Total pages in book: 225
Estimated words: 218500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1093(@200wpm)___ 874(@250wpm)___ 728(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 218500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1093(@200wpm)___ 874(@250wpm)___ 728(@300wpm)
My thumb will get me in? What?
I quickly call Alannah.
She answers on the second ring. “Hey, girlie.”
“He showed up here,” I whisper.
“Derek Steele?” she asks. “No way!”
“He wants me to meet him at his place in twenty minutes or he’s threatened to come back here when Adam’s home later. He swears he won’t harm me but why would he threaten me?”
“Oh shit!”
“What have you found out?”
“Not a lot. That family is very guarded. Nefarious reputations, some of them. Three of his brothers, but one in particular. Thaddeus Steele. He got shot to death not long ago and that made the papers, but… then nothing about who did it or why. I’m coming up without much so I’m gonna ask Jeffy to help. He has some investigators that help him with some of his cases and he seems to know everyone in this city.”
“No. Don’t! Don’t involve Jeffrey.”
“Don’t worry about how I gather information, I’m careful. What are you doing about tonight?”
“He told me not to even tell anyone. I’m calling you to ask you what to do. I’m flipped out and I can hardly think.”
“What if you go over there, leave your phone on record in your pocket, and record everything that he says to you. Bring that bear spray we got for that camping trip last summer. You still have it?”
“Yeah.”
“Bring it and if he pulls anything, use it. Don’t turn your back on him. Stay in the hall if you can, if not, stay close to the door.”
“Do you think he’s dangerous?”
“What’s your gut tell you?”
“My gut tells me he’s probably going to try to convince me to have sex with him again.”
“Tell him when you get there that you’ve notified people of your whereabouts.”
“Good idea.”
“Bear spray,” she says. “Call me afterwards. Chloe, if it’s actually harmless and he just wants more…”
“That’s breaking the rule.”
“Girl, it was 44 thousand and sixty-nine out of ten. Maybe he just wants to keep fucking. Maybe he’s just… quirky about investigating women he wants to fuck. Rich guys have the means, so it’s not such a big deal to them. The toast and jam thing – maybe it’s not that bad if he just investigates women he fucks beforehand. Maybe he just wants to explain himself. Would it be the end of the world if you broke one teensy little rule in order to get one more kick at that kinky can?”
I roll my eyes.
“Be careful, but trust your gut. You’re smart. Savvy. Hear him out, maybe, but don’t be a doormat though. Follow my advice and stay safe. Let me know what happens.”
“He threatened to come back here when Adam is home, Lan. What are you even talking about right now?”
The phone goes quiet for a moment.
“You’re right. You’re right. I think I just wanted this to be a fairytale, not a Dateline special.”
“Who are you?” I ask.
“You’re right. Sorry. Do you want me to come with you?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Shit. I don’t know if I can get out of this meeting. It should be a quick one. Can you wait an hour?”
“You know what, I’ll do this. Figure out what he wants and make sure he knows I’m not some pushover. I’ll keep you posted.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Tell him if you don’t report to someone within fifteen minutes of arriving, they’ll call the cops. When you message or call me, if you say you’re totally fine I’ll know you’re not and to send help. Say the word totally in a text or a phone call and I’ll know things are not cool and you need me to call the police.”
“Okay. You’ll hear from me in half an hour, forty minutes tops.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
After shoving the ice cream I bought into the freezer along with the chicken breasts and ground beef I purchased into the fridge, I decide everything else can wait until I get home. I dig through the closet in my office where we’ve stowed our camping gear and find the bear spray.
But surely, he’s not a psycho, right? He’s a businessman from one of the most prominent families in the state. This has got to be a misunderstanding. I’ll remind him I want nothing to do with him, let him apologize if that’s all he wants to do, and then walk away.
I’m sitting on the couch facing the door when it opens.
She takes me in, looking concerned.
While I’m in a relaxed pose with my feet on the coffee table, my arms resting across the back of the couch on both sides, I’m shirtless, shoeless, in just a pair of jeans with the button undone.
“Close the door and come here,” I say.
She backs up. “This was a mistake.”
“Chloe, stop,” I order. “Come here.”
She backs away.
She’s halfway down the hall when I get to her, walking backwards, clumsily fumbling to pull the bottle of bear spray from her pocket.