Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“That will take a long time, won’t it?”
“No,” he says firmly. “We can get it done fast. We can publish it online. Hell, what am I thinking? I haven’t had access to the proper internet for years. I don’t know how any of this works.”
“Wait a second,” I say, an idea occurring to me.
I go upstairs and grab my phone, Jamie following me. Opening the internet browser, I navigate to a webpage.
“This is a true crime site. My friend Sabrina goes on it sometimes. They accept articles from their viewers. They have a podcast too. We can send something to them, but they like it to be catchy. They need a twist.”
Jamie’s eyes get brighter and brighter the more I speak, and then he grins like a wolf. “What about Falling for my Dad’s Killer?”
“It certainly has a ring to it.”
“I’ll need your help, my perfect editor,” he says. “I’ll write the story about the pills, my addiction, the threats, and you. I served my time. I did my part, and he’s still coming after me. It’s time we fought back.”
“Together,” I say, taking his shoulders and squeezing hard. “I mean that, Jamie. I think I’m being mature, forgiving you so soon. I understand your reasons. That’s why. Family. No more lies, okay?”
“No mo—”
I step forward, looking him right in the eye. “If you feel you’ll have to lie to me again to keep me safe, just know right now I don’t want that. I don’t want to live in the dark anymore. I’ve done enough of that.”
“No more lies,” he says fiercely, leaning down for a kiss.
For two days, we become a team. I risk my mortgage by calling in sick to work and ignoring college, but there’s magic in working with my man. He locks himself in my bedroom, typing on my laptop in a frenzy. Then we print his work, and I go over it with him. We discuss how to make things more impactful and add the proper emphasis.
He writes. I make him rewrite. We keep going. I wonder if this is what falling in love feels like, but though we kiss and hold each other, I stop him from going further. I can’t focus on anything else while knowing Dad’s still out there, gun in one hand, cuffs in the other. Jamie thinks he was here for him, but I’m not convinced. What if he wanted to kidnap me?
Dad doesn’t visit. The envelope stays in its place. I’m not sure my ruse is going to work.
At the end of the second day, I lie in Jamie’s arms, wondering if he’s tiring of the no-sex thing. It’s not something I’ve come outright and said. It’s more like I’m on alert, too ready for something terrible or surreal, or terribly surreal, to happen.
“You’re an incredible writer,” I murmur. “I love watching you work.”
“You watch me work?” He kisses the top of my head and pulls me closer. “When?”
“I opened the door just a crack. It’s like you’re hypnotized.”
“We make a good team. You’ve made the writing ten times better.”
“What about your sister? What about your nephew?”
“Patrick’s already threatening them. He’s unhinged. He won’t stop. We have to make him.”
I roll over, lean up, and kiss my man on the cheek. “We will. Together.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jamie
I hold the printed article in my hands, scanning the lines, feeling that unique smile tug at the corner of my lips as I read. It’s the feeling of having something done, a spark of creativity that burned and became an inferno.
“This is half yours,” I say, looking across the bedroom at Lucy.
It’s the morning of the third day since we learned the truth, and I promised her no more lies. We’ve locked ourselves away from the world, pretending it doesn’t exist, living off the food in her cupboards. She’s even called in sick to work.
We’ve focused on the article, the story, and Lucy learning more as she reads. Sometimes, when she gets to the sections when I take the pills, I wonder if there’s judgment in her eyes. Then I saw the moment I described the cold-turkey withdrawal, and so much pride emanated from her.
“Do you know how difficult that is to do?” she said.
“I never should’ve gotten myself into that mess to begin with.”
“Still, it proves you’ll always try to do the right thing.”
Apart from the work, Lucy has seemed a little distant. We hold each other. We kiss, but it’s as if she’s closed off other parts of herself. I can’t blame her after everything she learned and everything I did.
“I mean it,” I say when she stares at me with those gorgeous eyes.
She’s wearing jeans and a simple T-shirt but might as well be in the world’s sexiest lingerie. That’s the response she triggers in me, wild hunger every time. Out of respect, I’ve somehow managed to restrain myself.