Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 107508 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107508 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
He pulled me into his arms wrapping me in his protective embrace, his hand stroking my back. I felt his breath in my hair then his fingers at the back of my neck, stroking, comforting.
He kissed the top of my head. “Please don’t ask me to let you go. I can’t do it. I’m not strong enough to do it again.”
I remained quiet, but my head was reeling. The Legos started falling apart.
“Tour ends in a couple weeks.” He stroked the side of my face with the back of his knuckles. “Then I’m back. In the meantime, I want you to be careful. You need anything Deck will help you, okay?”
I pulled away. “Tell me what happened after I left Mexico.”
His eyes hardened and lips pursed together. “Nothing.”
“But Deck—”
His brows dropped over his eyes. “What did he tell you?”
“He just said to ask you.”
He didn’t say anything, and I knew he wasn’t going to.
“The girl ... Kai’s girl. Deck got her out.”
He nodded. “I told him about her. After you escaped, Kai disappeared in all the commotion.”
“The gun shots.”
“Yes. A distraction. Kai’s low-key, and no one knows much about him, but he vanished the moment things became unsettled. The girl was left behind, not sure if it was done on purpose or not. I told Deck about her, and he tracked her down a few months ago. She was up for auction. Kai was there. Deck got her out before he had a chance to buy her.”
Oh God.
“She’s staying with Georgie until she’s ready to go home. As of right now, she refuses to talk about it or go back to her family. They don’t even know she’s alive.”
Alfonzo destroyed that girl. I couldn’t imagine what had happened to her for the last two years. Kai ... I really wasn’t sure about him, but I did know he was dangerous, and if he knew who took her, there was no doubt that Kai would come after them.
“Give me your phone, Mouse.”
“You and me. We aren’t dating.” I had no intentions of dating anyone again, but I’d talk to him. It would be my therapy.
“No, we’re not. We’re way past that. Phone.”
I hesitated. Logan frowned. Then I pulled my phone from my purse, typed in the security password then handed it to him. He looked at the screen then began pressing numbers into my phone then passed it back. He didn’t take his out. “You’re going to remember my number from one glance?”
“Emily. I lost you for two years. I finally got your number. Do you think I’ll ever forget it? I programed my cell into your phone.”
“Sculpt—”
“Answer when I call.”
“Sculpt, I’m different now.”
He moved in close, arm snug around her waist. “Yeah. You’re stronger, sexier, and have an attitude. Makes me want you more.”
Logan wasn’t defeated easily. Actually, I don’t think he was ever defeated and as I stood in his arms I didn’t want him to be. “Okay.”
He backed away, took my hand and squeezed, and then brought me back to the gang who were talking quietly on the patio. Well, Deck was standing alone leaning up against the fence.
As soon as we appeared, he pushed away from the fence and strode over.
“The band’s leaving this afternoon,” Logan said to Deck and jerked his chin toward me.
“Yeah. On it. You tell her?” Deck asked.
“I’m standing right here. You’re on what? And tell me what?”
Logan stared at Deck a second. “Nothing bad touches her. She doesn’t need that shit on her, and I expect you to keep it that way.”
“Sculpt, what are you talking—?”
“Eme, I’ll call you later,” Logan interrupted, obviously on purpose. “Guys, I’m picking up Kite, see you at the airport. Crisis, you miss the flight this time, we’re going on without you.”
“You can’t do that.”
Ream picked up his beer. “Sure we can. You fuck up half the time anyway.”
“That’s horse shit ...” Ream and Crisis argued back and forth.
“I’ll walk with you.” Deck gave one extended glance at Georgie who was sitting with Raven, then followed Logan out of the yard.
I was left standing, staring after them.
It was morning, and I needed coffee.
Kat was already awake, and the scent of coffee brewing had me inhaling deep. She sat on the bar stool with her sketch pad in front of her.
“Hey, Emily, you working with Havoc today? I can put her in the round pen after I feed.”
I shook my head. “I’m going to play with her out in the field. Free-work with the other horses around. See if I can get her to join up with me while they’re distracting her.”
Silence.
“You want to take the horses out this afternoon?” Kat tapped her pencil on the edge of the counter.
“Yeah, sure.” We often took the more inexperienced horses out for a trail ride in the afternoons when Kat wasn’t busy painting or fixing things. She’d taken a mechanic’s course last year and even tuned up Matt and Deck’s cars.
“Okay.” Silence lasted all of ten seconds. Kat couldn’t keep anything in. “What’s happened between you and Sculpt?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit. You guys are like oil and water in a blender set on full blast.”
Yeah, they were like that. Trying to mesh, but unable to. “We’re broken, Kat. What happened ... it broke us.” My stomach turned over. I’d been a mouse in a world of snakes. “He hurt me. Even though I know now that he ... He doesn’t fit into my life anymore, Kat.”
“Do you still love him?”
Oh God. I really couldn’t answer that, because I knew a part of me always would. A part of me would always be that innocent girl who fell in love with the guy who sat in the horse fields playing his guitar. But I wasn’t innocent anymore, and he wasn’t the same guy.
She looked at me, and I looked away for fear that I’d start balling. “I love you. More than anything, and if you choose to keep kicking Sculpt to the curb, I’ll support you. I just want you to think about it before you do.”