Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Damon, Xander’s brother, is watching me. I can feel his beady eyes on my skin, burning through my flesh. “The agreement has been signed by both parties and is final. You can have the girl back. We had our fun with her. I’m pretty sure she enjoyed her stay as well.”
Xander fully grins, and I clench my fist, envisioning my hand wrapping around his throat and squeezing. If he touched her, I will kill him. I’ll rip him to pieces, no matter what war I’ll start in doing soon. I’d kill anyone, bloody my hands in any way to protect her.
“Let her go,” I say through clenched teeth, surprised that the words don’t come out as an animalistic growl.
“Hand over the papers first,” Xander orders like I’m one of his men. Matteo nods to Karl, one of his guys, and he starts walking toward the space between our two groups. Damon takes a few steps forward, meeting Karl and snatches the papers from him.
He looks over them quickly before motioning to Xander that it’s all good. Instead of letting Dove go right away, which would be the smart thing to do, Xander pulls her closer to him, leans down, and whispers something into the shell of her ear.
That’s it. He’s going to die…
Taking a step forward, I’m fully prepared to wrap my hands around the fucker’s neck when Matteo and one of his goons, grab me by the arms, holding me back. I shrug them off, giving both of them a look that says don’t fucking touch me.
When I turn my attention back to Xander and Dove, he lets her go.
As soon as he releases her, she runs toward me, almost losing her balance with her hands tied behind her back. A moment later, her slim body slams into mine. She buries her face in my chest, and I wrap my arms around her protectively. Before I do anything, I bury my face into the crook of her neck and inhale deeply. This moment is like seeing the sun after a long cold winter. Like tasting water after a drought. It’s indescribable but all the words at once.
“I missed you so much,” she mumbles into my chest. “I thought you were dead.”
“I missed you too,” I reply, stroking a hand down her back. I want to strip her bare, look her over, and worship every inch of her body. I want to ask her what happened, if she’s okay, if she is hungry, tired, or hurt, but I also just want to stand here like this, doing nothing more than holding her.
“Let’s go,” Matteo says, nudging me in the side. I’m tempted to tell him to fuck off, but I bite my tongue. Getting Dove away from these guys is what I need to do. Now that I have her back in my arms, protecting her and ensuring her safety is my number one priority. Nothing in this world will ever separate us again.
Matteo offers me his knife, and I take it, cutting the plastic zip ties binding her wrists. As soon as her hands are free, she wraps her arms around me. There is nothing like feeling her tiny arms wrapped around me. It’s so strange that once upon a time, she tried to escape me, but now she holds me close as if I’m her savior.
I lean down and whisper into her ear. “I want nothing more than to hold you in my arms, but we really need to go.”
Nodding, she pulls away, her beautiful blue eyes are filled with tears, making them seem lighter. “I’m sorry, Zane. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. That I made you take me to the hospital. It’s all my fault.” Big fat tears fall from her eyes, and my heart cracks a little in my chest.
“It’s okay, baby, and it’s not your fault. We’ll talk when we get back to Matteo’s place,” I tell her.
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I turn and guide us back to the SUV. Matteo’s men swarm us like we’re the president of the United States, which for once, I’m actually grateful for. When we reach the car, I open the door and lift her inside before climbing in myself. Pulling her tight to my side, I press my lips to her forehead.
This feels like a dream. And I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like at any second, I’m going to wake up and realize that none of it was real. That I imagined the whole thing, and that Dove isn’t really here with me.
Matteo climbs into the front seat, and one of his men takes the driver’s seat. Even as the car starts to move, it still doesn’t feel real.
“Where are we going?” Dove whispers, peering up at me through her wet lashes.