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)
With a few keystrokes, he’s in the system for the local police station where I filed the report. I read it over his shoulder, trying to ignore the heat coming from his body. “It says unfounded. What does that mean?”
“It’s a word they use when they don’t believe a victim,” he answers. “They won’t call you a liar out right.”
“But that’s what they’re saying,” I whisper. I don’t understand this. I thought the justice system was supposed to be on my side. “They said there were inconsistencies in what I said. I was truthful with them. They kept asking the same questions in a new way, like that would change my answer.”
Brody snorts. “It’s a common interrogation technique. They do it to discredit a victim because they’re too lazy to do their jobs and question the criminal. Happens all the time with corrupt cops.”
“You know far too much about this,” I remark as I move to the couch across from his desk. There are two exits to this room, the door we came through and another door that I suspect leads to a bathroom. There’s also the window but it looks like it might be specialty glass. It would probably take the nearby lamp to break through it.
I remind myself to stop being weird and think about something else. I hate how the cops twisted everything I said in their report. It’s like they decided what was true and wrote whatever they wanted to fit their narrative. Why did they even bother to talk to me?
Sadness flickers across his face when he realizes what I said about him knowing too much about police reports. “That I do.”
I don’t know what to say to him or how to ask him about this. Instead, I give him my login information for my accounts and rest on the couch. I can watch him work from here. There’s something comforting about the sound of Brody pounding those keys. My warrior is putting together his battle plan.
4
BRODY
She sleeps. The sight of Charlie sleeping in my office helps my body to relax. Despite my aching neck and the twinge in my back, I continue my work. It takes me hours to comb through her accounts.
I can see the change in her messages. She went from meeting up with friends regularly and sharing funny memes to declining their invites and barely responding to messages. No doubt she was censoring herself in case he was monitoring her most private communications.
Mr. Big Shot isn’t hard to find or hack. This kid clearly thinks he’s some kind of tech wizard but he’s no match for my skills. When I’ve successfully confirmed that Kyle’s laptop is where the messages are originating, it’s late and Charlie is snoring softly.
I consider leaving her on the couch but that’s not going to be comfortable. Besides, the idea of having her sleep in my bed holds too much appeal. I want her surrounded by my pillows and blankets, marked by my scent. It’s dangerous ground, but I can’t resist it.
I’ve spent the better part of three years rubbing my cock raw to memories of that kiss. How soft her lips were. How her tits pushed into my chest. How her curves fit perfectly against me.
Decision made, I gently pick her up. It troubles me that she doesn’t stir. Just how exhausted is she?
Things won’t be this way for much longer, I promise both of us. Pretty soon I’ll have Kyle taken care of and she’ll be free to go back to her regular life. The thought leaves an ache in my chest that has me squeezing her even closer.
Even if Elliott weren’t my best friend, things between Charlie and I wouldn’t work. I’m not special. I’m not good enough for her. I had to remind myself of that after we kissed. I murmured the words under my breath, a strict reminder that I wasn’t worthy. I’ll never be worthy.
She finally stirs when I place her between my sheets. I silently will her to open those beautiful brown eyes, but she just murmurs something sleepily before turning onto her stomach.
The new position gives me another glimpse of that thong nestled between the most perfect ass cheeks I’ve ever seen. Instantly, my cock is hard, and I quickly grab the blankets to cover her. But it’s too late. I know what Charlie’s ass looks like, and it’s magnificent.
Sunlight filtering through the room wakes me and I blink my gritty eyes open slowly. I muffle a pained groan. Sleeping on the hardwood floor by my Alaskan King did not do my back or my neck any favors.
I glance up to see Charlie is leaning over me. She’s peeking over the edge of the bed. The expression on her face just about guts me. It’s the same way she’d look at me when she was a kid and I was a teenager, like I was her personal hero. Back then, that look didn’t mean a whole lot to me. Now it makes me feel like a fuckin’ king and that’s dangerous ground.