Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 47176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
I’m trying to keep my voice level.
“We can’t let him keep her,” I whisper.
“I don’t intend to,” Jamie says. “But we’ve got a problem.”
Peggy nods. “Cormac Junior isn’t fit to lead. He’ll turn the city into a hellhole within two months. That’s why he wants you gone, Jamie. He knows you’d stop him.”
Jamie nods. “He’s right there.”
“His father was a reasonable man,” Peggy says. “He knew how to keep the city mostly civilized.”
“He was a monster too,” Jamie snarls. “If Junior’s telling the truth, he ordered the hit on Matt.”
Jamie’s voice floods with feral fire. He clenches his teeth as he unfolds his arms, stalking over to the window, making me want to walk over.
I’d wrap my arms around him from behind, laying my cheek against his back, telling him it’s going to be okay….
Is he worried about Kelly?
“Your brother,” I whisper.
Jamie turns. His expression is impossible to read, somewhere between savage and controlled, like he’s on the edge of sprinting across the room and kissing me again.
We haven’t even talked about that, about what it means, any of it.
“You know everything,” Jamie says.
“Yes.”
Jamie steps forward, his muscles threatening to rip through his shirt. “So, if you want to stay someplace else, I get it.”
The half-finished tattoo stings as though responding to his words.
“You know what I am,” he goes on. “You know I’m a criminal, or I have been. You know I’ve killed people.”
“Yes,” I whisper. “But Peggy said they were….”
“Yeah, they’d done some truly evil stuff,” Jamie says passionately, walking closer, looming over me, getting closer and closer, so I think about touching him. And him touching me again. “All of them, by morals, by law in some places, deserved what they got. Their deaths were quick. But I still did it, Jennifer.”
The way he says my name has a tingle moving up my spine.
I meet his eyes, doing my best not to look away, trying to remind myself he must’ve looked at Kelly in this way too.
“You were helping your brother,” I tell him. “I don’t judge you for it.”
The truth is that the one I can never share with him partly makes me want him more. It shows he’s got what it takes to protect his family and keep them safe always.
And he’d only ever hurt bad people…those who’d want to hurt us.
He’s the perfect man for me, and my body screams for him, aching in remembered pleasure.
He sighs, nodding. “I was trying to help Matt, yeah. A lot of good it did.”
“No pouting,” Peggy jokes. “We need a plan.”
Jamie holds my gaze for a moment longer, making me think of how he looked when he leaned in for the kiss.
I want to feel it again, his lips against mine. Half of me is paralyzed with terror at the thought of Kelly, but I can’t stop these feelings about Jaime.
I think of all the things Cormac Junior could do to her and how he could hurt her. I can’t think of the city right now. All the lives that will be harmed if Cormac Junior starts his criminal campaign.
It’s only Kelly.
“We can’t let him hurt her,” I whisper, and distantly I wonder if this is a delayed reaction.
The tears rise so slowly to my eyes and then fall quickly.
“We can’t.”
I force back the sobs, wiping at my cheeks, but more come.
Before I realize it, Jamie’s standing behind me, his hand on my shoulder – the untattooed one. My skin burns with his touch, tingles dancing up and down my skin, tempting me as he presses down harder.
“We won’t,” he says, his voice firm. “I promise, Jennifer. We’ll save her.”
“And stop Junior from going on a rampage?” Peggy cuts in.
“Yeah.” Jamie gives me another squeeze, then steps away. “I’ve officially started selling the parlor, plus my apartment, just so Junior sees some movement there if he bothers to check. But the main thing we need is to know where Kelly is.”
“You said there was woodland outside her window?” Peggy asks.
“Yeah,” Jamie says, nodding.
I think of Kelly in some hut, on her own, with nothing but her thoughts to occupy her. She’s always been the faster-moving of the two of us.
Whereas I’m content – thrilled even – to hide away with my teaching textbooks, Kelly is a go, go, go, type of personality.
She must completely hate this. If terror doesn’t get her, boredom will.
“I’ll put some feelers out,” Peggy says. “We’ll check out Junior’s properties. There might be a lead.”
“Let me know when you find something,” Jamie says gruffly.
“What will you do?” I ask.
Jamie turns his smoldering gaze on me. I swear to freaking God, my tattoo is roaring like its job is to remind me of how badly I want this man. As if I need reminding.
“I’ll go there,” he says. “And I’ll save her.”
I nod, averting his gaze.