Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
He gets in beside me. I buckle up as his driver heads out.
“Whether you like it or not, you do need my help.” He leans closer, talking low. “And I think you do like it.”
“I haven’t seen you in years, Carson, and you come storming back into my life with murder close behind, and you think I like this?” This man must’ve gone insane.
His head tilts to the side. “I understand this isn’t ideal.”
“Isn’t ideal? I swear, you’ve taken one too many hard punches to the face if you’re trying to undersell the worst day of my life.”
He takes a slow breath. “This isn’t easy for anyone, but at least you have me here to make sure you don’t end up dead too. As much as you pretend to hate it, this is a blessing.”
“You are far from a blessing. You’re more like genital warts.”
“Ah, yes, there’s that lovely mouth of yours. I missed it.”
“I missed you like cancer. Drop me off at the corner up here. On second thought, I think I’d rather get shot in the face than sit next to you.”
His hand clamps down on my thigh. “Ashlyn.”
“You’re the reason this all happened. You do realize that, right? You and your stupid gangster family.” I try to brush him off but it’s like pushing a thousand-pound statue for all the good it does. “Would you stop touching me?”
“No, I will not.” He stares hard, his lips too close, his skin too warm on my leg. God, why am I attracted to this man? Why do I find that sultry, needy look of his so damn sexy I could scream? When really, all I want to do is get out and run and keep on running until I leave this whole city behind.
But I have responsibilities here. Bottle of Smoke, everyone that works there, they depend on me to keep the business going.
“What do you want from me, Carson? Haven’t you done enough already?”
“No, not even close.” His stare is unnerving, almost predatory. “I told you already, but I’ll repeat myself, because I know today is not a good day. I am going to protect you.”
“You keep saying that. And yet I don’t feel protected. If anything, I feel like I’m locked in a cage with a very hungry grizzly bear.”
“You think I want to eat you up?”
“Slowly. With ketchup.”
“I don’t eat ketchup.” He leans closer, eyebrows raised. A little smirk on his lips. “But I’d love to devour you, darling.”
“Please don’t call me darling.” A thrill runs down my spine at the implication in his tone. There’s a subtle, sexy tone, and that unblinking look he’s giving me only underscores this man’s absolute insanity.
“I’m going to drop you back at Bottle of Smoke,” he says coolly, as if I hadn’t spoken. As if he hadn’t just said he wants to eat me to death, which, frankly, sounds like a good way to go. My lonely vagina practically ignites at the idea of Carson tearing me to pieces with his soft tongue and those criminally magnificent lips. “Then two of my guys are going to sit at a booth and make sure nothing bad happens. When it’s closing time, I’ll pick you up and bring you back to my place.”
“No. No, no, no, absolutely not. I’m not going anywhere near that serial killer murder den you call a home.”
“It’s a very nice place. I have a gym.”
“And I bet there’s a basement full of the bones of your victims. No, thank you.”
Carson looks frustrated. It’s probably not smart to egg him on. “Why are you resisting this so hard? Do you really think that the people who killed your entire family are going to just ignore you?”
I grimace and look down at the floor as a pulse of fear presses into my stomach. I know he’s right, but I’ve been operating in fight-or-flight mode this whole day, ever since he told me what happened, and I haven’t really had time to sit down and process.
But it’s obvious, isn’t it? Someone tried to kill Iain. Then they succeeded in killing my father and my uncles. Apparently, a few female cousins survived the purge, along with the aunts. And then there’s me. If Iain’s the catalyst for all this, I’m still a main target.
They’ll come for me. Anyone that went to the trouble of tracking down every little piece of the Locke family won’t stop until they find me too.
Which means Carson might be my only hope.
We pull up and park outside of Smoke. I stare at the storefront, at the chipped paint and the faded sign. If I had a million dollars, I’d renovate the hell out of the place, but instead I patch up the real problems as they arise.
Sort of like my life.
And this is another problem I’ll toss a quick fix over and move on, hoping it doesn’t break down later.