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)
I grew quiet. Yes. That was a thing—change how you feel inside and people sense it. They sense it without even realizing they do. I’ve used that trick for many disguises, but I decided to keep it light.
“Har, har.”
“I’m not joking.” He flashed a grin at me, but tightened his hold on my arm and headed for the back door.
I was still waiting for his diversion. Anything.
But he went right up to the back and opened the screen door.
I shot him a look. “For real?”
He raised his hand.
“You’re just going to—”
He knocked.
“—knock?”
Amusement flashed in his eyes as he stepped to the side, pulling me so I was front and center before the door.
“What if she has cameras?”
He let go of my arm and leaned against the wall. “This is my sister.” He could’ve yawned from the alarm that wasn’t in his tone. “If she’s here, we’re safe.”
As if on cue, I heard from inside, “Coming! Hold on.” Someone was running up some stairs.
“Kai!” I hissed under my breath.
He motioned to me. “You know what to do. Get her to open the door.” He shook his head. “This is going to be anticlimactic. I feel like I should apologize to you for this.”
“All of this—” I motioned between us. “—for a fucking knock on a door?”
He raised an eyebrow just as the person got to the other side of the door.
“The climactic part was finding her,” he said.
“Coming! Hold on. This door jams sometimes.”
It was Brooke. She was fumbling with the door.
She started to open it, but it got stuck. “Oomph! So sorry. Again. Crappers. I don’t have the strength.” One big tug and the door swung open, almost clipping her in the face.
I kept my face half turned, my eyes drilling into Kai’s.
He’d been casual, but the closer Brooke came to facing us, all that dropped from his face.
His jaw firmed, and he straightened from where he’d leaned on the wall.
Brooke pulled the door all the way open and stopped, staring at me. “Uh… Where’s the food?”
My chest lifted, and I pivoted swiftly to look at my old roommate.
Her eyes popped open and her mouth fell. “Wait! What? Riley?!” She started to step out at the same time Kai decided he’d had enough.
He spoke into his hand. “GO!”
And he moved forward at an alarming speed. He had grabbed her around the throat, pushing her inside, before either of us comprehended what was going on. Once inside, he held her against the wall.
“Wha—KAI!” She began twisting around, hitting at his arm.
“Kai!” I tried to pull him off.
His arm was cement solid, but I could see the hold he had on her throat was tightly controlled. He wasn’t hurting her, just pinning her in place. She wasn’t gasping for breath. I didn’t think there’d even be redness when he let her go.
Her eyes were wild, taking me in too. She flailed and jerked like a wild animal.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER, YOU ANIMAL? YOU PIECE OF SHIT. YOU MURDERER. YOU—”
“Enough!” he roared.
The front door of the house busted in, and his guards began a sweep.
Kai looked around, still holding her in place. “Who else is here, Brooke? Who else is here?”
She couldn’t stop looking between us. “No one! And why is Riley here? What did you do to her? You brought her into this?!”
He snapped back to her, moving to invade her space. “No.” His nostrils flared. “You did. You brought her into this the second you showed up at her house, and you know it.” His jaw clenched, a vein pulsing at the side of his neck.
Brooke saw it too, and gave up the fight. Her head leaned back against the wall, and her hands fell to her sides.
She began crying instead. “What did you do to him? You’re the reason he’s not answering my calls today, aren’t you? What’d you do to him, Kai?” Her hand balled into a fist. She raised it and pressed down on his arm. “Please, Kai. Don’t hurt him. I love him. Please don’t hurt him.”
I backed away.
The guards were moving behind us. Three thundered downstairs.
Their yells of “clear” ricocheted around us.
“What is she talking about?”
Both Bennetts heard my quiet question. Both stilled.
Brooke frowned, her bottom lip pausing in its trembling. Understanding dawned, and her fist fell away from his arm again. “Oh, Kai.” A whispered regret. “What did you do?”
“All clear,” one of his guards yelled for the last time.
Kai dropped his arm from his sister and pointed downstairs. “Down. Now.”
She pulled her gaze from me, meeting his. “What did you do to both of us?”
She didn’t expect an answer. A defeated slump in her shoulders, she headed down.
I started to follow.
Kai’s hand touched my hip, halting me.
He inclined his head, his voice so soft only I could hear. “Please don’t think the worst of me right now.” He caressed my waist a moment, then rested his forehead to mine and expelled a sudden rush of air. His entire body had been tense. Some of it now dissipated.