Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
“I’d take you out to a quiet place in the country. Our friend Ralph would be waiting there for us. Then you could say anything you wanted to him, anything you’ve always wanted to say, and there’s not a damn thing that worm can do about it. No more manipulation. No more drugging. No more bullying. Then, I do what has to be done.”
A shiver runs through me. “This is pretty different than our time at the water, huh?”
“Or you nod, Lexi, and that’s it—nothing else. You never have to be involved in it. You never have to experience it. The Marinos would never dream of making an offer like this to their women, but I’m not judging this like a mafioso. I’m just a man, Lexi, your man.”
I smooth my hands up his arms, touching his shoulders, when his voice gets heavy with emotion. “I’m your woman,” I say.
He leans down and kisses me hard. I return to the kiss, and then he pauses as if he doesn’t think he should get passionate right now. So, I push harder. I dig my nails into his shoulders.
“I can’t believe I told you. It seems so much smaller now.” It’s unbelievable how different it feels already.
“You never have to lock it away anymore,” he says, his intense eyes holding me in place, his warm breath dancing over me. “We don’t have to hide anything from each other.”
His mouth twitches strangely, making me wonder if he lied or if my imagination is playing painful tricks on me.
“What do you want to do, Lexi?” he asks.
I swallow. I almost say, Let me think about it, but I’ve had years to think, years to ponder. “I want to come with you,” I tell him. “I don’t want to hide. I don’t want to be kept separate from that part of your life. We’re a team, Colt.”
“Always,” he says passionately.
“So… what now?”
“Now, I drop you home. I handle logistics, and then we end this. Together.”
I swallow, then nod. “Okay, I’ll be ready, but…”
“What?” he says softly.
“What if his sick dog games and trying to spike Mia are the worst things he’s ever done? What if he’s just a bully? Can we really…” I swallow. “For that?”
“We know of one woman he tried to drug. What if he’s done it to others? What if he’s done worse?”
“Maybe we can find that out for sure,” I murmur.
“It doesn’t matter,” Colt growls. “I’m ready to end that motherfucker for the first time he ever scared you. That’s enough for me.”
“What if I want him to have to face justice? There would be nothing worse for him than being publicly humiliated and having everybody know just how sick he is.”
“After what he did to you… I was raised like a dog, Lexi, and he treated you like one. We’ve both experienced how messed up people can be. The difference is my demons were gone before I knew how to do anything about it. This prick thinks he has power over you and can scare you.” Colt stares out at the street like he’s mentally murdering Ralph right now. “He thinks he can—”
Colt slams his hand against the steering wheel. It’s a burst of anger like a volcano rumbling, but then he sits back, his teeth clenched. “I can’t think about it, Lexi. I can’t think about him thinking he can do that to you, do anything to you, and get away with it. All you deserve are…”
“Colt,” I whisper, tears suddenly in my eyes. I’ve gone from a wannabe ice queen to a woman who cries way too easily, but when I’m with my Colt, I don’t care. I just want to be near him. “It’s okay.”
“The best,” he says fiercely. “That’s what you deserve, Lexi. In everything. In your career. In your relationship. The truth is, you deserve better than Ralph and better than me.”
“Better than you?” I grab his hands, squeezing tightly. “What are you talking about? You’re nothing like Ralph. You’d never do all that stuff.”
“I’d never take pleasure in hurting people,” Colt says darkly, “but I’ve still hurt them.”
We sit silently for a short while, and then he leans down and kisses my hands. “Let’s do this, Lexi. Let’s get rid of the creep.”
“What if I’ve got another idea?” I murmur.
“Like what?” Colt says gruffly. “He deserves the dirt.”
“Just listen to me, Colt. Please.”
He looks down at me intensely, his jaw tight, his eyes flaring like there’s a universe of pure rage in him. I can see how badly he wants to let it out, my thoughts flaring blood-red as I imagine the things he’d do, the choices he’d make to right this wrong.
“If I didn’t…” He pauses, making me wonder if he was going to say love. That should be insane, but it’s not. The pause gets longer, the in-person equivalent of those three dots on a text thread.