Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
I’m scared the moment my eyes close, he’ll be gone, but it’s not long until I fall asleep in his arms.
CHAPTER 31
Lena
Ifelt his kiss sometime early in the morning, but I didn’t fully wake because I was too tired for that. Rolling over, I reach for him but come up empty.
When I open my eyes, I realize I’m alone.
He left.
The only sign that he was here is the blood on my bed sheets from his wound.
Grabbing my phone, I see the missed calls from Cinita and nothing else.
No text goodbye.
Nothing.
A pit forms in my stomach.
Was last night real? Or was it only me who felt that?
Did I fall for the exact thing I told myself I wouldn’t?
Sitting up, I debate whether or not to call him.
Should I?
I don’t know.
He left without a word, so why should I follow that up?
It was the best sex of my life. Maybe that’s why I’ve become attached.
But the things we spoke about… there’s no taking away from the intimacy of that moment.
Putting my phone back down, I crane my neck, trying to get a better view of the living room. But I can’t see him, and I would’ve heard him if he was in the bathroom since it’s directly behind my room.
I can see the medical kit and bits of blood on the counter have been cleaned up.
It’s like he was never here.
Just as I get up to get dressed, my phone rings, and his number comes on my screen as “Mr. Happy.”
“Hello?” My voice is shaky at best.
“Miss me?” Those are his first words. I want to tell him he shouldn’t have left, but I can’t. I don’t have the right to say that to him. One night together does not equal me telling him what to do.
“You left.” I state the obvious.
“I did,” he replies. “I’m also at your door, so open up.” I look at the door and then my phone, a flurry of butterflies erupting in my stomach.
I hate this hopeful pull that I have no control over.
I walk to the door and unlock it before I pull it open. He’s standing there, no blood in sight, gloves back on, and dressed ready to kill. Literally.
He hands me a coffee, and I take it, looking at him in confusion.
“You locked my door?”
“I did,” he says, walking in. “I also got you a bagel. It’s in the bag.” He places the bag on the counter and sits in the same seat he was in last night.
I realize he’s most likely already gone back home to shower and change into clean clothes. I look down at the pj’s I was quick to throw back on, and somehow, he makes me feel misplaced in my own apartment.
His jaw clenches, and I know something’s happened. I brace myself, because whatever happened last night… well, just as I dreaded, the bubble is about to pop.
“Why are you here, Alek?” I ask. “Do you plan to watch The Real Housewives and eat popcorn with me all day?”
His gaze meets mine, and for a moment, he almost looks sad. “I want to hold you all day. I know that much.”
“But you can’t because…?” I wait for it. The disappointment. The cracks that already begin to show before he’s even said anything.
I don’t know how this man got such a hold on me, but I feel like I’m already grieving his loss.
“Don’t you dare say her name,” I whisper angrily as I wrap my arms around my stomach. Because I know… a woman always knows.
“I know you get upset about her and how I help her.”
A chill runs down my spine because I know it’s about her.
I want to laugh at him and his absurdity, but I’m not entirely sure if I’m the one who’s being out of line. I’ve had sex with him once, and perhaps I’m the only one feeling this so deeply. And that’s my fault.
“That’s your choice,” I find myself saying, and I can’t help but immediately feel second best.
“I don’t help many people in this life. I want you to be well aware of that,” he says. “In fact, my way of helping someone is usually putting a bullet in their head.” His words send a shiver down my spine. “She needs to stay with someone since she’s been discharged from the hospital, and she’s asked if she can stay with me.” Everything stops when he shares this bit information. The hot coffee in my hand just burns my skin through the cup as I stare him.
“You can’t say no?” I ask.
“The blood from last night,” he starts, and I wait to hear what he has to say. “Was because I killed three men who intended to harm her.”
The coffee cup slips from my hand and explodes all over the floor. I manage to step back, but some still splatters on me.