Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 123212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
What worries me is that Jude might want to come back and finish the job. He didn’t get the happy ending he was so desperately after and now he’s on the run. No one knows where he is and that terrifies me despite how brave I force myself to appear on the outside, and how many times Nic and the boys tell me they’ll handle it.
It’s become their motto over the past few weeks. ‘We’ll handle it.’
It makes me feel as though I'm some sort of incapable fool. They come to my rescue over and over again and each time, I’m left feeling as though I should have been stronger. I feel so weak, and right now, I’ve never felt so pathetic.
If only I didn’t accept those drinks …
If only I didn’t run to the pool …
If only I’d stayed with Colton …
Who knows what would have happened. I don’t doubt that last night would have been an incredible ending to an already amazing night. He would have spoiled me all night and then taken me up to his room until I was screaming his name, but come this morning when he found out that his father had been murdered, what would have happened then? Would he have still pushed me away? Would he have clung onto me like his only support system? Would he have let me hold him?
I’ll never forget the look in his eyes as he stood over his father’s dead body. He was devastated but strong. He was an heir claiming his rightful place and taking control. He was the fucking man.
Any innocence that he was desperately clinging onto was stripped away and darkness settled over him. He was hurting, and damn it, I don’t doubt that he still is. His warm hand slipped away from mine and whatever twisted emotions had been building between us over the past few weeks burned before my eyes.
Colton looked at me like he could see right through me, like I didn’t even exist, and fuck … it was worse than listening to him call me trash or the help. It gutted me. My fairy tale was well and truly over.
There’s no salvaging what we might or might not have had. Whatever it was, it’s gone now.
He took that dagger from his father’s chest and slammed it down on the table. The sound made me jump as I struggled to deal with the memories of my own father’s murder flying through my mind. Colton turned those steely hazel eyes on me and just like that, I was dismissed.
I was sent away as though I didn’t belong and it tore me to pieces. I don’t know what hurts more; Colton’s dismissal or Jude’s atrocious actions against me.
I guess what it comes down to right now is Charles Carrington. He’s what matters now. He might have been a conniving dick with twisted, unclear motives but for the most part, he was nice to me and my mom. He gave us a home when we would have been on the street. He made sure I had an education, a job, a chance for a good life. He gave us salvation when we had nothing. I’ll always be grateful even if his intentions weren’t exactly pure. I guess his intentions will remain a mystery for now, but in the end, does it really matter?
What matters is that he was brutally murdered in his home while Mom and I were asleep only a short distance away. Hell, Colton was asleep just upstairs. Hearing about random murders back home wasn’t such an odd occurrence, but here in this squeaky, clean-cut town, it’s unheard of. The fact that the man who lost his life is a name that’s known all over the world … well, that just makes it worse.
The cops have been scouring every inch of this massive property searching for evidence all day long. The majority of the staff have been sent home while Mom, Maryne, and Harrison have stayed behind to help out where they can. I’m surprised I’ve been allowed to stay, but after Officer Langston checked through the pool house and took my statement, he cleared me to remain on the property. I guess being drugged and passed out kinda does have a positive, though that just opened up a whole new round of questions—ones I wasn’t prepared to answer.
Since the police first showed up this morning, the whole property has been locked up. After the staff was sent away, it became a no one in, no one out type of situation. Since then, all I’ve been able to wonder is how Milo and Eli had gotten in here. Though knowing Eli, he probably found a lady cop to flirt with or scaled the massive gates, while Milo most likely paid someone off.