Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Hemlock nods as if he figured that was going to happen at some point.
My head is full of all sorts of clapbacks as I walk back into the bedroom I had to share with the grizzly bear last night to grab my vest. I knew I needed to wear the damn thing, but I figured, why not skip it. It's not like a bullet to the gut would cause any more pain than I already feel.
After removing the mic from my ear, I pull off my suit jacket and button-down shirt and slip my lightweight bulletproof vest over my t-shirt, grateful that Kincaid isn't a cheap ass. Our gear is top-notch, the best in the business, making this vest less bulky and more comfortable than any other brand.
After putting my shirt and jacket back on, and reinserting my earpiece, I head back into the living room, hoping that Brielle will have changed her mind overnight and run into my arms when she comes out of her room.
My breath hitches when I enter the room to see her exiting her bedroom. The makeup she's wearing is foreign to me. She hasn't used anything other than Chapstick since I took her to the clubhouse.
She's beautiful no matter what, she's just a different kind of beauty right now.
She looks around the room as she runs her scarf through her hands, but she makes a point to not bother looking in my direction.
She holds her head high, and if I didn't know her as I do, I'd never be able to imagine her huddled in a closet begging me not to hurt her.
Right now she's a force to be reckoned with. She's strong and full of fire. This woman is ready to take on the world or slay a dragon.
God, I love her and to think for a second that I'd want to stop is insane.
Kincaid says something to her, and she nods in a businesslike way, standing so proud and sure for a moment I have to wonder if this is the real her. Maybe she was playing pretend back in New Mexico.
Then I see the flash of the blue gemstone at her throat when she wraps her scarf around her neck. If she hated me, if she wanted me out of her life, if she was the evil woman just toying with my emotions like she claimed last night in order to get me to leave the room, she wouldn’t be wearing it. At least that’s what I choose to believe.
I have to keep the hope that eventually she’s going to find her way back to me.
She may not be ready to be loved, but I can do it silently. I can show her a million ways how I feel if it’s the use of the words that bother her so much.
If anyone has the ability to understand what being unlovable feels like, then I’m that person. When you’re born to a woman who’d choose a needle filled with heroin over the son she's supposed to protect, it doesn't exactly build the most trust in that emotion, but my adoptive mother proved that I was worthy, and I can be that person for her.
"She's requested that you don't come along," Kincaid says as he approaches me.
"I--"
"I told her that we need you, but you'll stay out front of her," Kincaid explains.
I grind my teeth. "Since when does the client get to dictate what we do?"
Being in front of her and not being able to check on her well-being will be fucking torture for me and Kincaid has to know that.
"We're here to protect but also to make sure she's comfortable," Kincaid says. "Will there be a problem? Do I need to move someone else into your position?"
I pull in a deep breath, not bothering to look in her direction because she's made it very clear that she wants nothing to do with me right now.
"No, sir," I say.
"I can't have you distracted."
"I know what's at risk, and I will never put her in danger."
He nods before walking back across the room, and when Tug and Jinx enter the living room from the hallway, I know it's time to move. We're on the fifth floor, but we'll have people stationed on every floor despite having a keycard that keeps the elevator from stopping on other floors.
To some, it may seem like we're being extra or doing more than we should, but Nathan Adair has somehow managed to thwart every single case any organization has tried to build against him. The number of people who have disappeared is almost as many as those who have suddenly committed suicide or were involved in one-person fatal accidents.
We have reason to believe he'll try it here today as well.
I take the elevator down to the ground floor with Jinx and we stand to the sides as we send it back up to Kincaid and the others.