Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Nope, I’m stuck in a room all by myself in the middle of nowhere. That’s my best guess at least. After my little incident with Bo, Lark put zip ties on my wrists and then a bag over my head. It wasn’t removed until I was dropped on a broken-down loveseat in a windowless room. He might have taken the bag off my head, but my hands are still cuffed together in front of me.
“Food.” Bo grunts as the door to the room I’m in bursts open. I bite the inside of my cheek so that I don’t laugh at the Band-Aid he wears from the small hit he took from my heel. The big ones really do fall the hardest. He drops a paper plate with a sandwich on it. It appears to be peanut butter and jelly.
“Will you cut the crust off for me?” I can’t help myself.
“Eat,” he grumbles.
“I’m guessing this isn’t the time to ask if there is hot chocolate?”
Bo glares at me.
“Are you really still mad at me? I mean, you stuck a needle in me first.”
“You’re lucky.” I can tell from the glint in his eye he really wants to hit me. It’s been a long time since a man struck me. The last one was my father, and Nick put a bullet through his head. We’d been in the middle of our wedding vows when he’d done it.
“You consider this lucky?” I look down at my bound hands and scrunch my nose. Bo’s jaw tightens. It’s interesting that I’m the captive but Bo is scared of me. Though I suppose it’s not me he’s scared of. “You better hope you’re not having my kind of luck.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His brows furrow together. The man really is thick.
“It will take a Christmas miracle for you to come out of this alive.” I’m not trying to scare him, I’m simply stating the truth. It might not even be Nick that gets to kill him. Whoever hired these men to grab me might decide to kill them. No one likes loose ends. Especially not men in power.
“I’ll be long gone before your husband makes it here.” He smirks. “If he does.” My heart sinks at even the thought of something happening to Nick.
“How long have we been here? It’s been days,” I huff, switching the subject away from my husband.
“It’s been an hour.” He shakes his head while calling me a few choice names before stomping back out of the room and slamming the door behind him.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, the chilly air crisp in my lungs. I’d been teasing about it being days since we got here, but I hadn’t realized that it’s only been an hour since we got to this place. It feels as though it’s been a lot longer than that. Every second I’m away from Nick and my kids feels like an eternity. The urge to cry hits me. I’m thankful I’m alone. The last thing I want to give them is my tears. I need to stay strong.
Nick will come for me. I know that, but it doesn’t stop the worry that bubbles up inside me that I try to hide. They didn’t take Evangeline, but did they do anything to her before they dragged me off? Not to mention the kittens. Who knows what these psychos might have done to them, thinking they’d be leaving a message for Nick. The thought alone makes me sick.
That’s what they are. Psycho. They have to be.
My ears perk up at the creak of a door and the sound of new voices. Unable to make them out, I stand, going over to the wall to press my ear against it. I want to know what’s going on.
“It’s colder than a polar bear's balls out there,” the new voice says, making the two men chuckle. “You really got her?” The man doesn’t sound too convinced.
“You want to see her?” Lark offers.
“No.” I hear them shuffle around. He doesn’t want me to see his face. That’s my best guess. Which tells me without a doubt that Lark and Bo aren’t making it out of here alive.
“So what now?” Bo asks. He’s getting as impatient as I am. We both want out. Maybe Bo isn’t as thick as I thought. Lark might be the one running their little operation, but he’s cocky.
“We wait for word from the Capettis.” My mouth falls open at the mention of the name.
“The Capettis?” Lark sounds as surprised as I am. “That’s who hired the Red–”
“It doesn’t matter who I’m with.” The man cuts him off before Lark can say what I’m certain was going to be ‘Red Dragoons.’ Interesting. The Capettis hired mercenaries to do their dirty work.
I know of the Capetti family. Their name has been mentioned here or there. Nick doesn’t hide his business from me, but he also doesn’t lay it out on a silver platter either. He’ll speak plainly even if I’m in the room, but more often than not, I’ll slip out. I don’t care to know all the bloody details. This time, however, I might enjoy them.