Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
He laughed then stopped. No smile graced his scary face.
“So am I,” he snapped. “It’s time to make your daddy sorry, too.” He closed the distance between us and raised his hand. I flinched, but he only ran his fingers through the ends of my hair.
I was shivering now. Bile rose into my throat.
“Please don’t touch me,” I whispered.
His hand dropped. Gaze hardened. “I don’t rape,” he snarled, as if he had a code. As if I’d insulted him.
My breath stuttered out, and I wanted to cry in relief.
“I kill.”
Okay, well, that was bad.
“I was waiting for your daddy, but this is better. He needs to suffer like my brother’s going to suffer in his own caged hell. Call him and get him over here. He’ll watch while I put a bullet in your head.”
I shook my head without thinking. I didn’t want to have a bullet in my head. But he must’ve thought I was refusing to call Dad.
“CALL HIM!”
I jumped.
“Okay. Okay. My cell is in my purse on the counter.”
He nodded, waved the gun to indicate I should get it.
I walked back to the kitchen, pulled out my cell. My fingers were so shaky, I dropped it on the counter with a clatter. What was I going to do? If Dad showed up, he would die. We both would. I had to warn him. Something.
“No funny stuff.” He stood across the center island from me. I could try to run out through the garage, but the door was down. I’d be dead before it made it halfway up. He was blocking the only other exit. “Tell him to come home because the water heater’s broken.”
“It got replaced over the winter,” I said. God, why had I said that? My thoughts and mouth weren’t in sync.
“Fine, then something that brings him here. Now.”
I nodded.
Unlocking my phone, I saw ten texts and three missed calls. All from Cody.
Cody. He could save me. He would survive being shot. He’d said as much after Dad threatened him.
He couldn’t die.
I hit the call button.
“Riley!”
That voice. That deep growl of anger and frustration filled my heart, wet my panties and gave me hope.
“Daddy. I, um, need you to come home. Right away.”
For long moments, Cody remained silent. All I could hear was my heartbeat in my ears. All I could see was the man and his gun.
“What’s the matter, Riley?”
“I broke up with Pete.”
He was quiet again, hopefully trying to figure out why I was saying the things I was.
“Daddy, are you there?” I asked, hoping he’d catch on that we hated me calling him that. It wasn’t our kink. In fact, I thought it was a little gross, especially considering our age difference.
Cody hesitated. God, I hope he registered that I was sending a message. “I’m here.”
“I know you wanted me to go out with someone older, more mature. You were right. Bring me some ice cream?”
The guy waved the gun around, not happy.
“You at your Nana’s?”
“No. I’m at home.”
“All right, I’ll be there soon.”
Relief made tears fall down my cheeks. “Thank you, Daddy. See you.”
29
CODY
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My wolf let out an audible snarl. Something was wrong with Riley.
Very wrong. More than our fight. In fact, something was wrong enough that she’d called me despite our breakup.
The tires of my Jeep screeched as I whipped a U-turn and hauled ass in her direction.
I’d been heading up the canyon to let my wolf out and run when she called. Seeing her name on my cell’s screen had initially made relief flood my veins, better than any drug. But when she called me daddy, I instantly knew something was off. Because the one thing she never wanted was for me to be a daddy to her.
Then she’d said she broke up with Pete. That little punk from the bowling alley. As if. That was when I knew she was trying to tell me something. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on other than that she needed me. Now.
My wolf wanted me to get out, shift, and run. But while I ran fast in wolf form, I was not as fast as the Jeep. Especially when I broke every speed law. Not knowing what I’d find, I parked down the block and approached the house quietly. Thank fuck it was in an older neighborhood with a shit ton of trees and shrubs dividing the property. I didn’t need a neighbor calling the cops. Well, maybe I did, but until I knew what was making me and my wolf lose our shit, I wanted to stay hidden.
There was a light on in the front room, but with the blinds drawn, I couldn’t see shit.
Working my way around to the back of the house, I peeked in the kitchen window.