Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
My father had been evil.
He didn’t care, and because they had died as weaklings, he wouldn’t even mark their graves with the name Orlov. They had been buried, and a simple cross had been placed to show where they were. No other details. Like strangers.
Stepping back, I moved to the car and opened the passenger door. “Get in,” I said.
“I’m not getting in a car with you. I don’t even know you.”
This made me smile. “Good, but you’re going to get in the car, and I’m taking you home.”
“You don’t know where I live.”
“Actually, I do.”
This made her tense up.
“How?” she asked.
“You filled out all the details at the gym. I got to read your file today, seeing as you’re my first client. I need to start taking on more clients. I saw your address, and it is not hard to remember. It’s late. I’ll take you home.” I didn’t want her walking the streets. She might have been okay to do this before I arrived, but I wouldn’t allow her to do it now.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said.
Stubborn woman.
“You do realize it doesn’t matter where you go, murderers and psychopaths are everywhere.”
“Nothing bad happens in Pickle Quest. Trust me, it’s a nice town.”
It wasn’t going to be nice for long, while Niamh and I stayed here. We were going to bring danger and chaos.
“I can pick your ass up and force your butt in my car if you’d like,” I said.
She folded her arms and I waited, brows raised. If she wanted to test me, then I was more than happy to force her into my car.
I took a step toward her and she quickly held up her hands. “Okay, fine, it’s okay. It’s fine. I’ll get in the car.”
I suspected she was going to run away, but it would seem I didn’t have the first clue as to how Niamh was going to react. She walked toward me, slid past, and sat in the passenger seat of my car. This was progress.
I put the child lock on the door and slammed it closed. I wasn’t stupid, and of course, as I rounded the car, I watched her test the door handle. She was going to try and make her escape, just as I knew she would. It was good to know some of my instincts were right on point with Niamh.
Whistling to myself, I climbed into the driver’s side of the car, and started up the engine. My machine purred to life, and I began to pull out of the parking space and head onto the road, in the direction of Niamh’s apartment building.
I hadn’t rented an apartment in a shitty part of town. There were some things I refused to do. Instead, I had purchased a house in not the best part of town, but a decent street that had kids playing out in their front yard. I would blend. There were several men who were bachelors living on the street. It was a nice family location, which was one of the reasons I got it. I would lie to Niamh and say I rented it from a friend.
There were some creature comforts I would take with me. During the whole drive, Niamh didn’t speak at all, but I knew her game. She was trying to keep things as distant between us as possible. I could play that game. It would only be a matter of time before she talked to me.
****
Niamh
One Week Later
I expected Peter to get bored.
Instead, the lessons at the gym were every day, except Sundays when the gym was closed. Not only were we now working on my swimming, Peter had also opted for different exercise strategies. I thought he was going to get me on the treadmill or doing weights, or other machine-based routines.
Instead, we had to do stretches, and work out muscles. Before we went to the pool, he got me on the mat, working on my core, doing some stretches and yoga poses. My body was not designed to do any of these, but he wouldn’t take us straight to the pool.
One hour with close contact—him touching different parts of my body, showing me how to do each pose so I didn’t hurt myself. Then we did an hour in the pool, followed by a thirty-minute cooldown session back on the mats.
Peter was always there.
Close to me.
Six days a week.
That wasn’t all. I intended to keep my distance, which should have worked, but didn’t. He would wait for me because Peter had volunteered to walk me to work. Yep, every day, Monday through Saturday. I also happened to have Sunday off work, not that I did a lot with my time.
Then, to top it all off, after work, Peter waited for me. He would drive me home. So far, for the past week, I had been able to keep silent. No small talk. No risk of giving away little secrets I wanted to stay hidden.