Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
He starts yelling, his hands covering his face.
“Enough, Kaleb,” Sophie cries. “You’ll go to jail.”
That’s the only thing that stops me: the idea of going to prison. Then I won’t be able to be with Sophie. I slide off him, then quickly zip his coat the rest of the way and grab the gun. In the background, I hear sirens. I aim the gun at him, wincing as I climb to my feet.
Glancing into the central area of the lobby, I see several people aiming their phone cameras at us.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Sophie
“He called you his woman,” Paul says two hours later as I sit in the hospital and wait for them to complete the tests on Kaleb. I’ve spoken to the police, given my statement, and now I’m running on coffee and adrenaline. Of course, the video got out there almost immediately.
“Uh… yeah, he did,” I murmur, unsure what else to say.
What can I say that would justify this?
“Why?” Paul snaps, sounding way more alert now. “Why would he say that, Sophie?”
“I…” Biting down, I blink away tears. Everything changed so fast. We went from a private scene on the balcony to extremely public mayhem. If it weren’t for Kaleb, that freak would’ve gotten his hands on me.
“First that crush crap, now this. What’s going on? Sophie? Will you talk to me?”
“I think…” Oh, God, this is the coward’s way out for sure. “Kaleb and I should speak to you about it together. I think it will be better that way.”
“Better for who? For you?”
“For everyone,” I say.
I expect him to argue more, but then he goes quiet for a few moments. I can almost hear somebody else talking in a low whisper. It sounds like a woman’s voice. Is he with somebody else? But I don’t ask him. It’s not like I can judge him for keeping secrets. Anyway, a girlfriend he hasn’t told me about is nothing compared to our betrayal.
“Okay, sis,” Paul says, sounding defeated. “Just get some rest. Tonight has been difficult enough without adding this to it. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I reply, hanging up guiltily. Paul is a good person, a good brother. Of course, he’ll give me the space I need to either end things with Kaleb or try to make a plan. Try to make this work.
“I was never going to let him hurt you,” Kaleb says.
The sun is setting now, and the balcony feels much different. Kaleb has a minor concussion, apparently, but nothing serious. He’s got a few scratches and cuts on his face, and his eye is slightly bruised, but compared to what the other man looked like…
“He fucked up,” Kaleb goes on, squeezing my hand in his. “He tried to hurt you. I couldn’t let that happen.” Kaleb looks at me with that trademark intensity. “I could never let anybody hurt you, Sophie.”
“Do you think the police will find out why he did it?” I ask.
“He’s facing a long time in prison. Attempted murder, assault, illegal firearm, plus whatever charges they can dig up from his past. I think he’ll talk, and when he does, I will end whoever hired him.”
“End them?” I ask.
He smirks. “Don’t look so scared. I’m not some mafia boss. I’m going to ruin them. Sue them into a hole. Hire hackers to dig up everything I can on them. They’re going to regret this. Threatening you. Threatening Paul.”
When he says Paul, he turns his gaze from me, looking across the city again. I tried to mention Paul a few minutes ago, but Kaleb clearly doesn’t want to go there. He wants to be able to forget for a little while. Can I really blame him? He’s not even taking work calls. He told Tyrone to text him about anything urgent.
“You were crazy,” I murmur. “The way you were fighting…”
“The only way to win a street fight is with aggression. Paul taught me that.” He squeezes my hand tighter as if mentioning my brother’s name hurts him. “He saved my ass too many times growing up for me not to learn a few lessons.”
“He’s a good person,” I whisper. “He was asking me why you called me your woman.”
Kaleb finally looks at me. “Because you are,” he says. “I was trying to work out how to explain my feelings, and it’s that, Sophie. You belong to me.”
“Like your property?” I tease, even though my heart is thumping with the heat of his words.
“Just mine,” he says. “I can’t think of you with anybody else. When I saw you, I felt more possession than I do over the company.”
“I quite like the idea of being possessed by you.”
“Like a demon,” he says, laughing.
“No, like my dream man.”
“Not like your crush?” he says.
“I thought you didn’t like that word.”
“When they were running their tests, I was thinking, why does it have to be a bad thing? You knew you wanted me. I know I want you. It’s like we were meant to be together.”