Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 55510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
If they wanted to stand out in the hallways like creeps and stare down my food delivery guy, then they could. I bet it would make them feel so much better about wasting their time standing out there. It was obvious I couldn’t get rid of them, but that didn’t mean that I had to rely on them.
For once, I could be my own person, and I had a lot of money that I could use to help become whoever I wanted to be. That was the hard question, though. It was hard to figure out the nitty gritty details about myself when I had been restrained my whole life.
Who was I? Who did I want to be?
6
EMERY
Ishot awake with a strangled gasp, sweat adorning the crown of my head as heat covered my face and body like a damp blanket. I swallowed hard as I caught my breath, my eyes darting around to take in my surroundings. Through the soft glow from the television screen, I could see the staged furniture in the studio apartment.
I was safe.
I dragged my shaky fingers through my damp hair, flashes of the nightmare flickering through my mind. It scared me so badly, but I could hardly recall it. There was something about a bag over my head, suffocating me and cutting me off from my senses. The thought of it nearly made me shudder.
I hadn’t ever felt so anxious before in my life, which I could thank my father for. He took care of every single stressful situation for me, or he kept me out of them to begin with. It pained him to see me cry or be in distress, so he did everything in his power to eliminate the possibility of that happening. He wasn’t here now, though.
“Just a dream,” I murmured to myself as I shook my head. It was all in my mind, and I didn’t need to add any more worries onto my plate than I already had. I needed to stay focused and prepared for whatever happened next.
I got out of bed and walked over to the tiny kitchenette area, grabbing a glass out of one of the top cabinets and filling it with filtered water from the fridge. I took a sip, letting the coldness trickle down my throat. Gradually, the heat covering my skin started to fade away.
It still felt so hot and confining in this apartment, though. I set down my glass and tied my hair back in a loose ponytail before cracking the door and peering out to see Rhett leaning against the wall. Since it was only him, I stepped out of the apartment and gently shut the door behind me.
Rhett lifted his eyebrow at me, looking surprised that I had emerged and wasn’t pitching a fit.
“You’re up late,” he said before checking the black watch on his wrist. “Well, early.”
I guessed that it was around four or so in the morning. I rubbed my eyes gently and nodded.
“Yeah, I guess it’s harder to stay asleep these days,” I admitted. The last night I had a full night’s rest was the night before my father got arrested. Since then, it was nearly impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Rhett’s face softened as he turned to lean his side against the wall, facing me. He had taken off his suit jacket and loosened his tie over his white dress shirt. The top two buttons were undone, letting the collar hang loosely around his neck. I had a feeling he only did that when his boss wasn’t around.
“Don’t worry. No one, not even the bogeyman, can get in this room while I’m here,” he promised me with a cheeky smile.
There was that infectious smile again. I wondered how someone so young could be a bodyguard. He must’ve been a good fighter or something, but my curiosity continued to rage despite my theories.
“Do you know martial arts or something?” I asked him. Under his shirt, I could tell that his muscles were lean but prominent. He was slightly smaller than the others, but I had a feeling he used that to his advantage when people underestimated him.
“Krav Maga, Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu,” Rhett replied proudly. “And Benjamin taught me some of the more rule-bending fighting styles.”
“Rule-bending?” I asked with a light laugh.
“I think you’d call it street fighting,” Rhett told me, sharing my amused grin. He seemed to step closer to me, and I gravitated toward him in return. “Playing dirty.”
Rhett put me at ease quickly. I imagined I could relax a little around Akio too since he was so cool-headed, but Andrew was pretty strict, while Benjamin wasn’t the most welcoming person around. They all seemed so different from each other, and I wondered how they all got along with such clashing attitudes.
“I’m afraid you won’t see much action here, street fighter,” I replied as I looked up and down the quiet hallway.