Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
“Sorry, but you’re always going to be my little sister who needs protecting, as far as I’m concerned,” Landon muttered.
I stabbed my finger at him. “Yeah, but you’re my brother…not the guy I’m sleeping with!”
He made an exaggerated gagging sound. “I do not need to hear that shit.”
Zoe elbowed him in the side. “What your brother meant to say was that this is a conversation you should have with James.”
“You’re right. He’s the one who needs to learn that I can stand by his side, no matter what’s happening,” I agreed with a nod. “And he owes me one heck of an explanation since my brother is being so tight-lipped.”
“Go to him,” Zoe urged.
Landon shook his head. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
“Too bad.” I shoved his shoulder. “You lost the opportunity to have an opinion on what’s going on when you refused to tell me why your friend broke my heart.”
“Damn, sis. Don’t hold back or anything on my account,” Landon muttered, making Zoe giggle.
“You’re lucky I didn’t use the self-defense moves you taught me against you for going along with whatever James’s plan was.” I gave Zoe a quick hug. “But I’ve got bigger fish to fry at the moment.”
I was too emotional to even think about packing anything, not that it mattered since I’d never brought the bag I originally packed back home. Nor had James sent it with my car when it’d been delivered to my apartment—yet another sign that our breakup wasn’t as real as I’d thought. I might not have really ever dated before him, but even I knew that the returning of things was what you did after breaking up.
It would’ve jumped out as a red flag to me so much sooner if I hadn't been so upset. But I wasn’t going to beat myself up over it because I shouldn’t have needed to guess why James had ended our relationship. He never should have broken up with me, no matter how much he wanted to protect me from whatever was happening in his life.
During the drive down, I came up with at least a dozen perfect things to say to him. From witty quips to a scathing dressing down, I went back and forth over how to handle the confrontation with him. But when I banged on the front door of his Winnetka house, and he flung it open, all that came out was, “How could you do that to me?”
12
JAMES
My knees got a little weak when I opened the door to find Samantha standing on our porch, looking like a goddess with fire in her eyes and her blond hair blowing in the wind.
“Samantha,” I croaked.
She wasn’t who I’d been expecting to find on my doorstep, and we hadn’t taken care of the threat yet. But seeing her now, right in front of me, I knew I wouldn’t be able to push her away twice.
I took one step forward and fisted my hand in her T-shirt, yanking her against me and causing us to stumble back into the house. “You shouldn’t be here. But fuck, I missed you, baby.” My mouth slammed down onto hers, and I kicked the front door shut before backing my girl up against the wall.
She let out a little moan, and my whole body lit up like the Fourth of July. I was about to scoop her into my arms and carry her back to our bedroom when she let out an adorable little growl and pushed against my chest.
“Stop distracting me with your stupid magical kisses and sexy body!” I smirked, but it swiftly vanished when she cried, “I want to know why you broke my heart.”
The heavy weight that had been sitting on my chest ever since I left her had lifted the moment I saw her. But her question set it right back, making it hard to breathe without pain. “I’m so fucking sorry, baby,” I apologized, unable to keep the agony out of my voice. “Hurting you nearly killed me. But I would rather die than put you in danger.”
“We’ll come back to why you made the stupid decision to keep me in the dark. Explain how I was in danger.”
I blew out a frustrated breath and ran my hands through my hair. “Do you remember those texts? The stalker?”
Samantha nodded and folded her arms over her chest, watching me warily.
“I didn’t want to scare you, so I didn’t tell you that eventually, they started threatening you.”
The whole story poured out, and Samantha listened without comment until I finished. “So we set up a trap for her.”
She tapped her fingers on her arms as she contemplated everything I’d told her.
“Did it at least work?” she asked suddenly.
Before I could answer, the doorbell rang, and I grimaced. “We don’t know yet,” I confessed as I opened the door to three men in dark suits and sunglasses.