Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56653 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56653 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“This is your chance for closure,” Sabastian repeated. “The only way you can finally stop hurting inside. Because we both know you’re hurting still.”
Slowly, Bobby covered her face. Darkness flooded her world and she welcomed it, wishing she had the power to keep it that way. Darkness was comforting in its emptiness somehow. There was nothing to be happy about, but there was nothing in it to hurt her either.
“I don’t want it. I’ve learned to cope.”
“Coping isn’t enough—-”
She shook her head, looking at him desperately. “It’s enough for me. So please, Sabastian, don’t make me do this. I don’t want to lose myself again.”
Quietly, he said, “You haven’t really found yourself, Bobby. All you are now is a shell, and sooner or later, that’s going to crack.”
Chapter Six
“She’s been crying.” Helios made the quiet observation as he and Leandro watched Sabastian Gabris and Bobby Granger walk out of his study. Her eyes were faintly swollen, her face pale.
Sabastian had a hand at the small of Bobby’s back, and the protective stance about him had Leandro stiffening. With a hooded gaze, he saw Sabastian and Bobby looking at each other, not saying a word, and then slowly, Sabastian took Bobby’s hand in his. It was a touching scene – so fucking touching Leandro felt like he was going insane at the agonizing pain that scene had caused.
Had he really lost her, he wondered bleakly. Had he really hurt her so much that there was no way to have her back again?
And if he had, what then? Was he to do the honorable thing and let her go so she could have a happy-ever-after with another man?
Sabastian and Bobby had reached them now, and when her gaze clashed with Leandro’s, he had his answer.
His life was in those eyes, and to let her go was to let go of life itself. There was nothing worth living for if he lost her.
Leandro saw Bobby take a deep breath as she squeezed Gabris’ hand more tightly. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and he said curtly, “Shall we lay down the rules?”
“The standard would do,” Sabastian answered.
Standard for underground racing meant there were no rules at all. Leandro eyed the man in cool assessment. It had been years since he and Sabastian raced against each other, and he hadn’t followed the other man’s progress at all. Back in the day, Leandro had been the more experienced one. Had Sabastian Gabris improved so much that he was able to confidently gamble the girl he was dating on a race?
“If I win this race, I will take her away,” Leandro warned in a hard voice. He didn’t give a damn about doing the honorable thing. If he won the damn race – and he would fucking make sure he did – he was going to take Bobby away.
Bobby stiffened at Leandro’s words, but she couldn’t make herself look at him. Fear enveloped her, fear of what she would do if he did win – and what she wouldn’t be able to do if he indeed took her away. A part of her urged Bobby to just run and not be a part of this, but pride kept her rooted there.
If she ran away, she might as well admit that he still had power over her – power that would only come from the fact that she loved him still, and that was the one thing she would never want to admit.
Sabastian offered his hand. “Rules of engagement understood.”
Leandro shook the other man’s hand.
And the race was on.
Leandro’s bike was big, black, and powerful, with the image of a griffin curling around the entire bike. It was the same griffin that was inked on Leandro’s arm, making it seem as if Leandro and his “beast” were one.
Sabastian’s bike was sleek and white, a speed demon whose elegant appearance belied the sheer power of its custom-designed engine. It had no design at all except for a heart-shaped gem attached to the right panel of his motorcycle’s gas tank.
Sabastian and Leandro had both changed for the race, with Sabastian in white and Leandro in black. As he pulled on his gloves, his eyes searched and found Bobby, who was looking at Sabastian. Again, jealousy flared inside him and before he knew it, he was walking towards her.
A startled gasp escaped Bobby when Leandro was suddenly blocking her view. “What?”
“It’s customary for a biker’s girl to give him a token before a race.”
She said automatically, “I’m not your girl.”
The words hurt, but Leandro had his pride, and though he loved Bobby, he would not allow her to dismiss him just like that. “You could have fooled me, mégaira. The way you kissed me, it was like you had always been my girl.”
Bobby flushed, but she was too honest to deny the truth in his words. “It was a moment of insanity, and it won’t happen again.”