Total pages in book: 227
Estimated words: 220940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1105(@200wpm)___ 884(@250wpm)___ 736(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 220940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1105(@200wpm)___ 884(@250wpm)___ 736(@300wpm)
“Is it him?” I ask.
I’ve never seen a woman shake so much. She latches onto her lip ring, and the scale of her trembles might rip the damn thing out. Her glazed eyes turn to us, her nod jerky. “Withheld number.”
“Who?” Ella asks, forcing Beau to go to her and settle her.
“Do not answer.” I claim the cell from Pearl and give it back to Beau, taking her in a hug and trying to squeeze her shakes away. I can’t bear seeing her like this. All vibrancy lost. Happiness in the gutter. “You need to take my word for it, Pearl,” I whisper. “Everything will be fine.” I release her, wiping her tears.
“I need to talk to Brad.” She snivels over her words. “Tell him everything.”
“He doesn’t know everything?”
“We started to talk but news of the spa exploding and Nolan being taken—” She shakes her head. “I don’t think he’ll release Nolan even if he gets me back.”
God, I can’t even consider that. “You must tell Brad everything. Every little detail, no matter how unimportant you think it is.” Fucking hell. I remember Danny’s face when I shared my dismal past. Murderous. I can’t imagine Brad will feel any different. He loves her. I’m so fucking happy for him, but at the same time, terrified. We’re all fucked up. Some more than others. He’ll struggle to accept the terrible things that have happened to Pearl, and it’ll affect their relationship. But he will have to get past it. Or just pretend to get past it.
“It’s ugly, Rose,” Pearl whispers.
“He’ll take it,” I assure her. “But you must be patient with him.” Brad’s never loved a woman before. And I know the whole virginity thing would have fucked with his head. My question is, did he know she was a virgin? And is that why he was so fucking tetchy for so long? His moral compass must have been spinning. “I remember when I told Danny about Dimitri,” I say, his name like tar on my tongue. “I saw the monsters inside him stirring, his mind conjuring up all the ways he would kill him. Brad will be the same because he and Danny are so similar.” I smile softly, but it falters when Pearl blinks, her forehead crinkling. “Pearl?”
“Dimitri?” she whispers.
“Yes,” I confirm, every hair on my body standing on end. She knows the story. I’ve told her. “He was the man who bought me.”
Her eyes drop to the carpet and dart, and Beau is soon with us, obviously sharing my deep unease. “You never told me his name.”
I didn’t? “Pearl?” I press. “What is it?”
“Anya,” she breathes, looking up at us. “Anya’s surname is Dimitri.”
My loss of breath causes me to stagger back, forcing Beau to catch me. “No.”
“I saw. On an ID card or foreign driver’s license. Anya Dimitri.”
“Fuck,” Beau whispers.
No.
Tell me that’s not true.
“Anya Dimitri,” I say quietly, and in a complete haze, I walk out of the room.
“Rose!”
My pace increases steadily as my mind computes the information until I’m in a full-blown sprint, racing down the corridor.
“Rose, stop!” Beau yells behind me. “Rose, please!”
I burst through Pearl and Anya’s bedroom door and scan the space, pacing to the bathroom. Empty. My eyes fall to the cupboard under the sink. The panel on the front. It’s hanging down on one side. Has been put back in a rush. Disbelief turns into anger. So much fucking anger. I back out, hurrying to the terrace doors, and push my way out, scanning the gardens below. And I see her, hurrying through the garden.
Carrying something.
“No,” I whisper, my blood running cold.
My baby.
“No!” I scream, making her stop. “Anya, no!”
“Rose,” Beau breathes, seeing what I’m seeing. “Oh my God.”
My heart literally falls out of my chest as I turn and race back out of the room, nearly taking Pearl off her feet as I do. I dart down the stairs, seeing my purse by the door. I kick my sandals off and rummage through urgently, pulling out the gun Danny gave me, then I fly out of the front door, running around the side of the house, my legs like pistons, adrenaline fueling them.
“Rose!” Beau screams.
I see Anya on the side of the driveway heading toward the cars. She sees me.
Her pace increases.
“Anya, don’t run!” I yell. “Anya, please!”
I see the headlights of a Mercedes blink. “Anya, stop!”
I keep running. Just keep running. But I’m judging the distance.
I won’t make it.
“Anya, please, stop!” My lungs burn, but I keep going. I will never stop. I will run to the end of the fucking earth. “Anya!”
And from nowhere, Pearl appears, much closer to her than I am. I slow to a stop, my heart clattering, and watch Pearl gain on her. Anya’s unaware of her closing in, her attention on me. I send a million silent prayers to the heavens, willing Pearl on. “Please,” I beg. “Please, please, please.”