Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Caleb stared down at the tickets in his hands. “You don’t think it’s dangerous taking her along for the ride?”
Beast sighed. “Our entire life is dangerous. We could have some kind of magical shield around our woman, and they’d still be in danger. Do I lose sleep at times over the danger my woman is constantly in? Yes. There are times I can’t even think straight it bothers me that much. Then I decided that the best way to defend my woman was teach her how to defend herself.”
“You’re teaching Hope how to defend herself, even when pregnant?” Caleb asked, amazed that his brother would do such a thing.
“There are men and women out there who wouldn’t care that she’s pregnant. I’m simply taking care of my woman the best way I know how.”
Beast got to his feet, which signaled the end of the conversation.
“I hope to hear soon that our problem has been dealt with.”
They shook hands, and Caleb left his brother’s home.
Sitting in his car, he stared at the plane tickets. He wondered if she’d been to Vegas. There had to have been a chance with her father’s gambling problem.
Putting the tickets to one side, he started his car and left the security of his brother’s drive.
The journey to his home was a short one. Calling his personal head of security, Caleb made the arrangements so men were waiting for him at the Vegas airport to take them to their hotel room. They had men all around the world who were more than willing to be on their security detail.
Of course, each man had to go through their screening, and Beast didn’t leave anything to chance.
Caleb found Anne in the kitchen making some bread. “She’s in the garden, planting a new rose bush.”
“Didn’t she do much studying today?” Caleb asked.
“Oh, she did. She just likes to unwind in the garden. It’s something she has come to enjoy.”
“I’ll be taking her to Vegas for a couple of days. You can have the house to yourself.”
Anne smiled. “Will you be taking advantage of certain … luxuries while you’re away?”
“Are you asking me if I’ll marry her?”
“Well, you can do it quite easily over there.”
Caleb chuckled. “I doubt it.”
“Is this because you feel like you don’t deserve love?”
Anne paused in kneading the dough. He didn’t need fresh bread, but Anne baked it every single day. She also gave several loaves to the men who guarded his home.
“It’s not that.”
“Sure, it is. I remember you as a young boy when you’d come to the kitchen after one of your father’s … punishments. You out of all of your brothers always suffered. Being the youngest, he didn’t want you to grow into a baby.”
“I never did.”
“No, you never did, but I saw what it was doing to you.”
“You couldn’t stop it.”
“And because of that, it made you believe that you’re incapable of being loved, Caleb.”
He stared at his cook, recalling every single beating he’d been given. From simply asking for a toy, to begging for a cookie, if his father had ever heard him ask for anything, it had been the belt, or some other punishment. He’d even been left out overnight with the dogs in the freezing cold because he’d liked to be warm.
Pushing those memories aside, he moved up toward Anne. “Don’t ever feel guilty. He’d have killed you if you tried to step in, and I wouldn’t be able to enjoy your bread.”
“Don’t fight falling in love. It could be the best thing that ever happened to you.”
****
It had been a couple of years since Faith had last been in Vegas. Of course, she’d never overlooked the gambling capital of the world from one of its most luxurious hotels. From up here it all looked shiny and dazzling. Everything seemed to sparkle. When she’d been younger, she’d been on the street looking up at the hotels, wondering about the people who were staying inside them.
Caleb was on his phone, and three men outside waited, keeping guard. She’d spotted all of their guns. This was not a social trip; far from it.
She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a tension building inside her. Anne had told her to have fun and enjoy the trip, but she didn’t know how that was possible. Vegas held a great deal of memories for her, and most of them were attached to anger.
Anger at her father, at the casinos, at the capital, at everything.
Deep down, she knew it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her father’s, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.
If it wasn’t for your father, you wouldn’t be with Caleb now.
The man himself snapped his cell phone closed and moved up behind her. He wrapped an arm around her stomach and pulled her back, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Do you like what you see?”