Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
I see red the second I step into the bathroom and see a man standing behind a very wet and very naked Aspen. She's trembling, her hand gripping the forearm he has wrapped around her throat.
"You okay, Peach?"
"I've been better," she whispers.
I keep my eyes locked on hers. I don't have to look at this man to kill him.
"He wants you alive," the man mutters. "But I don't think I'll get a chance to play with this sweet piece of ass with you alive."
Chapter 20
Aspen
I don't think I'd be any more insulted if he leaned over, sniffed me, and scrunched his nose.
His suggestion of me needing a shower sort of crushed me a little, but I've never taken personal criticism very well.
I rerun the conversation through my head as I shampoo my hair. I didn't do a damn thing to bring on such a personal attack, but here I am, using a drugstore brand of shampoo on my hair. As I scratch my fingers along my scalp, I can hear Roxanne bitching at my next appointment about the damage I've caused, but that's not likely, is it?
I'll probably never see Roxanne again. She's connected to Damien and his organization, and going there would mean death.
I freeze when I hear a thump. I didn't lock the door behind Jericho when he left because I don’t know if he has a key and it's freaking winter in Massachusetts. I didn’t want him trapped outside. It's possible that it's him back in the cabin, but then I hear a whisper, masculine, but too low to understand the words spoken. I don't miss the fact that another man responds.
Fear lashes out at me, but before I can formulate any type of plan, the bathroom door is kicked open.
I scream when I see the flash of a shadow on the other side of the simple plastic curtain. It's thick enough that I can't make out any real lines but thin enough to know that there's someone in the small bathroom with me.
I freeze, knowing how much trouble I'm in when the curtain is ripped back and I see Hames standing just outside the lip of the shower.
"Hey there, sweetheart."
"He'll kill you if you touch me."
This man has harassed me every chance he's had, and I've wondered more than once if Damien hasn't asked him to do it, knowing he sets me on edge every time he enters a room. Even the house staff steer clear of him and that says a lot about the man's character and what he's capable of.
"How do you know that?" he sneers, his eyes sweeping up and down my naked body. "Maybe he's paying me extra to hurt you real bad."
"He—fuck," I snap, squeezing my eyes closed when soap begins to burn my eyes.
I squeal in fear when I hear gunfire outside, but then truly scream a second time when I feel his body pull me from the shower and place me in front of him.
Several more bullets are fired, and I manage to squint my eyes open just as Jericho steps into the doorway of the bathroom.
He stands tall, unconcerned about the gun in Hames's hand pointed in his direction.
"You okay, Peach?" Jericho asks me.
"I've been better," I manage to whisper, not really feeling the bravery in my voice.
"He wants you alive," Hames says to Jericho. "But I don't think I will get a chance to play with this sweet piece of ass with you alive."
I tremble even more. Every woman knows what men are capable of, and I know for a fact that Hames is the type of man no one would want to run into in a dark alley.
"He wants her back alive too, but he never said in one piece," Hames says, and I nearly vomit when he runs his nose up the side of my cheek.
He's staying really fucking close, using me as a shield, and I have no freaking clue how to react or what to do. I know this doesn't end with them both walking away and agreeing to call a truce. Someone dies here tonight, and if it's Jericho, then that means my life and possibly Eli's are next.
I swear I'm going to tremble right out of this man's hands with how terrified I am right now, but on instinct, when Jericho says "log" I drop every ounce of my weight to the floor without hesitation.
Gunfire rings out into the room, the deafening sound echoing all around and making my ears ring.
I scream when hands touch my body.
"Fuck, Peach. It's Nolan. Calm down, baby, are you okay?"
The warmth of a towel swarms me but in the next breath, my head is under the shower. "We have enough time to get the soap out of your eyes, but we have to get the fuck out of here. I don't know how they found us, but he could be sending a second team."