Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
What would I have done if he hadn’t come for me?
My entire life, I’d thought it would be my heart that would cause my death, but tonight, it had almost been cut short from something much more brutal.
“I’ll keep you safe until I can be sure it’s okay for you to return to your family,” he assured me.
I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He didn’t understand. He had no idea what this meant for me. The hollowness that came with the word family was a deep, dark void. I didn’t look up at him. My focus was centered on his chest and the round wet spot I’d made on his T-shirt with my tears.
“I don’t have one of those,” I whispered.
“What, sweetheart?” he asked softly.
My breath was ragged as I inhaled. “Family.”
Levi tensed, and I couldn’t look up at him. He’d gotten me out of there, brought me to his home, and now, I was telling him there was no family for me to return to.
“Kitty was all you had?”
“Yes.” The one word fell from my lips, wringing my soul as it did. “Our gran raised us. She died a couple of months ago, and I moved in with Irish … Kitty.”
“Jesus,” he muttered, pulling me back against his chest. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay, I swear.”
No, it wouldn’t be. Nothing would ever be okay again.
“I’ll figure this out. I swear I’ll figure something out.”
How could he swear that? He had no idea that wasn’t something he could do. There was no answer for this. No way to figure it out. I was alone now. For the first time in my life, I was truly alone.
Levi wrapped an arm around me and led me through the garage full of expensive vehicles. When we reached a door, he keyed in a code, then opened it. I paid no attention to my surroundings as he led me through a dark room, then into a large area with leather sofas, plush chairs, a massive fireplace, and settled in the middle of it all was a woman. A beautiful woman with dark brown hair and big brown eyes.
She lifted her gaze from the laptop she had been looking at to take in the two of us. Moving it off her lap, she stood up, her gaze now full of concern as she looked at me.
“Where’s Huck?” Levi asked.
“In the office. Should I get him?” the woman asked.
“I need to speak with him and Gage. Can you take Aspen to my room? Stay with her.”
The woman’s eyes shifted back to me. “Of course.” The compassion in her gaze made my eyes sting with tears again.
Levi’s hands moved to my shoulders and turned me to look at him. “Sweetheart, this is Trinity. She is a very good friend. She’ll stay with you while I go deal with some things.”
I nodded, wishing the idea of Levi leaving me didn’t cause me anxiety. It wasn’t like I was getting to keep him. I didn’t need to cling to this man for comfort.
He cupped the side of my face with his hand. “I swear you’re safe. I wouldn’t leave you with anyone I didn’t trust. Trinity lives here too. She’s the fiancée of one of my closest friends.”
“Okay,” I choked out, unable to explain that I wasn’t scared of her but that I just needed him.
He was all that kept me from falling apart. There was a strength that I seemed to draw from him.
Forcing myself to let him go, I turned to look at Trinity.
She held out a hand to me. “I promise to take you to Levi’s room and stay there with you. You’ll be safe with me, and he won’t be long.”
I stepped toward her, feeling the chill settle over me without his touch. Trying not to look back at him in desperation, I kept my eyes on Trinity. “Thank you.”
The worried expression on her face didn’t help the tears I was fighting back. Trinity hugged me.
“I don’t know what you’re going through, but I am so very sorry,” she whispered.
The tears broke free and rolled down my cheeks.
“I won’t be long,” Levi whispered against my ear.
When he walked away, I tucked my nose down into the leather jacket to inhale his scent that had calmed me before.
“Let’s go to Levi’s room,” Trinity said gently, then led me through an arched doorway, down a wide hallway, and into a foyer that had a stairwell worthy of a magazine photo shoot. She took my hand in hers as we climbed the stairs to the second floor.
We passed several doors until she stopped at a closed one and opened it. Then, she released my hand and stepped back for me to enter. I walked past her, and the familiar scent that I knew belonged to Levi lingered heavily in the air. Much stronger than the jacket I was wearing.