Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
It wasn’t long before the phone buzzed. I winced. I’d been instructed that I had to answer the phone when they called or they’d assume I’d been compromised and would come in guns blazing. In that scenario, they’d assured me no one would live.
“Hello?”
“You’re not in the fuckin’ compound? Why’d you turn it on?” I had no idea what the man’s name was, only that he called himself Mr. Black. I was pretty sure his heart was black. I knew for sure he wasn’t on my side even if he said he was some kind of federal officer. He didn’t care if something happened to me. To him, I was as guilty as my father, no matter the circumstances, if he thought about me at all. More correctly, I was a pawn to be used and sacrificed in whatever game he and whomever he worked for were playing.
“They won’t take me to the compound. This is the best I can do.” I tried to keep my voice down. The last thing I needed was Bear to hear me talking to someone and come to investigate.
“You better fuckin’ figure out a way to get there. When you do, restart your Goddamn phone and do it again.”
“You know they’re not going to let me keep my phone. That’ll be the first thing they take if they decide to take me there.”
“Then I suggest you figure out a way to keep it, or your father is a dead man. And I’ll see your ass gets sent to Gitmo. You just think what these bastard bikers would do to you would be bad. Accidentally get lost on the male side of the that place and see what happens.” The line went dead, the threat clear.
I shook as I hid the phone in the duffel they’d brought clean clothes to me in, keeping my dirties separate, so they wouldn’t have a reason to dig through the bag. Bear had been right. There was a complete change of clothes, including panties still in the pack and toiletries that hadn’t been opened.
I dressed in loose pants and a T-shirt. They were a little big, but comfortable. For tomorrow, there was another shirt and a pair of jeans, socks, and shoes.
Yeah. The people who’d put together this duffel for me on a moment’s notice were the people I was supposed to betray. This is what my life had finally come to. Could I actually do this? Would the price be worth the actual cost? Because I was beginning to truly believe my life wasn’t worth betraying these people.
I leaned forward, placing my hands on the vanity. Taking a deep breath, I tried to lift my head, to look myself in the mirror but couldn’t. If I did this, if I followed the instructions I was given to save my father and myself, I had no doubt I’d be condemning good people. Maybe not to death, but the way Mr. Black had spoken about them, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“Olivia?” Bear leaned against the door frame leading to the bathroom. I turned, brushing my fingers under my eyes to catch the tears before he saw me. “What the fuck’s goin’ on, honey?” This time, his voice was gentle. Not like before when I lied to him.
“I’m just shook up’s all. I’m fine.” I smiled but couldn’t meet his gaze. Tears threatened even more but I managed to keep them under control. “I’m really sorry to put you all through this.”
He straightened and stalked toward me. Where he’d pounced on me before, now he was patient, careful. He wore a black, short-sleeved T-shirt that seemed to mold every muscle in his chest and abdomen. Veins snaked up his forearms while the one in his bicep disappeared into the stretched cotton of his shirt. Tattoos covered one arm almost entirely while the other one had what looked like a snake wrapped from his wrist to his elbow. Made me wonder what the rest of him looked like when my thoughts had no business going there.
“That’s the first truth you’ve told me so far. That you’re sorry to put us through this.” He took another step toward me. Now, he was in my personal space. “My question is, what exactly are you putting us through?”
I backed up a step and he followed. When my back hit the vanity, Bear grabbed my waist and lifted so that I sat on the counter next to the sink. Answering him was difficult, but I knew he expected an answer; though if he was as good at reading me as he seemed to be, it wouldn’t be the answer he wanted.
“Dropping everything to come out here. Bringing me clothes. That kinda trouble.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly. I did regret interrupting their lives, but it wasn’t the whole truth.