Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“You shitting me?” Tanner added.
Jonah only said, “Good.”
“I have to fly stateside anyway.”
That got all our attention.
“Why?” asked Tanner.
“Did something happen?” Jonah said.
“Did you find her?” I chimed in.
Tanner and Jonah turned to look at me.
“What?” came a gargled sound from Tanner.
Jonah got quiet, stepping back.
Kai ignored them. “Maybe,” he said to me.
My heart sank and leaped all at the same time. Maybe Jonah was right. Maybe I needed to stay away from Kai…and then I remembered it wasn’t my decision!
I was being held there, against my wishes, because of someone I used to love. And if he’d found her, it was because of me.
And I still didn’t know who to trust: Brooke or Kai.
Suddenly, I felt lower than low.
“Can I have a minute with Riley?” Kai asked.
“Yeah.” Jonah nodded.
“Sure.”
The last was Tanner, a gruff edge in his voice, but he followed Jonah. Jonah left his bag on the kitchenette counter, and I heard them moving for the door.
It shut quietly, and I could feel the emptiness left behind. The air felt more open, but also stifling.
Kai came around to sit on the edge of the couch, diagonal from where I was.
I didn’t look at him. I didn’t need to. I could feel every movement he made, every look he sent my way, every time he started to say something and didn’t. Which he did, three times, while I sat waiting.
I swallowed over a knot. “You found her, didn’t you?”
I’d done that.
“We found him. I told them not to move, in case she’s there. I need to be the one she sees first. She has to see I’m not going to do anything to harm her or her boyfriend.”
My heart squeezed.
He sounded so genuine.
“Are you lying to me?” I still didn’t trust myself to look at him.
“No.”
Another squeeze.
“I did that.” Those words wrung out of me. Fuck it. “I gave her up. If you hurt her, I swear…” I glared at him, flinching when I saw concern in his eyes, the bags under them. “I will kill you,” I finished.
There was no heat to my words, just promise.
He waited a beat, then nodded. “I believe you will.” A trace of amusement lingered in his tone. “I told you I’d murder you if you told anyone what I said before. I mean that too.”
I still glared at him, but I remembered.
He would murder me. I would kill him.
Fuck, we were almost perfect for each other—NO! No. No. NO. I would not think like that.
I forced myself to look away, feeling like I had to break cement to do it. “What will you do if it’s her and she’s fine?” What will happen to me?
He seemed to know what I was really asking because he replied, “You can go back to your life. Like normal.”
Except nothing would be normal now.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.
I pulled a blanket over my lap. “I’ll be fine. I’ll sleep and get better.” I gestured to Jonah’s bag. “There’s a doctor here. That helps.”
“Yeah.”
I knew without looking that he was rubbing a hand over his mouth. He was deep in thought; he was going to change something, I was about to be put through the wringer again.
“I was going to bring Jonah with me,” he said.
“What?”
I looked at him, and I was caught. His eyes captured mine.
“In case Brooke needs medical attention.”
“Oh.” Guilt flared in my chest, warming me. “That’s a good idea, actually.”
He shook his head. “No. He can stay here. I’ll bring someone else.”
Of course. Again. What was one doctor to the head of a mafia family? He probably had a whole slew of them to call—EMTs, nurses, nurse assistants even.
And what was I doing here?
I was envisioning a gorgeous Grey’s Anatomy-like female doctor—street and academically smart, gorgeous, who could save lives with nothing more than a straw. That’s who he’d call to travel with him.
Nope. No jealousy here.
“Just be careful,” I heard myself say when Kai stood up.
He stopped in surprise, but I pushed up from the couch and went to the bedroom, shutting the door with way more oomph than it required.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
It was three in the morning.
I heard a soft knock at my wing door, followed by bad déjà vu. I pulled on a wrap, went to the door, and opened it.
Kai stood on the other side.
No guards. Just him.
The hallway light had been dimmed to a soft glow, and he leaned back against the wall, his hands in his pockets, his head down as he waited. He didn’t move, just raised those piercing eyes and asked, “Can I come in?”
My hand tightened on the doorknob. “I thought you’d left already.”
“I’m going in an hour.” He nodded behind me, his voice almost gentle. “Can I come in?”
Want swept through me, filling me, heating me.
Desire had been present between us for a long time, longer than I’d guess either of us wanted. And it was so strong at this moment, maybe it was because I knew he was leaving again, maybe it was the time of night, maybe it was because my walls were down for whatever reason. I tried to erect them, but I couldn’t.