenced permanently.
“Maybe. How did you know there were people waiting outside of my place?”
“Kairo put a couple of surveillance cameras outside your house,” Charlie stated.
“You have cameras on my house!”
His ex appeared completely unrepentant about it. He reached over without looking and placed his large hand on Will’s head, pushing it down. This time, it didn’t slide off but came to rest on the back of his neck. Strong fingers kneaded tense muscles, and Will felt his eyes drifting shut. He knew he needed to bat Charlie’s hand away, to make him stop, but it felt so damn good and it was helping to keep the panic at bay.