Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 59044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
It was far worse watching it in real-time, though.
The excitement on her face. Because she’d been expecting me. Then the confusion. Surprise. And, finally, fear.
But it was too late.
He was already grabbing her, silencing her, throwing her into his trunk.
“What was that?” Marcus asked as the guy pulled something out of his pocket.
“A syringe,” I said, chest hurting until I realized I was holding my breath.
“Who is it?” I asked, talking mostly to myself. “Who is that fuck?”
“Gene,” Di said immediately.
“Gene?” Marcus and I both asked, turning to look at her.
“One of her bodyguards,” she said, frowning at Marcus. “Don’t you remember? You hired him.”
“There’s been so many,” Marcus said. To be fair, the man looked horrified that he’d put this man in his daughter’s path. Put him in her house. Forced her to tolerate him. Until she managed to push him out again.
“Get your office on the phone. Get his employment forms,” I told Marcus.
“Right. Right. Yeah,” he said, already reaching for his phone as I moved through the spa and back out front.
“Hey, Gene. The bodyguard. Do either of you know where he lives?” I asked.
“Gene. The creep,” Drea snapped, jaw tight.
“No. I never drove him anywhere personally,” Eric said. “Never liked him, though. He used to sit in the back with the girls,” he said, lip curling at the idea of an employee overstepping professional boundaries.
He would really not approve of me.
That was an issue for another day, though.
When Scarlet was safe.
“Why did you think Gene was creepy?” I asked Drea as Di and Marcus came out of the spa, Marcus talking rapidly to someone on the phone, Di on the phone with someone else.
“I didn’t think he was creepy. Scarlet said she used to catch him trying to watch her shower or change.”
Great.
“How did Scarlet manage to get him to leave?”
“I threatened him,” Drea admitted. “I don’t think Scarlet even knew that. But I just… I couldn’t stand by and watch another asshole think he could get away with taking advantage of one of us. So I… threatened to turn him over to the police for spying on her and taking pictures of her in her own home. I should have actually done it.”
“It’s not your fault. You were protecting your friend. And you did get him out of her apartment. Who the fuck knows what might have happened if you didn’t get him out of there when you did.”
“I have an address,” Marcus said, heading toward his car.
“The cops are coming,” Di said, eyes wide.
“Stay and talk to them. I’ll text Eric the address to tell the cops,” I told them, rushing to slide into Marcus’s car before he could peel off without me.
“This is all my fault.”
“You can fall into a guilt hole later,” I said, shooting him a look. “Right now, you need to be fucking pissed off and ready to take on this bastard. I’m assuming he had some kind of military background.”
“He was a cop.”
“He was what?” I snapped.
“A cop. He said the money was shit, so he retired early.”
“Christ,” I hissed.
“What?”
“He didn’t fucking retire. Not that young. He had to be fired. Probably failed a psych exam or was a creep on a case. Did you even call his precinct to check?”
The way Marcus’s gaze slid out the window gave me all the answers I needed.
A former cop meant that this wasn’t just some nobody with an obsession. This was a guy who was likely armed and trained in at least some hand-to-hand combat.
Not as much as I got, of course. But enough to be a problem. Especially when we interrupted his plans to complete some sick fantasy with Scarlet.
We were about at the hour mark.
And hour that fuckhead had her.
A lot of bad shit could happen in that timeframe.
I prayed she was keeping her wits about her, was trying to placate this guy instead of pissing him off, was maybe even trying to engage him in conversation to bide herself time.
She had to know I was coming for her.
That I would move heaven and fucking Earth to bring her home.
“Come the fuck on,” I growled when we hit the third light in a row.
“How could he drag an unconscious woman into his apartment?” Marcus asked. “Assuming that’s what the drugs did.”
“Normally, I would like to think that someone would stop him or say something or call the cops. But I think with the current drug epidemic, people would simply assume the woman is too high to walk. And New Yorkers just… notoriously mind their own business. It’s possible. Or, who the fuck knows, maybe this place has a back entrance or some shit like that where he wouldn’t be as seen.”
“Do you… carry a weapon?” Marcus asked.
“I won’t need it,” I said, hearing the threat in my voice as I envisioned grabbing this fuck by the back of his neck, and slamming his face into the wall until it flattened for daring to put his hands on Scarlet.