Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“Micah, don’t, please,” I begged.
His jaw clenched, and it only made the perfect angles of his face appear sharper. “I told him to stay the fuck away from you,” he said through clenched teeth. “He was using you, Dolly. What part of that do you not understand?”
Even though I’d already known this, it still hurt to hear him say it. I’d loved two men in this world—or at least, I thought I had. Micah had been the first and Canyon the second, but then with Micah, I had been too young. With Canyon, I had been…blinded.
“Just let me talk to him. Do you have to get the gun out for that? It’s a touch too much, don’t you think?”
“Go to your bedroom and lock the door,” he clipped out.
They were only words, but the memory came flooding back with it. I closed my eyes tightly, fighting it off.
“One hundred twenty-two,” I whispered. “One hundred twenty-two.”
Another loud knock. “Dolly! Come on, baby. Please.”
This was not happening. There was no gun. I wouldn’t lock myself in my bedroom.
“One hundred twenty-two.”
“Tink? You okay?” Micah asked as his hand touched my face.
I didn’t open my eyes. The lump was back. Choking me.
“Dolly, baby, I’m gonna break down the door if you don’t answer me,” Canyon warned.
Micah’s hand left me, and by the time I could get my eyes open, he moved to unlock the door and was swinging it open with the gun in his hand, pointed at Canyon. I was frozen and unable to even shout out a warning. Canyon’s eyes swung from Micah’s gun to me. He didn’t even flinch at the fact that Micah was prepared to kill him.
“Go to your room, Tink,” Micah said in a softer tone this time.
I didn’t move. One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.
Canyon held up both his hands. “Not here to fight with you, Abe. I just need to talk to Dolly.”
Micah took a step toward him. “You were told to stay the fuck away from Dolly. You’re not gonna use her the way you did my sister. It won’t be prison next time.”
One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.
The threat in his words didn’t even make Canyon flinch. Me, however? I was struggling to take a deep breath. It felt as if someone had me by the throat, tightening slowly.
One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.
“Baby, listen, it’s not like that. Not anymore. Maybe it was at first, but…then I got to know you. It changed. I swear.” He pleaded as he ignored Micah.
Not wanting anything to happen to him and very close to a complete mental shutdown, I knew I needed him to leave so Micah would put that gun away.
“Just go.” The sound of my voice sounded foreign to my ears.
One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.
The pain reflected in Canyon’s gaze only made the difficulty to breathe worse. I believed him. Why couldn’t Micah? Was it so hard to believe that Canyon could have feelings for me? That he could love me? Maybe it was. My father hadn’t loved me enough to stay. There had to be something wrong with me. I had always feared there was. I wasn’t good enough.
One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.
“You’re scaring her,” Canyon said, glaring at Micah now. “She’s terrified. Look at her. Jesus, Abe, put the damn gun down.”
“Leave before I put you down,” Micah replied in a cold, hard voice that was nothing like him.
Canyon turned his focus back to me, his expression softening. “I’ll prove it to you. I swear I will. This ain’t over.”
One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.
He’d hurt Pepper. I could never forgive him for that. But there was a part of me that had thought I was in love with him just a few days ago. That part was struggling with all this. That part wanted to be enough for someone to love. I wanted to believe someone would love me enough to stay with me.
One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.
“I’m gonna walk away, baby,” Canyon said softly. He lowered his hands. Then, with one last look my way, he did as he’d said.
My entire body felt numb when Micah closed the door harder than necessary.
“He’s a lying sack of shit,” Micah swore.
Canyon had hurt Pepper. Even if he was kind to me, even if he had come here to fight for me, it didn’t change the past. I couldn’t forgive him for what he’d done to her. I knew people could change, and maybe he had, but it made no difference to me.
Micah put his gun back in the holster as he watched me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, taking a step toward me.
I took a step back, needing my space. Right now, if someone touched me, I was sure I would fall apart. I was too close to the edge now. The number one hundred twenty-two was still replaying over and over again in my head.