Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Ferocity blazed through Milo’s expression. “You have any issues, you call me. I’ll be right here waiting.”
“I know you will, and I hope you know how much I appreciate that.”
I ducked out of his idling truck and rushed up the walkway toward the ritzy, modern house. I’d think it really super gorgeous if the douchenugget hadn’t ruined it with all his ugliness. Painted it in his overinflated ego.
Now, the monstrosity oozed with Karl’s pretension and snobbery.
I could feel myself getting tripped up in it where it leaked from the cracks and leached out in a thick, slimy bog.
Fighting the force of it, I climbed to the columned front porch, my pulse racing so wild I thought I might pass out.
I might have put on a brave face for Milo, but I’d rather spend an entire day locked in a classroom full of six-year-olds who’d popped a dozen cases of Red Bull than deal with Karl’s petulant ass.
I stole a quick glance behind me.
Milo watched me through the windshield, his expression coiled in pained restraint.
My chest panged.
It looked like he physically ached letting me do this alone.
And crap, this was all getting extraordinarily complicated.
These feelings.
These wonderful, horrible, terrifying feelings.
His kids.
His mother.
But most of all, it was the man.
I gave him a thumbs-up before I turned and moved for the door.
I eased the key into the lock so slowly, I could hear each of the bullets sliding into the groove. My breaths were shallow, and I pushed open the door to the spray of afternoon light that speared through the row of windows that sat high up on the two-story wall.
The alarm started to beep, and I rushed over to the pad and entered the code to shut it off.
It was a miracle.
Karl had actually respected my wishes for once and wasn’t there.
Maybe he didn’t want to deal with me, either.
My attention swept over the main room. Everything was white and sleek and posh and probably the most uncomfortable thing I’d ever seen.
Disgust pooled in my stomach.
This place was nothing more than a prison to me.
No more.
I took a quick breath and jogged up the stairs to the second floor. I went into the master bedroom and directly into the enormous closet.
I snagged a suitcase from the top shelf, tossed it open on the floor, and began to stuff as many things into it as I could.
Shirts and jeans and my favorite dresses.
Shoes.
I stuffed in as many of those as I could.
Obviously.
I dumped in an entire drawer of underwear and bras.
There.
Snagging a big tote from a shelf, I hustled from the bedroom, across the landing, and into the office.
Second to my car, what I needed most were the important documents I kept in a bin. I knelt next to the bookcase that had a row of drawers on the bottom, and I opened the one where I stored my things and began to frantically pull out what I needed.
Bobby’s medical records.
My birth certificate and social security card.
Pictures of our parents and a few of me and Bobby from when we were children.
The information for the storage locker where I kept Bobby’s possessions because I’d never had the heart to get rid of them.
I stalled out when the shadow fell across me from behind.
My racing heart chugged, and my blood thickened to sludge.
I’d never been afraid of Karl before.
Honestly, I’d felt little of it the night he’d hit me. Most of that adrenaline had been fueled by my anger.
I hadn’t ever felt an innuendo of it until yesterday.
And I felt the full force of it right then.
I thought maybe a veil had been lifted.
The one that had cloaked him in chivalry and hidden away a vileness I could feel curling through the air.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Venom cut through the room.
I hid my alarm behind a scowl, glancing at my phone, unsure how to play this. I could easily call Milo, but him barging in would only escalate whatever bullshit Karl wanted to throw my way.
I intended on throwing it back.
“Getting my things, like I said. Don’t worry, I won’t be long. Give me one second, and I’ll be out of your hair.” I said it like it was no big deal.
I went back to grabbing the few files I needed, doing my best to keep my hands from shaking as I stuffed them into the bag.
“You don’t get to do this.”
“And what’s that?” I kept it all so casual as I zipped the bag and stood.
Karl was at the doorway, dressed in his typical suit, not a blond hair out of place. But his blue eyes were cold as he stretched his arms out across the doorway. “Leave.”
I huffed. “We already went over this yesterday, Karl. Like I said, I’m finished with you. It’s over.” I moved around the desk and started his way with my head held high. “Now get out of my way.”