Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“Safe? You mean send them to an orphanage?”
“Sometimes. Or sometimes, we house them temporarily in one of our hotels.”
My mouth falls open. “What?”
“Every hotel we own, we have one floor specifically for victims who don’t have anywhere else to go.”
My heart swells. “Alec, that’s such a heroic thing to do.”
“Not really. We sometimes resort to, uh, less-than-legal means to find the victims and rescue them.”
“So what? At the end of the day, what matters is you saved them from something horrible.”
He turns to me, his grin getting wider. “I’m glad we think the same way.”
I’m about to burst with things I want to tell him, and I tap my feet impatiently. “Is it my turn to tell you what happened?”
“Only if you’re ready.”
“I am.”
And so we spend the next few hours telling each other how our lives were before we met and after he helped me escape. I thought it would be so difficult for me to speak to him about it, but his face, his voice, his touch—I drew strength from them.
I don’t know where we’re going from here, but we both agree on one thing—we’re never letting each other go. We’ll face Jackson head-on, make him pay, and ensure he gets what he deserves. That’s the way it should be.
15
ALEC
“Baby, my legs are perfectly fine. I can walk without your help.”
Zara steps back, propping both hands on her hips and watching me like a hawk. My next step makes me wince, something that doesn’t escape her notice. Christ.
She lunges at me, hands gripping my arms. “See? You’re hurt. You’re still in pain. Come on, put your arm over my shoulder.”
“Baby, it’s just a bit of a dull ache, nothing too painful.”
“That’s what you said when they removed your dressing and you were pale and sweating profusely.”
“It’s been a week. I promise I’m fine. I don’t need you hovering around me. You can go back to work.”
I shouldn’t have said anything, particularly about her leaving me alone in the apartment. Her eyes widen, and she jabs a finger at me. “I am not leaving you here, Alec. I will hover and hover and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
This makes me laugh, a bad idea because a twinge of pain forces my hand to flatten on my surgical wound.
“You really can’t convince me about going back to work, Alec. Besides, everyone at the hospital knows what happened to my boyfriend.” Zara lifts both hands and adds air quotes to the last two words.
Boyfriend. Huh. That has a nice ring to it.
I lift a brow at her. “Does the doctor who looks at you like you can cure the common cold know that too?”
Her forehead creases. “Who do you mean?”
“Oh, you know. Tall guy. Well-trimmed beard and mustache like he spends an hour combing and moisturizing them before he goes to work.”
It’s true, though. The asshole came to my room but mostly talked to Zara. He even had the gall to ask her about her mom like it was any business of his. If I wasn’t lying there, part of my stomach feeling like it was about to tear open, I would’ve kicked him out of the room. Damned if I didn’t have a doctor anymore.
Zara cackles like a witch. “Are you jealous, my love?”
“Yes. How long have you been working with him? My brothers and I have been thinking of diversifying our portfolio. I’m thinking of buying your hospital and kicking that guy out.”
“It’s a government hospital, Alec.”
“So? I still want to kick him out, maybe call in a few favors.”
Zara stands in front of me, her small palm resting on my chest. Just like that, I forget everyone and everything except us. Her touch burns through my thin layer of clothing. “You know I love you, right? I could work with a hundred men like Dr. Gonzalez, and I’d still have eyes only for you.”
“Perfect answer. Fine. I love you too, and you know what, you can stay here and hover. That’s a whole lot better than you in that hospital talking to that guy. I bet he goes to work in a red Porsche and wears beige loafers and beige pants with a beige sweater over his beige shirt.”
Zara continues to laugh softly. “I never realized how much I like this jealous side of you. It’s cute.”
“You won’t think so if I get my hands on that—”
The doorbell rings, and we both turn to the door. Zara steps closer to me and clutches my shirt. “Are you expecting your brothers?”
“No. But there are men posted outside the building. They’ll alert me if they see someone suspicious.” Pushing Zara gently behind me, I hobble to the door and look at the peephole.
I unlock the door, reach for the knob, and turn it, smiling at Zara, who looks wary. “It’s your parents.”