Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
She hesitates, glancing around the aviary as if memorizing every detail before she leaves. I wait, giving her the moment she needs. Finally, she releases a resigned sigh, nods, and leads the way toward the staff lockers.
It doesn’t take long for her to gather her belongings—just a backpack and a small duffel. I stay a half-step behind, scanning for anything—or anyone—suspicious. My senses are on high alert, but the zoo remains a happy, chaotic swirl of tourists and staff, oblivious to the turmoil in Briar’s life. Good. I want it that way.
We don’t speak much as we head out to the parking lot. I help her into my SUV and lock her door.
The ride back to my place is quiet. Briar stares out the passenger window, lost in thought, while I keep my eyes on the road, one hand draped over the steering wheel. Part of me wants to fill the silence, ask if she’s all right, if she wants to talk. But I can tell she’s processing, and sometimes that requires stillness.
When we arrive, I help her out of the car, her bag slung over my shoulder. She’s already fumbling for the door before I catch up, and I spot the tension in her shoulders again.
I open the door, and make a quick sweep of the place to ensure everything’s the same as we left it.
However, I suspect Jeb would let us know if anyone had been in here. Briar moves to his cage, checking on him as I head into the kitchen.
“You hungry?” I ask her. “I can whip something up.” I think about making her a steak, or a pasta salad, however I remember the food she likes instead.
“No, I’m just going to sulk on the couch.”
I smile softly as I enter the living room through the archway. “It’s not forever, Briar. We’ll be able to deal with Jason once we know exactly what he wants.”
Briar plucks at a pillow in her lap. “Well, he seems like what he wants is me.”
I run a finger over my bottom lip, my mind briefly thinking about how I want the exact same thing, and then I push back my shoulders. “Yes and no.”
She faces me, her eyes wide. “What does that mean?”
I sit down next to her. “I’m thinking Jason might want your parents’ money. Maybe he has some gambling debt. Dean’s running a few searches on Jason. We’ll know more in a few days.”
Briar’s face appears confused, and then she blinks at me. “My parents’ money? Wait, now that you mention that he was always talking about a man, I forget his name, but he was always checking in with him. Saying they needed the deal to go through. I always thought it had to do with work, but one time he mentioned that he would talk to the guy after he got out of work. So, it made me think this man and him didn’t work together. I don’t know.”
“Hey, this is very helpful. Do you remember anything else?”
She shrugs. “No. I just know toward the end of our relationship he was starting to unravel. Always talking on the phone, always stressed.”
I stare at Briar for a long moment as I try to process what she’s saying. It pisses me off she was in a relationship with this asshole. “Was this man somebody he knew from the races?”
She shrugs again, and I briefly stare a little too long when her shirt slips off her slender shoulder. “I don’t know. I could call him and ask. Maybe do a little recon mission.”
My heart nearly explodes in my chest from anxiety at the thought of Briar ever speaking to that asshole again. “No,” I clip out. “You’ll never speak to him ever again.” Not if I have anything to say about it.
“Okay,” she whispers.
I want to comfort her in some small way, but I know if I touch her right now I’ll be tempted to kiss her again, and that was a huge mistake. I can’t let myself go there again. “You hungry?” I ask her, my voice gruff and threadbare.
She shakes her head. “Not really.”
“I’ll make you some soup.”
She nods. “Orion,” she says. “Thank you.” She blinks up at me, her green eyes the same shade as the grass on a warm, sunny day.
Something about the way she says it makes my chest feel warm. I stand from the couch, deciding it’s better not to linger on that feeling too long. “You’re welcome.”
She offers me another soft smile, and for the briefest moment, my pulse kicks up a notch. Then I clear my throat and step aside, giving her space to breathe.
I’m her bodyguard, after all. Protecting her is my job. But the longer I’m around her, the more it feels like something else—like a promise I’m determined to keep, no matter what.