Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“Wise words,” Ivan mused.
“Are you following your heart on this mission with Sky?” Sean asked. “It’s also true that love is blind.”
Reflexively, his hand moved to the eye patch behind which an itch started. “Will you all lay fucking off? This is our war, but Sky is my fight. Anyone who wants to criticize me for wanting to win both battles is a hypocrite. My situation with Sky is not so different from yours with Tim, Asia, Clelia, Alice, Kat, or Wayne, so give it a rest.”
Joss stepped into the center of the circle. “Godfrey has wronged every person in this room. We’re here to take him down, and if you feel it’s a mistake, then you’re on the wrong team. Am I clear?”
Everyone nodded, their faces obscured by the shadows that had fallen with the setting sun over the room.
“Good. Now get to work.” Joss turned to Bono. “If you don’t have info for us by morning, we’re moving in. Sky will be our prisoner by noon.”
With that dooming declaration, Joss stomped from the room.
As the team members filed through the door, each patted Bono on the back. He knew what it meant. They gave him their support.
No matter what happened, he wouldn’t let them down, but he wouldn’t let Sky take the fall for their victory either.
It was time to make a conquest.
It was time to claim his woman.
Chapter 9
It was dark when Doumar drove Sky home. The ride was tense. Since Bono had left, Doumar hadn’t spoken one word to her. Diamond was tied in the back, her constant growling adding to the tightness in Sky’s shoulders.
When Doumar parked at the entrance of the trailer park, Sky reached for the door handle. “See you tomorrow.”
Doumar smiled, but he didn’t take off as she’d hoped. He got out and stretched his lanky body before letting Diamond out of the back.
Sky moved around the car. “What are you doing?”
“She needs a piss.” He jerked on Diamond’s leash. “Come on.”
They walked to her caravan, Sky a few steps ahead of Doumar and his dog. She noticed the new lock on her door from a distance. Her throat tightened. Only one person would’ve fitted a lock on her door, and Doumar wasn’t going to like it. He’d immediately guess the intention, which was not so much keeping her safe as keeping him out. She could only pray he wouldn’t see it.
On the step, she turned to watch him with wariness. At best, Doumar was unpredictable. He waited patiently for Diamond to finish her business, and then he tied her to a tree. Sky’s spirit sank. He wasn’t leaving straight away.
“Aren’t we going inside?” His eyes narrowed with a twitch, like when he had something up his sleeve.
She licked her dry lips. “It’s been a long day.”
“Of which you slept for an hour on the job, courtesy of Mr. Black. You’re not going to tell me you’re tired, are you? That will be a terrible lie.”
“No.”
Holding her breath, she turned her back on him and went inside.
Doumar was breaking their unwritten understanding, encroaching on her privacy. Up and till Bono, he’d never deemed it necessary to check on her. This was his way of marking his territory, of ensuring she understood that even the small measure of freedom he’d granted her belonged to him.
The cat jumped from the bed to greet her. She bent down to stroke his pelt and removed her jacket. Busying herself with refilling his bowl with kibbles, she hid her fear. Waiting for Doumar to speak or act had her nerves on end. The fact that Godfrey’s orchestrated gang rape hadn’t been enough to keep Doumar from tightening his hold on her told her how little chance she had of ever escaping.
The cat ran for the food, but Doumar grabbed him by the skin of his neck as he passed. The strength left her legs.
Not Niels’s cat.
She gripped the counter behind her and leaned against it. “Doumar…”
“What?” He swung the cat into his arms and started stroking it, giving her his emotionless smile. “I’m just saying hi to the pussy.”
Her nails dug into the wood. She looked from him to the cat, saying a silent prayer.
“He’s cute.” Doumar lifted him to the light. The cat purred when Doumar cradled him against his chest. “No wonder Niels loves him so much.”
“Yes.” She swallowed. “He’s cute.”
“You must’ve gotten attached to him.”
“I haven’t named him. You said he’s staying temporarily, until you’ve moved Niels.”
“Clever girl.” He continued petting the cat. “At last you’re learning something from me.”
When he didn’t say anything for a while, she dared to ask, “Why did you come?”
“You may live here, but it’s still my home. Everything you eat, sleep, and dream belongs to me.”
“Yes,” she said, trying to placate him.
“Then why did you put a lock on your door?”