Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
“He hasn’t been around much.”
“I think he’s probably been around more than you might think. But how does he make you feel when he’s here?”
Was it a trick question? What should she say? She didn’t want to hurt anyone.
“Fuck,” Brody swore. “I didn’t say that to upset you. Maybe it would be better if I told you something . . . I spoke to him the other day.”
“What? You know who he is?”
“He goes by the Fox. And he’s . . . he’s not really one of the good guys.”
“Of course he is.” The Fox? That was a cool name. She liked foxes. They were cute.
“No, Autumn, he—”
“He’s a good guy. He saved me. He—” she broke off, looking sick.
“It’s all right. I won’t ever say anything about how you met.”
“You . . . you know?”
“Yeah. I know. I know what he did.”
What was happening right now? “You know him?”
“Sort of. Ink, the guy I work for belongs to an MC who has had dealings with him. But he came to me a few days ago . . . told me that you were his.”
She sucked in a breath. “He warned you away?”
“Not exactly. He’s claimed you. And apparently, he’s claimed me too.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Ah, yeah.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “That’s the gist of what he told me the other night. You’re his. I’m his. We’re all going to be together.”
“He just said that?”
“Yep.”
“Is that why you stayed away from me? Because you didn’t want to be in a relationship with him?”
“I had to think. I should never have stayed away from you, but I was worried I’d brought his attention to you.”
“Oh.”
“Sweetie, I want to be with you.”
“And him? Do you want to be with him too?”
He eyed her worriedly. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“The truth. Brody, I just want to know how you feel. If this freaks you out . . . then tell me.”
He sucked in a breath. “It does. It’s weird and crazy, and yet . . .”
“And yet?”
“It doesn’t exactly feel wrong. Do you know what I mean?”
She let out a small laugh. “Yeah, I think I do.”
“I shouldn’t feel attracted to him . . . heck, I don’t know him! And from what I do know, I should run the other way.”
Autumn didn’t know the full story of the Fox. But even if she did . . . she didn’t think she would run.
“How do you feel about him?” Brody asked.
“I thought he felt protective of me because he saved me. I told him I was with you, but he said that he would sort it out. I guess he did. I would never do anything that would result in me losing you, Brody.”
He smiled. “I know that. What if . . . what if you could have us both?”
“I . . . um . . .”
“Autumn,” he coaxed.
“It sounds like a dream. He makes me feel safe. He represents safety. And you’re my comfort. And I . . .”
“You need us both to survive.”
“It’s not normal to want two men.” She banged her fists down on the floor, welcoming the pain. “Why can’t I be normal?”
“Hey, no. Stop that! Tutu, stop! Please!”
The fear in Brody’s voice got through to her. Made her realize that her hands were throbbing.
Whoops.
She heaved in a breath and looked at Brody, who was staring at her with worry.
“Uh, sorry about my Rocky impersonation.”
He shook his head, then slowly reached out to grab her hands. “Please don’t hurt yourself.”
“Sometimes the pain makes me feel alive. I remember I’m alive, even though others aren’t.”
“Oh, Tutu.”
It was the most honest she’d ever been with him. Hell, with herself.
And it was scary as hell.
“I feel guilty for being alive.”
“You can’t think like that, sweetie. You can’t. You have to live your life, not only for you but for them too.”
She nodded. But she wasn’t sure that she felt confident in that. Was she living? Not really.
“And sometimes I wonder, why me? You know? Why was I taken? I know it sounds awful, but I wasn’t like the other girls he targeted. None of them were taken from a nightclub. They were younger. Runaways. The cops couldn’t work out why he’d targeted me.”
“It’s my fault,” she told him suddenly.
“What is? Their deaths? That’s not on you.”
“No. No, I know that’s because of him. I mean that because of me that you’re on the Fox’s radar.”
Brody shook his head. “I can see where you might think that, but—”
“I told him about you, how I felt about you, how confused I was by my feelings for you both. I’m so sorry, Brody.”
He stared down at her for a long moment, then, to her shock, he burst into laughter.
She gaped at him.
“Sorry, not laughing at you, Tutu. It’s just we both thought we brought his attention to the other person and the truth is, no one makes the Fox do anything he doesn’t want to.”