Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“What is this?” I ask stupidly. I have the crazy feeling I should snap the case shut and hide it in case the Feds are watching our illicit trade.
“Your payment.”
I do some mental math, but my mind blanks. This is way more than ten thousand dollars.
“One hundred thousand,” Jaeger says helpfully. “You can count it. St. James won’t be offended.”
St. James. Right, that shark is involved in all this. The less time he spends thinking of me, the better.
I close the briefcase and push it away. “I didn’t make it until dawn.”
“Didn’t you?” He smiles when I stare at him.
Does he mean, ‘Did I survive him?’ I guess I did. I lived until dawn. He didn’t kill me and leave me in the woods.
I know, deep down, that had been an option. But somehow, I’ve avoided that fate. In that sense, I did earn the money.
All of a sudden, I’m not afraid anymore. I’m mad.
I take the briefcase and set it at my side, holding his gaze the whole time. “With this money, I could leave you.”
“You could try,” he murmurs. “You wouldn’t get far. You’re hurt, remember?”
“I won’t always be hurt.” This is reckless, but I’m past caring. I feel the same way I had in that moment in the woods, when I was sick of running and stopped to challenge him.
“You’re right. You’ll heal up fast.” He leans close enough that I can pick out the dark striations in his stormy eyes. “That’s when you’ll find out if you take more than a few steps away from me, I’ll hunt you down. And you know how good I am at hunting.”
My heart trips and adrenaline careens through my body, flipping every switch to give it a turbo boost of energy. But my pussy thinks it’s go-time. Jaeger’s lips are close to mine, his wintry scent suffusing my lungs. Arousal pounds in my core, leaving me soaked.
“You can’t get away,” Jaeger taunts, a happy look on his flawless face. He looks almost angelic with his serene smile and gilt hair.
“Fuck you,” I say loud enough for the men at the bar to turn.
Jaeger’s blue eyes light up. “Definitely. That was always the plan.”
Jaeger
My bunny refuses to talk to me the whole way home. I thought she’d be happy at being handed such a healthy sum of money, but it only brought more worries.
She’s used to worrying. Life has not been kind to her. I hope to be a shield for her, a safe place in the storm.
I carry her into my penthouse, ready to strip her down and fuck her. A nice, hard fuck always makes her feel better.
As soon as the lights come on, illuminating the apartment, she gasps. There are a few new additions to the place, starting with two blooming orchids on pedestal stands on either side of the entryway.
“Where did these come from?” I pause to let her touch one of the orchid’s soft purple petals.
“Do you like them?” She said she wanted to make changes to the penthouse. I paid the shop to send their best decorator along with the home goods purchases she made. The decorator had free rein to add a few of their own touches as well.
Judging by the awestruck look on Elodie’s face, it was worth it.
“They’re beautiful.” I wait until she’s looked her fill and carry her into the living space. The space is transformed. There are more plants—ferns and shit like that—placed in corners, and scented candles cast a soft light over the space. The three throw pillows Elodie picked out are arranged on the couch, with more throw pillows on each chair and fuzzy blankets draped over the arms of the chairs.
Elodie’s eyes are alight. I set her down, and she clutches a pillow to her chest, taking it all in. “When did all this happen?”
“While we were at lunch. I had the shop deliver it.”
She wrinkles her nose. “How?”
I drop a kiss on her forehead. She’s too adorable. “Money.” Money can do anything. “Do you like it?”
“I do.”
Her mood seems lighter, so I squeeze the back of her neck, holding her still as I claim her lips. This is all for you. I need to tell her that she can make any changes she likes. This is your home now.
A text, followed by a rap on the door, tells me Atticus is outside. I let him in and bring him to Elodie. I’m still carrying the briefcase full of Elodie’s cash, so I leave them to it and head to my nearest safe. I have many of them around the penthouse and more scattered throughout the city, filled with caches of weapons, jewels, alternate identities, and money in several denominations.
“I meant to come this morning, but there was an emergency,” Atticus is telling Elodie.
“It’s fine.” She holds out her arm and lets him swab it for a shot. He convinced her to allow him to give her an infusion of vitamins and painkillers, a healing cocktail of his own design.