Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“You’re mine,” he says, his voice so quiet, I almost don’t hear it over the noise.
“I’ve only ever been yours.” I bring my hands over his wrists and hold him there.
He takes a deep, shaky breath as he holds my gaze, as if he’s relieved to hear the confirmation from my lips. I wish I could wrap him up, hide him inside me, and take him far away from this mess. I wish I could make him go someplace safe, while I deal with all of this the way it should have been dealt with from the beginning.
From my peripheral vision, I see people running toward us. I lower Lach’s hands from my face as I take a step back. Ronnie reaches us first. He takes one look at Lach, his eyes widen, and he turns his attention to me. Behind him, Derek and the two other men appear. They go straight to Jameson and check for a pulse.
“Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?” he asks. “Does he?”
“I’m fine.” I look at Lach’s knuckles. “I don’t know. He needs to get these cleaned up.”
“The drone kept going over the area. . .” He looks troubled, so I put a hand up to stop him.
“I’m fine,” I say. “Did you. . .” I swallow. “Did you get anything on the mic?”
“Everything,” he says. His hard expression doesn’t change, but I see the sadness in his eyes. “You two can leave. Derek will take you back to the hotel. If you stay, you’ll have to answer questions.”
“I know.” I bite my lip and look toward the sound of the ambulances and police sirens.
I can’t see anything from here. It’s like we’re encased in a box. I hear more chaos unfold. I think about it for a moment. If I stay, I’ll have to answer questions that should have already been answered. For a long time, I blamed myself for not speaking up sooner, but I refuse to carry that burden any longer. I was a child. I didn’t even know what was happening to me, and when I finally confirmed it, my mother and best friend were murdered. I couldn’t have done anything to stop this back then. I didn’t have the support I needed. Sure, I had Marissa and Prescott, but they’ve also been scared shitless. We were kids. We did what we had to do to survive — Mar partied, Pres buried himself in hockey and school, and I detached. Survival looks different on everyone. We can’t be judged for what we did or didn’t do, but enough is enough.
I look at Lachlan. “Go with Derek. I’ll handle this.”
“No.” His eyes narrow slightly on mine. It’s all he says and does. He’s still coming down from the adrenaline rush.
“Do you think what we got on the mic will be enough to. . .get us out of this mess?” I ask quietly.
“Yes,” he says. “Everything will be taken care of. You don’t have to worry about it. You don’t have to stay.”
“I want to,” I whisper, clearing my throat. “I want to speak to the police, even if it’s just to expose the kind of man they’ve been protecting all these years.”
Ronnie gives a small smile and sets a hand on my shoulder. Beside me, Lachlan makes a sound. We both look at him and find him staring daggers into Ronnie, who squeezes me gently before dropping his hand.
“I just want you to know that we all think that you’re a fucking badass,” he says.
It happens in an instant — tears swell in my eyes and my lip begins to wobble. The sound that leaves my throat is a mix of a laugh and a sob. None of what I’ve done has felt heroic or very badass, but the fact that I've survived this long proves my resilience. I take a breath and wipe my face quickly.
“Thank you,” I say and begin to walk out of the area.
The other two guys have already taken Jameson away. I don’t know and don’t care to ask what they’ll do with him. They can turn him over to the authorities or bury him in a ditch, for all I care, as long as nothing comes back to Lachlan. Right now, he’s all I care about.
“I’m right behind you,” Ronnie says as he follows.
I hold Lach’s arm as we walk. As soon as we step out of the area, an officer charges toward us. My entire body clenches in fear. I’ve seen what happens next one too many times.
Ronnie stands between us and the officer. “They need to be checked out by a medic. They’ll answer questions if and when they’re ready.”
My eyes go wide as I watch, waiting for the officer to tase him or something. He doesn’t. He just backs away and lets us continue walking. When we reach the sidewalk, I notice a lot of the people from the luncheon are still here. Two paramedics rush over to us, so I drop Lachlan’s arm. One comes up to me, and the other to him. They both speak to each of us as they lead us to the ambulances. I glance over my shoulder to make sure Lachlan is still walking, and see the paramedic trying to usher him to a separate ambulance. He shrugs him off and strides over to me.