Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 47381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
So why would anyone be knocking on the door? Wait… how long had she been here at Rawhide Ranch? God. She had no clue.
Another knock.
Okay, they sounded angry. She’d paid her bill. What did they want from her?
She was already certain she was dying…
Dramatic much, Jolie?
Getting up, she stumbled to the door. Her head was killing her. When was the last time she’d eaten or drunk anything?
“Yes?” she called out through the closed door. No need to open it and give the person on the other side a fright.
“Jolie? Hi, it’s Erika. I checked you in the other day?”
“Oh, yes, sorry, Erika,” she said. “Is there something wrong?”
“Well, I’m not sure. Are you okay? I tried calling your room several times, but the signal was busy.”
Shoot.
“I, um, I wanted to get some uninterrupted sleep, so I unplugged it.”
She winced at the silence that greeted her. Oops.
That was probably a no-no.
“All right, Master Derek prefers that guests don’t do that. In case of emergency.”
She knew that Master Derek was the guy who owned and operated this place.
“I’m really sorry. Didn’t mean to cause any problems. I’m just… a bit tired.”
“I understand,” Erika said with sympathy. “It’s just…”
Crap. What?
“We had a phone call from a Doctor Wheatly. She wanted to get in touch with you. She said she’s been calling, and you haven’t answered.”
Crap on a stick.
Why hadn’t she charged her cell phone? Addie had to be so worried.
“Sorry, I need to charge my phone. I’ll do it now and call her. I apologize that she bothered you.”
“No bother.”
There was silence, but she somehow knew that Erika was still on the other side.
“Is there anything else?” she asked.
“Yes. There’s a man at the gate.”
Okay. Did she need to know about that? Shoot, what if he was a bomb threat or something?
“There is?” she asked.
“Yes, and he’s insisting that we let you speak to him. He, uh, well… he sounds rather, um, distraught.”
“Distraught?”
That was… weird.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“Well, that’s just it. I mean, we’ve had famous people stay here, of course. And we are always discreet. But they always book in. And he’s just arrived out of the blue. So, as demanding as he is, our security guard won’t just let him in. I’ve called Master Derek and he’s coming over to talk to him. But Master Derek wanted me to come tell you since it’s you he’s asking for.”
“Erika?”
“Yes?” Erika said.
“Who is it?”
“Brand Starr.”
Oh, holy crap.
And that was how her day got worse.
CHAPTER 4
Brand wasn’t having a good day.
Hell, he wasn’t having a good week. First, he’d had to threaten Mikey with all sorts of bodily harm to get him to cough up where Jolie was staying. Then, the airline had lost his luggage and he’d had to wait for hours for them to find it. The only rental car left was a tiny tin-can with no leg room. And when he’d turned up at this hotel… ranch… retreat… whatever the fuck it was, they had all this security.
What. The. Hell?
Maybe it was some sort of private hospital? Rehab?
No. He’d never noticed Jolie taking anything or looking like she was on drugs. That couldn’t be it.
So what was it?
Mikey hadn’t known. Whatever this place was, it was private, and they didn’t want people just wandering onto their land.
He paced back and forth in front of the wrought-iron gates. They were impressive and all he could really see beyond them was the tree-lined driveway.
Oh, and the guard glaring at him from the guard shack.
He leaned against the hood of his rental car as he pondered what to do next. The guard wouldn’t let him in.
What if they were keeping Jolie here against her will?
Fuck.
Should he call the cops?
Getting out his phone, he tried to call Jolie again. Yes, he’d gotten her number from Mikey. No, the other man hadn’t exactly given it to him willingly.
Brand was aware that it was an asshole move.
He didn’t care.
Finally, he saw a truck approaching the gates. It stopped and a large man climbed out. He was wearing a flannel shirt with jeans and cowboy boots.
This was the owner? What had the guard said his name was? Hawkins?
The gates opened, and the man stepped forward toward him.
“Hello, Mr. Starr.”
“Hawkins.” He nodded, watching with narrowed eyes.
“Call me Derek. Now, what can I do for you? I don’t believe you have a reservation?”
For fuck’s sake.
Why hadn’t he thought of that?
“I’d like to make one.”
Derek’s eyebrows rose. “I see. You’d like to stay at Rawhide Ranch as a guest?”
“Yep. How do I do that?”
“Are you a Dominant, Mr. Starr?”
Whoa. That was a weird question. “Is that a prerequisite to stay here?”
“All guests of the Ranch need to fill in a few forms before they are… accepted. And sign an NDA.”
An NDA?
“So, I need to get my lawyer involved? To stay at a hotel?” Brand asked. “Look, I really just need to see Jolie Ryan. I know she’s staying here.”