Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
I reached out and ran a hand through his hair. He looked as shocked by the gesture as I was.
Grant pounded on the door. “What the fuck is going on in there?”
I let him in, expecting more yelling, but he immediately focused on Carlo.
“You might have been able to get away from those two idiots Lucien sent with you, but you won’t pull that shit here.”
I was sure he was going to argue with Grant, but he glanced at me, then back at Grant and nodded. “Fine. I ended up here anyway. I guess it’s meant to be.”
“You really thought you were going to survive on your own? You do understand who these men are who want you dead, right?”
I was going to have to ask Rogue for more detail on what had led to the Marchesis sending Carlo here, and I was going to have to stay away from the house for the duration of his stay, not that I felt like being around that many people all that often.
“I don’t want to be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Grant would easily find plenty of chores for him to do to keep him from being bored. He was going to be in for a shock.
“Where exactly do you think a safehouse should be? In an easy to find location?”
“No, but you ought to be able to get food delivered and not be devoured by wild animals.”
Grant snarled. “Most of the animals here are domesticated, and you don’t need food delivery. The food here is excellent, and you’ll be given as much as you want.”
Carlo snorted.
“I would keep quiet if I were you,” I said. “The cook is Grant’s boyfriend.”
He looked Grant up and down. “What? You’re gay?”
Grant pointed out the open door. “Get in the truck.”
“I didn’t mean anything bad by that. I’m bi. I just didn’t think—”
“Truck. Now.” Grant ran a hand through his hair. “Shit. He really is as much trouble as X said.”
I just nodded.
“How did he end up here?”
“He was lost. He thought he was running away, but he ran right to us.”
“But when did—”
I gestured toward where Carlo was leaning against the side of the truck, looking like a fantasy come to life. He wasn’t running, but he wasn’t obeying either. He’d be lucky if Grant didn’t kill him. “You should get him to the house.”
Grant narrowed his eyes at me. “We’ll talk later.”
As soon as I shut the door, the panic hit. I turned the deadbolt and sank to the floor, leaning back against the solid wood. The world spun, and I wrapped my arms around myself like I literally needed to hold my body together so I didn’t spin apart.
What had happened to me? I could have gotten Carlo to talk or called Grant. If I’d been thinking straight, I might have even put things together, not that I’d expected our new client to run. Rogue said he didn’t want to be here, but I didn’t know he was that big of an idiot—a gorgeous, seductive idiot with a perfect ass.
I’d threatened him, cut his air off, gotten my knife. What was I doing?
Being yourself.
But I’m not that man anymore. I can’t be.
You could be.
I don’t want to—
How did it feel?
I drew in a shaky breath. It had felt wonderful. For a little while, I’d felt… free. Like I’d actually pushed back the cloud that had settled over me after Grant had rescued me.
When I’d been a captive, I’d been in survival mode at first, then I’d thought it was probably better to let myself die. When Grant got me out, I couldn’t go back to who I was. I was nothing. Nobody. And it was safer to stay that way.
That’s not what Grant and your other friends think.
They don’t know what it feels like to not trust yourself to be anything but an animal.
That’s not who you were before.
It’s who I had to become.
To survive torture. You were a good man. You never—
I killed, and I was good at it.
It was your job.
A job I had to quit.
6
CARLO
“What was your plan? Did you actually think you were going to just run off and find someone better to save you?”
“Jesus, you sound like my dad.”
“Makes sense. You’re acting like a child.”
Not when I was with Papa Bear. I kept that thought to myself. See? I could shut up when I really needed to. I was going to do what Papa Bear had asked because he was right. Telling my bodyguards what I’d been up to wouldn’t improve their opinion of me, and even more importantly, it wouldn’t encourage them to put Papa Bear in charge of me. If I played this right and got him assigned to guard my helpless body, I might not be as bored as I expected.