Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 160(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 160(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
A beat of silence passes between us before I force myself to ask the question. I remember reading the statistics on violence against women. The vast majority know who their stalker is. “Who is he? Do you know who Mr. Big Shot is?”
She takes a shaky breath and still won’t look up. “I can’t say for certain. I’ve never seen his face.”
“But you have an idea,” I press. My gut is churning. Who has made her this afraid? Why is he even allowed to breathe oxygen?
She finally pulls her attention back to me. Her gaze fills with tears, and her chin wobbles but she doesn’t cry. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. Can you just make him stop?”
Charlie
Now that I’m here. I’m not so sure if Brody was the right person to go to. I mean, he’s definitely going to keep me safe. But I can tell from the look on his face that he will throttle Mr. Big Shot the moment he gets his hands on him.
“Who. Is. He.” Brody grinds out the words. What is it about his deep, gravelly voice that has me wondering what he’d sound like if he dragged me into his bed with him?
“I told you. I don’t know who it is.” I can’t accuse him of anything. Not without evidence. That isn’t right. But I’m also tired of being scared. Tired of always checking over my shoulder. Tired of second-guessing every social media post. What if I accidentally give away a clue about where I am? What if the dress I’m wearing is what sets him off?
“But you have your suspicions.” His gaze bores into mine. Elliott once described Brody as a bulldog. Said that when he wanted something, he locked onto it and wouldn’t let go. I didn’t fully understand what he meant until this moment.
I twist my hands together and fight a wave of nausea. When did I last get a full meal? Maybe it was yesterday. “You can’t hurt him. Not when you don’t have any evidence.”
He snorts. “Un-fucking-believable. He’s stalking you, Charlie. This creep has been in your home and you’re worried about protecting him.”
“I can’t prove it’s the Dean’s son,” I finally admit in a broken tone. With a deep sigh, I explain, “I work in the school office and when the Dean introduced me to Kyle, he asked me out. I turned him down. I thought I handled it well. He acted cool, but the next day, my tires were slashed. I can’t prove it was him. It’s just the timing always struck me as weird. Every time he asks me out, something bad happens after that. The next time it was a rock through my windshield. I mean, his dad helped me. He paid to repair the damage both times, so it’s not a big deal.”
Mr. Davis, the Dean, never expressly asked me not to report his son. But even if he had, I wouldn’t hold that against him. The older man with the salt and pepper hair has become like a father figure to me. That’s why I’ve been so hesitant to get Kyle in trouble. If he could just move away and forget about me, then everything would be perfect.
“Anything else you want to add?” Maybe it’s a good thing we can’t get in touch with Elliott right now. The two of them together would be a lethal combination the moment they laid eyes on Kyle.
“Grinding your teeth like that can’t be good for your dental health,” I say, more to break the tension than anything else.
He stands, towering over me. But despite his big frame, I don’t feel scared of him. If anything, I want to drag him down onto the couch with me. I want his massive body covering mine, sheltering me while he gives me incredible pleasure. “Follow me.”
Brody leads me to the back of the house and opens the door to his office. He has five monitors set up on an executive desk and his computer hums to life the moment he shakes the mouse. He takes a seat in his leather chair and it groans under his weight. He gestures toward the sofa in the corner. “Let’s start by pulling up the police report.”
“You can do that?” I’ve never seen this side of Brody. I didn’t know that he was this smart tech guy. It only adds to the whole sexy vibe he’s got going on.
“There’s a lot I can do.” I’m sure he didn’t mean the words to sound so suggestive, but they fill my head with all kinds of nasty fantasies. I know that the last thing on my mind right now should be sex. But this is Brody.
He’s been my hero since I was a little girl. Yeah, he always pretended to be so tough, but I remember the day he stopped traffic to help a duck with her ducklings cross the road safely. He was a fierce protector even back then. Not much has changed. Sure, the boy has become a man. A very fine man. But that wild warrior’s heart still beats in his chest.