Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
He eased off the gas. “I think we’re here.”
Up ahead, a smudge of trees breached the flat horizon of rural Texas. She checked the signal on her phone. “We’re in the dead zone. This is it.”
He parked on the shoulder where the trees crept closest to the road and turned on the hazard lights. She stepped onto the gravel, the stir of dust settling around her sneakers. When she raised the hood of their car, he removed a fuse from the engine compartment and tucked it in his pocket. Then they waited.
Wheat fields reached around the woodland and stretched beyond the mantle of night. The lonely cry of a mockingbird pierced the dark hush.
The nearest resident lived two miles down. She knew them through the lens of her binoculars. Daniel and Emily Carter couldn’t leave their nightly chores to attend their son’s football game. She knew they expected him home soon.
A distant rumble drew her attention down the desolate road. Given the ease at which sound traveled over the vacant fields, she should see his headlights in about two or three minutes.
Van’s big body blocked her view, pressing in, violating her comfort zone. She raised her chin and searched the depths of his hood. Shadowed and vacant, his expression mirrored her presence of mind.
The back of his hand made a slow trace of her scar, brushing her hair from its path. When he reached her lips, he coiled several strands around his finger.
She grabbed his wrist, and the tendons in her grip turned to steel, immovable. She closed her eyes and braced.
He yanked, sparking a burn where the follicles gave way.
At the sound of his retreating footsteps, she opened her eyes and watched his broad back move toward the trees. “Someday, we’re going to talk about those fetishes of yours.”
Without acknowledgment, he continued in a slow, dispassionate stride until the shadows between the trees swallowed his silhouette.
The purr of the approaching vehicle grew louder, followed by the spit of gravel and bobbing headlights. She leaned against the fender and hummed to the tune of her bludgeoning heart.
Chapter 3
The truck slowed and stopped. Liv held up a hand, greeting the darkened interior and the boy who lingered within. Her mark.
When the door remained closed, she worried her lip. Were her assumptions about him wrong?
With each unanswered second, her nerves mounted. What if he had a passenger? She’d been so sure about this part of the plan.
Relief came with the creak of his door. It had been just her anxiety making it feel longer.
He hopped out, the interior light illuminating the empty cab. “Hey there. You need help?”
His voice reverberated through her chest for the first time. It exceeded all her imaginings, a deep underlying elixir, the perfect embodiment of his powerful, masculine frame.
“Hi.” She wiped imaginary grease on her jeans and gestured at the engine. “Started clanking on I-35. I pulled off, got turned around.” She spread out her arms to indicate the expanse of nothingness around them and quickened her rambling with a display of panic. “I’m lost, dang car crapped out, and I can’t get a signal on my phone.”
A chuckle vibrated in his chest, and there was something unnervingly soothing about it. “You definitely got turned around. You’re miles from the interstate. Want me to take a look?” He pointed at the engine and cocked his head, his luminescent eyes dancing in the headlights.
Several feet separated them, the closest they’d ever been in proximity. At almost a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier, he commanded the space he stood in, as well as hers. He could overpower her with sheer strength, which was why she had to lead him to chains by his own accord.
She regarded the ground and tapped the toe of her sneaker on the tire. “It’s the alternator. Last time this happened, the mechanic told me I needed a new one. It’s expensive, you know?” She peered at him through her lashes. “I’ll have to tow it.”
“There’s cell service about a mile up the road. I can give you a lift.”
Soon, he’d give her more than just a lift. Time to zip on the helpless-girl suit. She inched forward until the beam of light caught her left cheek.
His Adam’s apple jumped, and he seemed to wrestle with dragging his gaze from the scar to her eyes. Sympathy, or perhaps pity, softened his expression. She deserved the latter, especially after she used it against him.
“My dad…he…” She placed a palm over her cheek, cradling it, and trickled out an award-winning whimper.
“Hey.” Loose rock scraped beneath his tentative approach. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just…Dad was so much harder on my little sister. She’s all alone, and she needs me.” She hunched her shoulders. There was no Dad, no sister, but a family boy like him needed something he could sympathize with. “I left Dallas as soon as she called, and now I can’t get to her.” With a shuddering breath, she gave him her back and wrapped her arms around her midsection. “This can’t be happening.” A whisper.