Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 123212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
“Shhhh,” he soothes. “It’s okay, Jade. You’re home now. It’s over. You don’t ever have to go back. You never have to see them again if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t know what I want. They were supposed to be my family. Nic would always say ‘no friends, only family,’ and for a while, I believed him. He was supposed to be the one who was always by my side, but he’s … he’s a monster.”
“Well, that’s just the thing about family,” he tells me as the memory of Nic’s blade slicing across the necks of those men splits through my mind, bringing on the worst kind of headache. “They always have a way of screwing you over, no matter what their intentions.”
I’ve never heard truer words.
Needing the heaviness to fade away, I raise my head and meet his eyes. “You waited up for me.”
His eyes flick away and focus on the blank TV screen. “I mean … I was up anyway. It’s not like I was pining for you and waiting by the door.”
Somehow he manages to pull another smile from deep within me. “You were waiting for me,” I tease.
Colton rolls his eyes and with a heavy sigh, gives in. “Yeah, okay,” he says, grinning back at me. “So sue me, I was waiting up for you, but you can’t blame me. One minute you’re here and the next you were out the door like someone had lit a match under your ass. I was concerned and it turns out that I had every right to be.”
“I’m okay,” I whisper. “They might not care about betraying my trust, but they’d move heaven and earth to make sure I never got hurt … you know, physically.”
“Yeah,” he grunts, grabbing my waist and rolling us until he’s hovering over me. His lips brush against mine before he pulls back and meets my eyes. “How am I supposed to compete against a guy who saved you from a shower of bullets?”
“Easy,” I whisper, being more honest than I ever intended. “There is no competition. Not where you’re concerned.”
His eyes glisten with joy and I allow his warm smile to light something within me, if only for a second. Colton begins dipping his head and I know that the second he kisses me, this moment of tenderness will wash away and I’ll plunge right back into the darkness of my night and I can’t allow that to happen, not yet at least. I’m not ready to face it again.
His lips come crashing down toward mine but I stop him with a finger on his lips, wishing so badly that I had it within me to kiss him with everything that I’ve got and allow it all to fade away.
I shake my head as his face hovers just above mine and I give him a sobering look. “There is a little something I should probably tell you,” I say with a cringe, watching as his brows begin to furrow. “You know that whole drive-by shooting I was telling you about?”
“Yeah,” he says slowly.
I can’t help the grin that tears across my face, knowing damn well that I should be serious about this yet for some reason, I can’t help myself. “Your Ferrari might have been parked out on the road and possibly has a few small … holes on the side.”
“A few small holes?” he questions.
“Yeah,” I say, holding back a laugh. “I take it bullet holes aren’t a typical thing around here?”
He shakes his head, his eyes dancing with laughter. “No, Jade. Not even close.”
Chapter 28
A throat clears and my eyes spring open to find myself wrapped securely in Colton’s arms with Charlie, Spencer, and Milo staring down at us.
“Well, fuck,” Colton mutters beside me as I pull one of those fugly just woke up morning faces that should have Colton, Charlie, and Nic all reconsidering where they put their interest.
The thought of Nic has a shot of pain storming through to my chest but thankfully I don’t get a moment to think on it before Charlie’s jealousy cuts through the room. “So, uhhh… is this a thing now or were you two just up late, reminding each other how much you hate the other’s guts and then accidentally fell asleep … with all your clothes on?”
Shit. It seems like a lifetime ago that Charlie declared he wanted to pursue something with me, but in reality, it’s only been two weeks. How is it possible that so much has happened since then?
In the past two weeks, I’ve seen five dead bodies, been to two funerals, feared for my life during a home invasion, been shot at during a drive-by, and watched the man I once loved murder two men. Add Colton to the mix and these past couple of weeks have been exhausting.