Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 77841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“I wasn't ready to leave,” I confess.
He kisses me again, the second one more tender and appreciative than the one before it. He steps back again and I have to wonder if this is just another one of his games. If he's going to make me beg for it, and I will. My pride flew out the window a long time ago. He's turned me into a woman that's willing to ask for what she wants.
He presses a finger to my lips before I can speak. “Not here,” he says.
His hands slide from my cheeks over to my shoulders until his fingers are tangled in mine. Without a word, he tugs me toward the door, pulling me along into the bedroom. I stand in the center of the room, watching as he pulls an empty bag from the closet and begins stuffing clothes in it.
“I have a go-bag already,” he explains. “We don't have time for me to pack yours as adequately but we can make do with what I have in mind.” He zips the bag up, his eyes darting to my feet. “Motherfucker,” he grunts.
“What's wrong?”
“I don't have any clothes or shoes for you. And your feet are so fucking small, it's only gonna rub blisters on your feet if you try to wear a pair of mine.” He stands there for a long moment as if he's formulating a plan in his mind. “I'll just have to carry you. It's a long distance but you weigh hardly anything.” He shoulders both bags and reaches out for my hand. Again, I take it without hesitation.
He doesn't tug me toward the front door, rather he heads right out of the bedroom, right back into the home gym. He crouches low into the hidden room and before long, the back panel is removed, revealing a dark hole.
“This tunnel was one of the reasons I bought the house,” he explains as he stands to his full height and notices me gaping in horror at the dark hole.
I shake my head and take a step back. “There's no way in hell, Liam.”
He doesn't smile like he normally does when a cuss word escapes my mouth. “This is the only way,” he explains. “I pulled three listening devices out of the house.. The feds aren't done with me. They aren’t satisfied with what they found and they took the bedsheets from this morning, Raya.”
This news makes me freeze. Those bedsheets are going to tell them everything they need to know. They'll know that I was a willing participant. And that part of me, that tiny little part that I shoved down, comes roaring back to life. For a split second, I worry about my father finding out about my own depravity. I could picture the look in my mother's eyes, the judgment I'd hear in her words. Going home isn't an option now.
It makes me wonder if this search for me would stop once they heard the news. If they would just wash their hands completely of the entire situation. They have to know I didn't leave willingly, but what kind of sick person enjoys the things that I did. That voice in my head that has been telling me that I'm disgusting is louder now than ever. But despite all of it, even if given a second chance to do it all over again, I think the outcome would be the same. I think that I would still reach for his hand as he guided me into the hole.
“Are there bugs down here?” I ask, feeling silly. The words don't reflect the gravity of the situation. Liam must feel the same way because he laughs.
“I’m sure there are all sorts of things down here.”
I want to smack his chest and tell him that this isn't funny, but I don’t know if we’re there yet. I don't know that he would ever be the type of guy to be okay with me doing that to him.
“It's going to be fine,” he whispers in my ear. “Just get all the way through. The hole and the tunnel open up at the end.”
I shift to the side, my skin cold despite the warmth in the air.
“I’m afraid of enclosed spaces,” I confess.
“I will never let anything happen to you,” he says, giving my back a small push to urge me forward. “Once we get to the end of this part of the tunnel, I'll pick you up and carry you.”
It's enough to get me moving. I startle when the hole lights up. I turn around and glare at him and the flashlight he’s holding in his hand.
“Couldn't you have led with that?” I snap, irritated for how silly it was for me to be scared in the dark.
He's the monster. He told me once if there's anything to be afraid of, it's him. But as my eyes search his, fear is the very last thing that I feel, at least directed at him.