Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
“What the fuck happened?” Leo clutches the bars. “There’s something you’re not telling us.”
How the hell do they read me so easily?
“Everything will be okay,” I whisper.
“Doesn’t answer my question.” His face moves closer.
So close I can count the specks of blood on his cheeks and smell the vodka on his breath.
He’s blood-soaked and brutal, ready to kill anyone who touches me. But as I stand in the laser focus of that vicious, otherworldly gaze, I’m wildly, inappropriately turned on.
Inappropriate, considering what I’m about to tell them.
“The stalker called me.” My tongue thickens in my mouth as I describe the call, the threats, and the computerized voice.
Shadows unfurl and seethe around them, their gazes flying to Monty.
“It’s not him.” I lean in until our mouths hover a hairsbreadth apart between the bars. “I checked the cameras seconds after the call ended. Monty was in the shower. When I called him, he left the bathroom to answer the phone.”
“So you trust him?” Leo asks through gritted teeth.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You forgive him,” Kody states. It’s not a question.
My emotions have been through the wringer so many times tonight that I’m surprised my heart hasn’t called it quits.
“The man you assaulted is in the hospital,” I say. “There are too many details to work out tonight. But Monty’s lawyers should have you out by tomorrow.” My voice fractures. “I love you both so much.”
“We love you, too.” Kody’s eyes soften, and he reaches out to touch my other hand. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be okay.”
“We’ve survived worse.” Leo sighs. “At least this prison has heat and indoor plumbing.”
“Let me see your hands,” I say.
They extend their busted fists through the bars, and the sight makes my chest ache.
Their knuckles swell beneath bruises and broken skin. Patches of dried blood surround the cuts, and their hands tremble from the pain and adrenaline still coursing through them.
The damage could be worse, but all this could’ve been avoided.
“You need to wash your hands and keep them clean from infection.” I nod at the sink behind them.
“You’re going to stay on the island alone with him.” Kody glowers at Monty, who stands out of earshot, talking to someone on his phone.
“Where else would I go?”
“You need to stay in the main house.” Leo bites out the words as if they pain him. “Don’t stay in the guest house by yourself.”
“There are guards.”
“Don’t risk it, woman.” Kody flexes his jaw. “If Monty’s not the stalker, he’s the only one who will protect you as fiercely as we do.”
“Okay.” I shiver, goosebumps erupting across my skin. “I’ll stay in the main house.”
“Not saying we trust him.” Leo scowls at the man in question.
“We trust he won’t hurt you,” Kody says quietly.
“We just don’t trust his dick.” Leo makes a menacing sound.
“Do you trust me?” I curl my hands around the bars.
They both nod and wrap their fingers around mine, dwarfing my hands.
“Time’s up.” The officer signals from the doorway.
Monty ends his call and strides back to us, giving Leo and Kody a stern glare. “Behave.”
“We’re not children,” Leo grumbles.
At twenty-five and thirty, Kody and Leo are definitely not boys. They’re more manly than most men. They’ve lived harder lives. Their bodies endured the harshest conditions. Because of that, they’re stronger, braver, more chiseled, more aggressive, and more ruthless than anyone I’ve ever met.
Except maybe Monty.
The three Strakh men together? They’re masculinity on steroids.
“Let’s go.” Monty takes my hand, his grip firm.
It doesn’t feel right to leave without kissing them.
It doesn’t feel right to leave them here at all.
A riptide of anxiety crashes through me, quickening my pulse as Monty guides me away.
At the door, I glance over my shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I promise.”
Leo’s hand tightens around the bars. Then he lets go and turns away.
“Be safe.” Kody’s gaze remains steady.
Monty gently tugs on my hand, pulling me around the corner, taking me from them.
The separation feels like a physical wound, each step away a sharp blow to my chest. My breaths come faster, louder as the panic rises, the fear of leaving them clawing at my composure.
“Hey.” Monty pauses, scanning my face. He peers so closely that his breath fans my lips, coaxing me to look at him. “They’re okay. They’re safe. Do you need to sit?”
I shake my head and resume walking.
“Let me carry you.” He grips my elbow.
“My legs work just fine.”
With a sigh, he hooks his fingers around mine and leads me back to the dock with the guards on our trail.
Sitka’s harbor stretches before us, the streets empty, devoid of the usual bustle. No footsteps, no voices, just the distant sound of waves bouncing against the dock.
The silence feels eerie, pressing against my skin like an unseen hand. I glance around, every shadow a potential threat, every alley harboring danger. My heart beats faster.