Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Then, the oldest one she had was from fucking Alec Dart, telling her he missed her, thought about her all the time, and that he refused to believe that was it for them. He’d sent it on Christmas Day. She hadn’t responded. But she also hadn’t deleted it. There were no other texts before this one, so she had deleted all those. She had no pictures of him or them together in her album, but I did find a dozen in her recently deleted folder, which meant she’d held on to them for a while before getting rid of them.
Did she still have feelings for him? And why was I even thinking about that? I didn’t care who she had feelings for.
I dropped her phone back to the island and went to get my cup that held cold coffee. My breakfast was still uneaten, sitting beside the coffeepot, but I had no appetite. Not anymore at least. I took the plate and went to stick it in the fridge. The moment I opened it, I saw the chocolate cake sitting there. Taunting me. Reminding how damn sexy she had looked while eating it last night. Savoring every bite. Her tongue running over her lips, getting stray crumbs.
I shoved the plate inside the refrigerator with more force than necessary and slammed the door. The same door I’d held her against by the throat. My stomach turned as the image of those brown eyes filling with tears and terror flashed in my mind. Not even coffee sounded good to me.
My phone rang again, and I jerked it out of my pocket, seeing Bane’s name.
I hoped they’d caught him. I pressed Accept, then put it to my ear.
“Perry’s in a hostel in Safi,” Bane said. “Huck and Linc are there now. He’s inside. They’re at each exit. He’s also alone.”
I gripped the phone tighter. They’d have him soon.
“The phone trace led you there?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’m not there yet, but headed that way now. I thought you’d want to know. Linc said to keep the girl there until Blaise decides that she is no longer required.”
She had locked herself in the basement, so that wasn’t going to be an issue.
“Okay,” I replied.
“I thought you’d be more relieved,” he said.
Me too. Right now, I didn’t know what the fuck I was.
“I am. I want him alive and alert when I get my hands on him. Do you know what the orders are yet once they have him?”
“Yeah, Huck is coming with us to string him up in the underground. Then, he’s going back to Ocala.”
“Good,” I replied.
Blaise was letting us handle our mistake. My mistake. My list of things I wanted Perry to pay for had grown. Was currently growing. I needed the chance to get my vengeance.
“You’ll get to make sure he pays literally and physically,” Bane assured me.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“I’ll send word when we have him.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
I stood there, staring at the door that led to the basement for several minutes after the call ended. I wanted to believe Winslet Gerard was as fucking innocent and good as she appeared. That sweet smile, musical laugh, each perfect feature—I wanted them to be as genuine as the texts I had read, the things she’d said, the life she seemed to live. I took a heavy breath, and my chest rose and fell. I fucking wanted her to be that woman I had met in the Hobby Lobby. Nervous, cute, rambling on about hot dogs and pizza pretzels, all that unpretentious natural beauty that had appeared to be more than skin deep.
But I couldn’t be sure, and even if she was—even if I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was that woman who had made me momentarily forget what I was there for—it changed nothing. There was no chance at anything more for us. When this was over, she’d walk out of my life. I wouldn’t have another night of listening to her talk, watching her eat chocolate cake, being distracted by the way her lips curled and eyes danced. There would be no more watching her sleep. Seeing the peaceful look on her face that mesmerized me.
I didn’t do relationships. Not even for someone who might possibly be the perfect female. And definitely not the sister of a man who had robbed me and made me look like a fool.
It was probably for the best she was down there again. Out of sight. Not confusing me. Getting under my skin. Making me get off track. There was one goal here, and I had to focus on it.
Fourteen
Winslet
Moving on from the knowledge that Oz, at some point since I’d been living upstairs, had emptied my pee bucket had been difficult. I mean, I was thankful I wouldn’t have to smell it because, well, it would have been sitting there awhile and the scent would have been unpleasant. But I was struggling with Oz…seeing my pee. Which was stupid to even care since the man had almost killed me and I’d locked myself down here for my protection. From him.