Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
But I’m too far gone now. I’m in too deep with this addictively gorgeous woman. My despair of the past few hours when she was taken from me was enough of a reality check, not that I needed one. I love her too much to give up. So fucking much, it hurts. I just hope she loves me enough to get past the shock when she finds out I’m not the man she thinks I am.
Chapter 24
CAMI
Jake is agitated and tense as he guides me to his Range Rover, which is tucked away in a nearby alleyway. He doesn’t even settle once I’m safely in his car. He’s alert, scanning everywhere as he weaves through the back streets toward the outskirts of the city.
His suspicion is rubbing off on me, my eyes darting also, keeping an eye out for any police cars. My father has reached an all-time low. The knowledge of his stunt, of the fact that he paid Sebastian to press charges against Jake, makes me sick to my stomach. It also makes me question what further lengths he’ll go to in order to keep Jake away from me. I’m trying to understand his reasoning, trying to locate a scrap of compassion for my dad that’ll dilute the hatred I feel for him now, but there’s none to be found. He’ll never succeed in tearing us apart. I swear, if he continues with this craziness, I will never speak to him again. He’ll be dead to me.
I turn in my seat a little to face Jake. “What are we going to do about my father?”
“Let me worry about that,” he replies coolly, completely together. Calm, even. Why doesn’t he seem as concerned by this as I am?
“Jake, he’s trying to get you thrown in jail to keep you away from me!”
“That’s not going to happen.”
My mouth drops open in disbelief. Has he forgotten what my father is capable of? “How can you be so sure?”
“Trust me,” he says, reaching over and taking my knee gently. “He isn’t going to win, Cami.”
I look down at Jake’s big hand holding my knee, his touch warm and comforting, yet it doesn’t eliminate all of my worry. “You’re an ex-soldier.” I murmur. “You wanted to save the world, and all he wants to do is rule it.” I reach over and stroke the bristle on his jaw, and he closes his eyes briefly, removing his hand from my knee and placing it over mine on his cheek. He looks despondent all of a sudden, lost in thought.
“I love you, angel,” he says quietly, pulling my hand to his lips and kissing it gently. “More than anything.”
I smile, wishing I could convey exactly how much he means to me. There are no words. “Snap.” I return his gesture and bring his hand to my mouth, kissing his knuckles. “Where are we going?”
“I have a little place in the countryside. No one knows about it.”
“So you’re going to keep me holed up until when?”
“Until your father sees sense.”
I could laugh. “That’s never, then,” I mutter, relaxing back in my seat.
He turns a half-smile onto me. “Then I’ll keep you there forever.”
I shrug, unfazed. “Fine by me.”
* * *
After two hours on the road, we turn onto a tiny country lane, edged tightly with hedges. We’re on the same lane twenty minutes later, the road seeming to go on forever, no end in sight, the twists and turns just coming and coming. It’s wide enough for only one car, and there have been no other drivers along the way. It’s a good job. No one would get past us, not even on a push bike.
All I can see are fields for as far as my gaze can reach. Empty fields—no cows, no sheep, no life. I keep quiet as Jake negotiates his Range Rover down the narrow lane with ease, seeming to know exactly where every pothole, divot, and bump is. We start to climb a steep hill, and the clouds above seem to come closer and closer until we hit the summit and start a steady decline back down to earth. I peek out of the corner of my eye to Jake, seeing him more relaxed, all evidence of his tension gone. Then he smiles to himself. I look to see what’s spiked the sign of happiness. And gape.
A little place in the country? The house stands proudly in the distance, surrounded by a number of other, smaller buildings—a garage, an outhouse, some barns and stables. It’s a big cream structure, with dark wood-framed windows, and a massive wooden front door.
“Little?” I ask, wondering what I was expecting. A cottage, maybe?
“It’s only four bedrooms. It looks more imposing than it actually is.” He takes a sharp curve in the road, forcing me to crane my neck to keep my eyes on the house. “My nearest neighbor is fifteen miles away.”