Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
And desire. Love. Sometimes she wished she’d never met Kyle Hawthorne. Life had been simpler back then.
“Your mother is doing what she does. Eventually she’ll accept that you’re gone and you’re not coming back. We might need to arrange someone finding your body so we can give her some closure. I trust Drake won’t ever say a thing. He’s too worried about his part in it.”
“He should be.” After all, he’d taken Kyle’s side and he’d left her there when the fire had started. It turned out to be a lucky thing, but at the time it bugged her.
“Don’t let anyone take your picture or see your face. Am I clear?”
She sighed. “As crystal.”
The line disconnected and she went back to looking out over the skyline. The next time anyone important saw her face, it wouldn’t be her own.
That might be the key to winning Kyle back. It would prove that she was dedicated to a fresh start, to being open with him this time around. But first, she would make him a bit uncomfortable. Nothing big. Just some minor inconveniences that would make his life less than perfect.
Then when he needed her, they could start over.
Chapter Two
Kyle looked up at the clock and realized he’d been staring at the computer screen for way too long. It was past seven, and his first day of exile was over. Wade Rycroft had been the last of the bodyguards to tell him goodnight, and that was over an hour ago.
His stomach rumbled, and he had to make a decision. Was he going to get on the train or wait until David could pick him up? He probably could have gotten his uncle to give him a ride, but that would mean admitting he hadn’t bought a car. He didn’t have the money to buy a car yet, and that seemed like opening a door he didn’t want to open.
If he got on the train, he could grab a burrito from the convenience store a block from his brother’s townhouse and microwave it. If he waited, he could eat a granola bar from the snack basket in the break room. There were some protein shakes in the fridge that were apparently for everyone. Wade had rolled his eyes as he’d offered them up because apparently his uncle had them stocked to keep the group from getting pudgy.
His uncle was an asshole but he’d also provided a nice gym, and that was something Kyle could get into. He could probably get in five or six miles before David was done with whatever faculty bullshit he was doing this evening. If he tired himself out, he might sleep for a couple of hours.
He stood up from the desk he’d been assigned and looked around, taking in the whole of the place, looking for threats. This was what he did now. He took a perfectly normal location and turned it into a house of horrors, constantly assessing risk.
Because he’d improperly assessed risk once and his whole world had blown up because of it.
Don’t look at me like that, Kyle. You know who I am. You knew it when you asked me to marry you. You’re with me because you know deep down you’re just like me.
A chill went up his spine, and he realized he wasn’t alone.
It took everything he had not to reach for the Glock he wore in a holster under his arm. His uncle might get suspicious if he started taking shots at the janitorial staff.
But there was no way to ignore the adrenaline that started flowing as he heard someone shuffling along the hallway that ran beside the office. Security was tight in this building, but no system was foolproof.
Had Julia’s group decided to hunt him down? Did they think she’d given him her secrets and they wanted them back? Or would it be about revenge?
There was another option—one Drake wouldn’t let him pursue.
They could be coming to recruit him.
It was exactly what he’d wanted, what he’d tried to convince Drake to let him do. Let them come. Let them believe he’d taken Julia out so he could take her place and bring down the entire empire. If he got taken out, well, Drake could find a way to finish the job. It wouldn’t matter. The Agency would come up with some cover story and then his family didn’t ever have to know how low he’d gotten.
The door came open and real trouble walked in.
MaeBe Vaughn strode inside, a beer in one hand and tears rolling down her cheeks.
He felt caught, like a deer standing in the brightest headlights possible right before the truck took his whole-ass body out.
She sniffled and moved past him, not looking back. One hand went across her face, rubbing against her eyes. “Come on, Wade. Don’t fail me now.”