Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
The neighbor. Wilder. Fuck no.
“DRIVE!” I shouted when Levi slowed down like he was going to go back.
“What are you doing, Gage? She’s fine. You don’t have to get involved,” Huck said.
My body was strung so fucking tight that I wasn’t sure which side of sanity I was currently on. He was with her. In her apartment. Taking care of her. Touching her. My vision blurred.
“We don’t need to go, man. Let’s go back.” Levi’s voice was concerned.
“Drive,” was all I said. It was all I could say.
“Fuck,” I heard Huck mutter. “Try to keep everyone alive,” he said.
“I’ll do my best,” Levi replied.
He pulled up to the outside of her apartment, and before the car came to a complete stop, I swung open the car door. Getting out, I cursed the fucking cast for slowing me down.
“Let’s talk about this first,” Levi called out, then followed me into the building. “Fucking hell.”
Her door was locked, and I pounded on it.
“Don’t break it down,” Levi warned me.
The door opened, and it wasn’t Shiloh. It was a guy.
“Oh fuck,” Levi muttered behind me.
The guy looked down at my cast then back at me. “You must be Gage. You’re not coming in here.” The guy scowled at me.
I ignored him and started to walk inside, but the man stepped in front of me. He narrowed his gaze, and for a second, he looked ready to fight me if he needed to. The moment my Glock was pressed against his forehead, that stance evaporated, and he quickly turned pale.
“You just flipped the damn crazy switch. Congratulations,” Levi said to the man as he walked past us. He stepped inside, then looked back at me. “Put the gun away. Blowing his fucking brains out all over her apartment isn’t going to help shit.”
Hatred seethed through me as I glared at the man who thought he had a right to be in Shiloh’s apartment. “Get the fuck out of here,” I warned him.
He swallowed hard, and his Adam’s apple bobbed, but he didn’t move.
“Listen—Wilder, is it? We met at the restaurant. Anyway, my friend is fucking insane, and there is little I can do to stop him. Normally, I can rein him in, but we’ve added Shiloh to this equation, and where she’s concerned, he is batshit crazy. I can assure you, she is the safest female in a ten-mile radius because of him. You, however, might not see another sunrise. Now, please, go back to your apartment. Don’t call the cops because they won’t come. You’re welcome to try, but it’ll be a waste of time. But leave, please. I am not in the mood to clean up the mess if you don’t.”
The man’s gaze shifted from me to Levi.
“Put the gun down, Gage,” Levi told me.
He was right. Shiloh would be upset if I shot him. I had to think clearly. Losing her again wasn’t going to happen. I slowly lowered the gun.
“This is the part where you get the fuck out of here,” Levi informed him.
He backed away, his eyes wide, and Levi closed the door, blocking him from my view.
“He’s going to call the cops. I’ll make the call and handle that,” he told me. “Go on and see her for yourself. It’s done now. No more stopping this shit. I can see the psycho gleam in your eyes.”
I laid my gun on the counter as I headed to the closed door at the end of the short hallway. The room was completely dark. I eased myself inside and let my eyes focus until I could make out her sleeping form on the bed. My chest felt like it was going to explode. I’d done this. She was like this because of how I’d treated her. Someone should have pointed the fucking gun at my head.
Walking over to the bed, I climbed on it and moved in close to her back. Her breathing was slow and steady. I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to my chest. She stirred, and a soft sigh escaped her before she stilled.
“It’s me,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her head.
“Gage?” Her voice rolled over me like a fucking balm.
“Yeah, baby. Go back to sleep.”
She turned her head and blinked as she stared at me. “Am I dreaming?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Why are you here?”
I pressed a kiss to her lips. “It’s where I belong.”
She sighed. “I’m still asleep.”
The disappointment on her face made me smile.
“We will talk in the morning,” I told her.
“Okay,” she muttered, turning away from me again.
I buried my face in her hair and inhaled.
How the fuck had I thought I could keep this from happening? It’d been fucking inevitable.
Twenty-Nine
Shiloh
Before I opened my eyes, I felt the warm body pressed against my back. My eyes snapped open, and I looked down at the hand on my stomach. Gage. That hadn’t been a dream. I tried to replay what he’d said in my head, but I’d taken the pain medicine. Things were hazy. Who had called him? His being here wasn’t going to help. I was afraid I’d end up like this again after he left.