Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
I’m in big trouble.
“Oh, I’m all right.” I smile. Maybe I can charm my way out of this one. Doubt it, but I have to do something. “I wouldn’t want to bother you guys.”
“Bother?” The man laughs, showing rows of uneven, brown teeth. “Baby, you’re gonna make our night. Know what I mean?”
His grip on my wrist tightens, and panic floods through me.
I tug back with as much force as I can muster, but his hold on me remains firm. I cry out, but another hand from somewhere clamps down over my mouth, silencing me.
Adrenaline dump. My heartrate skyrockets. My legs go weak, and I almost fall, but another set of hands slips under my arms, holding me up. I try to scream again, but it’s useless. Like an animal in a trap, I’m caught. The harder I struggle, the more obvious it becomes.
“Christmas came early, boys!”
“I got first!”
“Shit you do!”
“Hey!” a voice rings out. “I don’t think she likes being touched.”
I recognize the voice.
Callum!
The men stop and turn, as do I. There, standing like an apex predator not even six feet away, is Callum, his icy blue eyes fixed on my attackers.
I should hate this man, but at this moment, my heart leaps at the sight of him.
“Fuck do you know about what she does or doesn’t like, bucko?” one of the men asks. “Why don’t you do yourself a favor and get outta here before you regret it?”
Callum stands calmly, but at the ready, like he’s been in this situation a thousand times before. Even if I didn’t know who he was, I’d be worried for these guys. But somehow, they’re too stupid to notice what kind of man they’re dealing with.
“I won’t be doing that,” Callum replies. “Now I’ll give you one more chance. Leave now while you still can, or you’ll be finding it much more difficult to in a few seconds.”
There’s a brief pause, and for a second, it seems like the men are actually considering his offer. But then one of them laughs, triggering the rest of them.
“Sure, pal. I think it’s you that needs to get going.”
Callum’s chest rises with a single laugh to himself. “Okay. But I warned you.” His eyes move to me and his eyebrow raises. “You want a bite, Evie?”
Getting his message, I use all my strength to open my mouth and then bite down as hard as I can on the man’s hand covering my mouth.
He howls in pain, and as he does, Callum rushes in.
He moves like a blur. I hear the sounds of impact, fists striking flesh, men grunting and crying out, going down all around me. Hands slip off of me, releasing my wrist and sliding out from under my arms. I stagger back and fall, but just before I hit the ground, I’m caught by a strong pair of arms that slip under me like a cushion, and as I look up, I find myself gazing into that same pair of icy cold blue eyes looking down at me with something like concern.
“Are you all right?” Callum asks. I nod, my breath taken away. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
I remain speechless as he carries me back to his car, some amazing luxury sedan, and sets me down gently in the passenger seat.
Such strong arms…such an incredible scent.
Only once he’s in the driver’s seat and we’re pulling away from the motel am I able to find my voice again.
“Were you following me?”
“Had to,” he says.
“Sure,” I reply. “Just like you had to freeze my accounts.”
I glance over at him as he drives—those sharp cheekbones, that strong jaw. He looks so pleased with himself. And he should be; there isn’t even a scratch on him.
Four guys. He took apart four guys in seconds like it was nothing. And all just to protect me.
“All right, fine,” I say. “I’ll live with you. Just as long as the deal is still on.”
“The deal is still on.” He smiles. “You make me happy, and you get your father’s ten million dollars.”
Chapter Three
Callum
* * *
What a firecracker. I’ve never been this invigorated by a girl in my entire life. I knew she was gorgeous when Maddox started showing me pictures of her getting older, but I never knew she had this fiery of a personality.
I guess she gets it from her old man.
That explains why she walked out on me at first—why she went to the two seediest motels in town trying to see if she could find a way to get them to rent her a room without having a dollar to her name. This is a girl who doesn’t take shit from anybody, and it’s going to take some work breaking her in.
And goddamn I like that.
Most girls immediately bend to my whim. Hell, most people do. It’s been that way for me for years. That’s just how it is when you’re the boss—when you have the money and the power. You get your way, and only the strongest stand up to you. But in my world, when the strong stand up to you, you have to put them down quickly. If you don’t, you create a rival, and that rival could potentially take you down one day.