Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Let’s go,” Orion says, his tone gentle but firm. “We’ve got what we need.”
I nod and follow him out, switching off the lights as we move through the apartment. Each step away from this place feels like a step away from the ghosts of my past, from the suffocating grip Jason once held on my life.
We pause at the front door. Orion checks the lock, then double-checks it. I appreciate the thoroughness, the way he leaves no detail to chance. As we step into the cool night air, I chance a glance back at the apartment. The windows stare back at me like vacant eyes, revealing nothing but darkness inside. I can almost picture Jason’s face in them, but I push the image away.
Orion nudges me softly, offering a reassuring smile. “You okay?”
I inhale, then exhale slowly. “Yeah,” I say, surprising myself with how steady I sound. “I’m okay.”
He presses a hand to my lower back, guiding me toward the SUV. We climb inside, and as he starts the engine, I find myself whispering a silent goodbye to the life I had here. Maybe I’m running away, or maybe I’m finally moving on. Either way, it’s progress, and with Orion at my side, I feel like I might just make it out of this mess in one piece.
Chapter 14
Orion
As I lead Briar to the SUV in the lot, I spot something on her car in the lot. I put her into the SUV. “Lock the door,” I tell her.
“What? Where are you going?”
I place a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she sits in the SUV. “I just want to check a few things,” I tell her, hoping she doesn’t see the obvious note on her car too.
She nods, and I shut the door. She stares at me, and I tap on the window.
“Lock up,” I tell her once again.
She locks the doors, and I head off in the direction of her vehicle in the lot. I pull the wiper back and clutch the small scrap of paper. I stare at the note, and in sloppy handwriting is scrawled:
You think he can save you?
There’s no signature, but we don’t need one. Everything about this screams Jason. The clipped, threatening tone, the sense of being watched. He knows I’m here, and he wants Briar to know it.
Motherfucker. Part of me wants to hurl a curse into the darkness. Instead, I clamp my jaw shut and breathe. I need to tell Briar about the note.
Not now, I decide, slipping the note into my jacket pocket. Later, when she’s calmer. She’s in enough distress as it is. We have time to strategize. Let her rest for now.
By the time I climb into the SUV, Briar turns to face me. “Everything all right?” she asks, voice low, eyes darting to me.
I force a reassuring smile. “Just needed to double-check a few things. Thought I saw something but it was probably my imagination. Let’s get out of here.”
She studies me, uncertainty lining her features. But after a moment, she nods, and we drive off, the streetlights flashing over us in a rhythmic pattern. All the while, my mind hums with the note in my pocket. You think he can save you?
We reach my place without incident. The tension in my chest starts to loosen once we’re inside. I flick on the living room light, illuminating the space. Briar sets her purse on the coffee table, her shoulders slumping from exhaustion. She looks so worn down. I want to wrap my arms around her, shield her from all of this. But that’s not exactly in the standard job description, is it?
Yet this is more than a job now. I can’t keep lying to myself about it. Ever since the first time I saw her, something has twisted inside me—a fierce need to protect, yes, but also the recognition that I like her, a lot more than I should.
“Jeb put to bed,” Jeb screeches from his cage. “Jeb neeeeeds sleep.”
Briar, ever so patiently, heads off toward the bird’s cage to deal with him. She takes him out of the cage for a few minutes and then takes him back to her room to put him to sleep.
“How about some tea?” I offer once she’s back, trying to ease her into a calmer headspace.
She nods absently, following me into the kitchen. “Yeah. Tea. That’d be nice.”
As I fill the kettle, she leans against the counter, arms crossed. “What did you see out there, really?” She doesn’t even look at me, just at the floor. “You keep getting that look. The one that says you’re worried.”
I hesitate, feeling the weight of the note in my pocket. I should tell her. But her voice is already trembling with the question, and she’s had enough fear for one night. “Probably just a trick of the light,” I say carefully, turning to meet her gaze. “But I checked it out anyway. We’re safe here, Briar.”