Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
I blink. I must have misunderstood him. He couldn’t be saying any of this. Not now.
He rubs the back of his neck and he’s silent for a bit. I can only imagine Raze is talking now. I’m having trouble breathing. I close my eyes and will the big jerk to say something else, something that will explain what he’s talking about—some type of proof that I’ve misunderstood everything I just heard. Most of all, I need him to say that he wants more of last night—not that he regretted it.
Please God, don’t let him regret the two of us being together.
“I should have, I know. I’ve fucked up so much, my conscience is about to eat me alive. That’s the real reason last night went down the way it did. I wanted to give her a good memory to hold on to instead of the bad.”
Oh, God, it just gets worse and worse. I feel like I’m bleeding out. Surely, each of his words is stabbing daggers into my heart. There’s no way to survive this.
“Me too. You didn’t see her tears, though. They tore me up. I’ll sit her down tonight and talk everything out. I won’t allow this to go any further. I’ll tell her that last night was really fucking good, but still a mistake.”
That’s it! I can’t take anymore. I tune him out. I must get out of here. I feel tears streaming down my face. My vision is blurry from them, but I ignore it. I can cry once I’m far, far away from Torin James.
I quietly sprint toward the side entrance door. Once I’m far enough away that he can’t hear me, I speed up. I can’t see Torin—not right now. I have to have enough time so that I can be strong when I finally see the fucking asshole again. There’s no way I will ever let him know how much he has hurt me.
I make it to the car, relieved that he’s not right behind me. I immediately take off the damn cut he put on me today and toss it on the hedge in front of my car. I dig in my purse for my spare key. Grabbing it, I unlock the doors and get inside. I look up to make sure Torin is still not here. Then, I push the button to start it up, and slam on the gas at once. I push the tears from my face, trying hard to stop them so I can drive without wrecking. I don’t take time to stop and find napkins to help dry up my face. I need to go.
I must get far away from him. If I don’t, seeing him again just might kill me.
Chapter 28
Joker
It has been seven hours since Skylar pulled her little runner act. I’ve scoured this whole fucking city looking for her. I even chased down her friend, Totsie, or Tesla, or fuck, whatever it was. No one has seen her. At least if they have, they’re not telling me. I’m about to go to that damn nightclub Swank, just on the off chance that she’s there. Her friend said she knew the owner. I’m at my wit’s end. Damn woman knows there’s danger close by. If there wasn’t, we sure as hell wouldn’t be going on lockdown. As I pull into the parking lot at Swank, I notice the damn club is completely closed. I guess they’re closed on Mondays. I shake my head. Searching the area, hoping there are doors open for staff or something I can use to get inside. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around though.
My phone rings and it’s the club’s number in Kentucky on the caller ID. I pick it up, prepared to hear Raze give me shit. I tried to call earlier, but it kept saying all circuits were busy. The damn rain is really doing a number down that way.
“Hey,” I answer. Before I can say anything else, Raze’s voice booms back, full of anger.
“Where the fuck are you?” I frown. The man’s voice sounds off. It’s cold and tight, full of anger.
“I’m in Cincinnati.”
“You should have already been back,” he barks. Okay, now he’s just pissing me off. It’s not like I’ve been shucking my duties. “I haven’t got time to track your ass down.”
“I’ve been looking for Skylar,” I snap back.
“You don’t know Skylar’s here? She said you did.”
“She’s there? Fucking hell, I’m going to strangle that woman. I didn’t know. She ran away this morning, and I’ve been tearing this damn city apart trying to find her. I finally laid my claim down on her and I thought we were good, only for her to run away. The woman is going to make me lose my mind.”
I hear Raze exhale and curse under his breath. “Man, she’s been here in the basement for lockdown with her mom and Thea for the last couple of hours. But they’re going home later tonight. Bull’s picking them up on his way back.”