Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
All I wanted to do was wallow in bed for the day, and so, when Miles dropped me off at campus, that was exactly what I did.
Damien had texted me a few times, but I’d ignored every single one, though I was petty enough to open them so he’d see that I left him on read.
Sue me, I felt like being a fucking bitch.
He’d been absolutely perfect yesterday evening, but then, he’d turned right back into the douchebag I knew he was when shit went sideways.
And now, I was trapped in his world, never to escape. I was a stupid girl stuck in a prison with a steel cage wrapped around me.
And Damien? He was my captor.
And yet, I still had feelings for the asshole.
How dumb could I really be?
My phone vibrated again. With a tired sigh, I lifted it up, frowning at the message from Lacie.
Girl, midlife crisis! Please come to Starbucks. –Lacie
Since when did Lacie use the word please? She must be having some serious issues. Sighing, I forced myself out of bed and pulled on a hoodie before shoving my feet into a pair of slippers. I didn’t feel like doing anything, but for her, I’d drag my ass out of bed. I snatched up my wallet, knowing I would buy a coffee while I was down there.
I was in the midst of texting Lacie back, halfway to Starbucks, when someone covered my mouth and yanked me into the darkness. I screamed, but it was muffled. Then, something hard hit my temple, and I was out, slumping in the stranger’s arms.
When I came to, my head was pounding. I groaned and slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position. Chains rattled as I moved. I squinted in the dark, barely making out the shape of chains and the shackles binding my wrists and ankles. My heart rate picked up speed. Panic crawled through my chest.
Where the fuck was I?
A light suddenly blinked on right over me. I squeezed my eyes shut, my retinas burning. “Open those eyes, girly,” a gravelly voice spoke from in front of me.
I slowly blinked my eyes open. A man with large muscles that was dressed in a tailored suit was kneeling in front of me. I swallowed thickly at the sight of him. “Been waiting to meet Damien’s new little toy,” he mused. “He sure is selfish—keeping a pretty little thing like you all to himself.”
Dread curled in my stomach. My brain was screaming at me to keep my mouth shut, and for once, I planned on listening like I should have listened from the fucking get-go.
The man smirked, amusement lighting up his face. “Not one for chit-chat, little one?” he mused. He gripped my breast, leering at me. Tears blurred my vision, and I bit my tongue to keep myself from yelling at him.
“I know how to make you scream, little girl.” A tear ran down my cheek. “Don’t fucking make me.”
“I know how to make people fucking scream, too,” I heard Damien snarl right before the man’s head splattered all over me.
That time, I did scream. I gagged, vomit rushing up my throat. I turned my head to the side just in time, throwing up all over the floor.
Damien rushed over to me, shoving his gun inside his jacket. “Easy, darlin’. Easy. I’m here.”
I sobbed, reaching for him, but the chains didn’t let me move far. He came closer and ran his hand over my bloodied hair. “Breathe. I need you to breathe while I find keys, okay?”
Sniffling, I nodded, more tears running down my cheeks. Damien quickly moved away from me and patted the now dead man down before pulling out a set of keys. He flipped through them before finding one he needed, and he set to work getting me loose.
As soon as the last shackle came off my wrist, he swept me into his arms, cradling my bloodied body close. “I’ve got you,” he rumbled. “I’m here, darlin’.”
“He was—he—”
I couldn’t speak. I was crying too hard and too much.
“No one will touch you, Hayley,” Damien promised me. I clung to that promise with my fucking life.
He stood from the floor with me cradled in his arms. Miles was standing in the doorway, his jaw clenched. “Car is waiting out front,” he told Damien. “Does she need a hospital?”
“We’ll determine that when we get her home,” Damien told him. “Let’s go. Fucking cover me.”
I clung to Damien, burying my face in the curve of his neck as he quickly moved through the building. When we got outside, the sky was beginning to lighten, the dawn of a new day breaking through the darkness.
Miles opened the passenger door, and Damien set me inside, buckling me in before he shut the door and strode around to the driver’s side. He quickly maneuvered the car through the streets before finally pulling up at his house. Miles was already at my door, opening it and unbuckling me as Damien pushed open his door after shutting the car off.