Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
"I'll be gentle," I tell her.
"You sound like you want to freaking devour me," she murmurs.
I kiss her neck, moving down her body. "I'll kiss and lick your horny virgin pussy. Lucy, you'll be so wet that you won't even have time to think about being nervous."
Her moans become more insistent as I move down her body. I grab her waistband, ready to pull down her pants, ready to see the wetness glimmering across her pussy.
It's almost a good thing the gunfire starts when it does. If it started after I got her pants all the way down, after I brought my mouth to her soaked lips and tasted her, I might not have been able to stop even then.
I leap to my feet when I hear the bang-bang-bang coming from outside.
"Hide," I roar, rushing her to the bedroom. "Don't open the door for anybody except me!"
I grab my pistol and run through the apartment, my heart pounding as I rush out the back exit of the bakery, looking up and down the street. The gunfire comes from the other side of the building.
I skirt along the wall, peering around the edge. Two masked men fire from the open windows of a dark car, presumably at Ronan. I can hear him firing back. I take careful aim and pull the trigger, dropping the motherfucker.
The other one yelps and quickly darts away from the window, reversing toward the end of the road. I sprint onto the street, aiming my gun, firing two more shots. But the prick spins and drives around the corner.
I keep my head on a swivel, disregarding the pounding in my heart, ignoring the ugly thoughts of what will happen if they have backup and they get to me before I can spirit Lucy away to safety.
Ronan’s front window is shattered, flecks of red all over it. I rush around to the driver’s seat, pulling it open. He’s holding his arm, and his left cheek is torn open where a bullet hit him.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his words slurred. “The bastards took me by surprise.”
“I’m getting you to the goddamn hospital,” I snarl. “I promise, Ronan, whoever did this, they’re fucking dead.”
“Killian,” he whispers. “Get your woman. The fuckers… the flames…”
“The flames?”
I turn, looking at the bakery. A fire is ripping through the counter, spreading quickly. I run as fast as I can.
Seventeen
LUCY
Ihold Clover in one hand, clutched to my chest. In my other hand, I hold a knife. No idea if I’ll be able to use it if anybody other than Killian rushes up those stairs. The mood changed so freaking fast. One second my body was aching with all the possibilities of what we were about to do, and the next fear gripped me, making the worst-case scenario seem all too possible.
“Lucy,” Killian says, hammering his fist on the door. “We need to leave. Now. Bring Clover.”
I carry her to the door, opening it, still with the knife in my hand. He looks at it with pride clear in his eyes.
“What’s happening?” I ask.
“Follow me.”
He turns and runs down the stairs. I run after him, dropping the knife when I almost fall. The last thing I want to do is slip with a blade in my hand and hurt Clover. Or myself. Killian leads me out the back entrance and around to the front.
I gasp when I see the flickering orange flames lighting up the front. “The bakery!” I yell.
“I know,” Killian roars. “I’m sorry, Lucy, but we have to go. Now. They could come back. I can’t risk you. Get in the car.”
He pushes me into the car. Ronan is in the back seat, moaning as he clutches his arm, a streak of red across his face. Killian places his gun in his waistband and hops in the car. Clover whines and buries her face against my chest.
I stare at the flickering flames, struggling to accept this is real. But I can feel the heat from here. The fire is spreading quickly.
Killian starts the engine and pulls the car away, driving down the streets.
“Those bastards,” he bellows, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. “Ronan, you okay back there?”
“Hanging… in…”
“He’s losing a lot of blood,” I say, placing Clover in the footwell and taking off my hoodie. I hand it to Ronan in the back seat. “Use this to keep pressure on your arm.”
He smiles shakily. “Thanks… you’re lucky Killian was here. I… fucked… up.”
I snap my fingers. “Hey, stay awake. Ronan, look at me.”
“I’m here,” he murmurs.
“You’re doing a good job, Lucy,” Killian says. “Keep going. You need to spread some of that luck around.”
Thirty minutes later, I’m sitting in a waiting room with Clover in my lap. One of the male nurses tried to say dogs weren’t allowed in here, but Killian looked at him with that savagery in his blues. “She’s an emotional support animal,” he growled, and that was the end of any complaints.