Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“No fair.”
“Tell me about it.” He stepped back with a groan. “Best we don’t even touch. I don’t trust myself.”
She had to grin, liking that she pushed his control.
“I’m going to make coffee. Want some?”
“We’re out of hazelnut creamer.”
“No problem, I’ll go grab you some.”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Pretty girl, you’re never a bother. I’ve got to grab a couple of things. I’ll be twenty minutes. You’ll be okay here?”
“I’ll be fine.” Although she hadn’t actually been alone in the penthouse before. But it was only twenty minutes, and it wasn’t like she wasn’t used to being alone.
“Sure?”
“Sure.”
“I have my phone. Evan is right outside if you need anything, okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Evan was one of the guards that Liam had hired to stand outside the apartment door and be bored all day long. Three guards worked in rotation. But you couldn’t even get up to his level without a key card. Plus, there was a doorman on the building. She thought he was overreacting, but Liam wouldn’t be budged.
“Love you, pretty girl.”
“Love you too!”
Instead of going back to painting right away, she decided to go put the coffee on and get a glass of water. Grabbing her phone, she sent off a text to Victor, checking in. As she started the coffee her phone started ringing. She smiled as she saw Ace’s name.
She put him on speaker and set the phone on the counter as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and poured some into a glass.
“Hey, buddy, how are you?” she asked as she heard the door to the apartment shut. Had Nico forgotten something? Or maybe Liam was back early. That would be fun.
“Lottie, when are you coming home?”
Aw. Poor Ace.
“I’m not sure, buddy. Are you all right?”
“I miss you. I don’t like that those guys stole you away. It’s Keir’s birthday soon.”
“I’ll come back to visit as soon as I can, I promise,” she said, turning as she heard someone approach. The glass slipped from her hand, shattering. “How did you get in here?”
“End the call.”
“Lottie? Lottie?” Ace called through the phone.
“End the call. And don’t do anything stupid.”
“Um, Ace, buddy. I have to go, all right?”
“What’s wrong?” Ace asked.
“Nothing, honey. Say hi to Maxim for me. I’m sorry I can’t get home for his birthday.” She winced as she said that. What was she doing? Leaving a clue for a seven-year-old?
Fuck. She ended the call.
“Slide it along the floor.”
Crouching, she pushed the phone along the floor.
“What are you doing here, Eleanor? How did you get up here? And why the fuck are you holding a gun on me?”
A gun with a silencer on it.
Eleanor James, Liam’s stepmother, clicked her tongue. “Such atrocious manners. You were such a sweet girl before. That must be Liam’s influence. He always was uncouth. It’s his Irish blood. He even uses their last name, rather than his father’s.”
“Maybe he’d rather be as removed as possible from that man and you.”
Oh, God, what was she going to do? Necklace. She needed to hit the panic button on her necklace.
Please let it work from this far away.
“Liam will be home soon,” Lottie lied. “You should go.”
“Oh, I am going. You’re coming with me, though.”
“Why? Why do you want me?”
“You mean you don’t know? Charlotte Malone, beloved younger sister of the New Orleans Malones. The very rich and powerful New Orleans Malones. Lover to one of the richest men in the country. And you really have no idea?”
“Money? This is about money? Seriously?”
“Actually, it’s about love. Now, we’re going to leave and you’re not saying a word to anyone. Or I’m going to have the man who I have following Nico shoot him in the head.”
Fuck. Fuck.
Was she serious? Lottie had no idea. But she knew that she couldn’t risk Nico. Her hand twitched, wanting to use her necklace now. However, she didn’t want to draw attention to it.
Feeling numb with fear, she made her way out of the apartment. A gasp left her lips as she saw Evan lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
“We have to help him. Call the paramedics.”
“Don’t be stupid. He’s dead. Come on.” Eleanor dragged her to the elevator.
The walls aren’t closing in on me. I’m fine.
They rode down to the ground floor without anyone climbing in. Eleanor had hidden the gun in her huge handbag. Lottie wondered about the doorman. Worry for him filled her. But Eleanor had her arm in a hold.
As they got toward the door, panic started to fill her. She couldn’t do this again. Couldn’t let herself get taken. Her breath started coming in sharp pants.
“Stop it. What’s wrong with you? Get outside. I told you if you make a scene I’ll kill Nico.”
Lottie managed to step outside. But the whole world spun dizzyingly. She was barely coherent as Eleanor practically dragged her toward a town car with tinted windows. She was shoved inside and landed against someone. As she managed to right herself, she stared up into a familiar-looking face.