Brutally His – Gilded Decadence Read Online Zoe Blake, Alta Hensley

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Contemporary, Dark, Mafia, Suspense Tags Authors: ,
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Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
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For the first time the pressures of my job, career goals, and family name felt insurmountably suffocating.

For the first time since high school, I felt like the choices that dictated my life were out of my hands. It felt like things were being done to me, not by me, and I had lost my control.

When I got to the office, I took the elevator up, hitting the “emergency” button before reaching my floor and taking a moment of complete silence. My hands gripping the metal railing, I did a breathing exercise I hadn’t had to do in years.

Eyes closed, I took a deep breath in and counted to ten. Then slowly let the breath out.

When I opened my eyes, I looked around the empty elevator car for five things that I could see. I saw the beige carpeting under my feet, the golden trim around the buttons, the water stain on the elevator’s ceiling, the stainless-steel panel, and the digital number three above the elevator door.

I took another deep breath and then listed four things I could feel.

The touch of the cold metal from the Rolex Submariner on my wrist; it was not my taste, but my father had given it to me, so I wore it. The soft, warm wool of my Brooks Brothers suit jacket, the tight, noose-like sensation of the tie around my throat, and the cool, stainless-steel railing I was currently gripping that went around the interior of the elevator car.

I took another deep breath, slowly in and out, then concentrated on three things I could hear. I could hear soft music playing; it sounded like pop from the early ‘90s. The whoosh of the other elevator passing mine in the next shaft. And finally, the sudden, shrill ringing of the emergency phone.

Ignoring the phone, I took another deep breath. Two things I could smell. I could smell Catherine’s suffocating perfume still on my jacket and the stale air of the elevator. Whoever had been in here before me had just brushed their teeth or was chewing a very strong mint gum.

I took another deep breath. Finally, one thing I could taste. I could still taste the herb-crusted salmon I’d had for lunch. I tried to focus on that taste, but it faded, and instead, I remembered what her lips tasted like.

Ms. Carmichael’s lips tasted like rich, dark roast coffee and something sweet, like honey, maybe. Or some type of agave syrup, a delicate, natural sweetness that was addicting.

I shook the thought out of my head and answered the screeching phone. The voice on the other end was asking if there was a problem. I answered no, everything was fine, and restarted the elevator.

It had been so long since I’d had to use that anxiety technique, I’d forgotten how effective it truly was. By the time I reached my floor, I felt like myself again. I was stable, steady, and ready to refocus on my work and regain control of my life.

When I turned the corner, that feeling evaporated at the sound of Ms. Carmichael’s sweet giggle and the sight of her flirting with the cop I believed had been protecting the entire O’Murphy clan.

My girl’s hand was being held by the man I was determined to see behind bars.

CHAPTER 14

EDDIE

When I downloaded the dating app, never in a million years would I have thought the first profile to pop up would be of the very attractive detective who had winked at me last week.

Immediately, I swiped right with a little flutter of my heart.

It wasn’t love, but maybe interest.

He was quite handsome, tall with dark red hair, green eyes, a cute smattering of freckles, and an easy smile. He was nothing like Mr. Astrid, and that was exactly what I needed.

Only about two minutes went by before I was informed that it was a match.

“Fancy meeting you here,” a deep voice said behind me in the food truck line. I jumped, my heart racing as I turned around and was face-to-face with the gorgeous redheaded detective, Patrick Doyle.

He wasn’t as tall as Harrison, and his shoulders weren’t quite as broad. But he had a charming smile and an easygoing demeanor that could only come from having a blue-collar life.

Not exactly the man I had been dreaming about, but this man was attractive enough, available from what I could tell, and much closer to my social standing.

The idea of talking to this detective, or even having to bring him back to my place, didn’t fill me with a sense of impending dread.

Patrick suggested we take our tacos upstairs to the break room and chat a little, while on lunch.

“I promise this won’t count as our first date, but it’ll give us a chance to get to know each other a little bit better, so when I do ask you out, you’ll already know your answer,” he said with a wink, and I gave a polite smile. I wished that his flirting filled me with the same heat Harrison’s attention did.


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