Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 105813 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105813 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Several hours later, the planning and the packing were complete. Benny went home, and Kaci and I retreated to the ground floor. My living space was just that, a place to exist, to sleep, to wake and begin again. The walls and shelves were barren of personality. There were no family photos, no keepsakes collected as a child, nothing of value to take with me.
She walked through the open room, her footfalls echoing along the length of the old church. Her gaze roamed over every surface, perhaps looking for some insight I hadn’t revealed. But she already knew every important aspect of my life. Time would fill in the rest.
We ate turkey and cheddar sandwiches on the bed, sitting in cross-legged positions, face to face with the plate between us. As she picked off the crust and licked the mayonnaise from her fingers, I didn’t like the way her shoulders drooped or how her movements slowed with exhaustion.
The long day of planning had come at a cost. Hell, the entire past month was catching up with her. To think that all these weeks she’d been enduring in some way, working through her heartache with regards to her family, without me.
It filled me with regret, knotting my insides and swelling an ache in my chest. Adding to that was my worry about tomorrow night. My head pounded with all the details I’d painstakingly implemented. I would remain at her side every second of the race, but what if I overlooked something?
I was terrified someone would try to take her away from me. I kept imagining Trent at the finish line, waiting for her to win and shooting her as she came through in last place. Collin had set up a meeting with him during the race to ensure he wouldn’t be there. But what if my trust in Collin had been squandered foolishly? And it would be a hired assassin pulling that trigger, not Trent.
I drew in a ragged breath. “We could leave tonight. Screw the race.”
She reached out and ran a fingertip down my cheek. “And let Trent keep his money to hire the best defense lawyers?” Her deep-blue eyes bore into mine, searching inside me. “We’ll always have races and fights and risks to contend with. As long as we tackle it together, we’ve got this, Logan. You and me. One race at a time.”
As I considered her words, the tension trickled from my body. There was something beautiful waiting at the finish line. Something better than a winning bet or one-night with a woman in silver leathers. The finish line was the starting point of our life together.
When she swallowed the final bite of her sandwich, I moved the plate to the floor. Our clothes followed. I dimmed the lights, leaving a subtle glow through the rafters, and rolled her into my arms. We both seemed content to just lay naked in bed, fingers trailing, legs entwining, and lips touching as if our bodies were seeking the connection our hearts had already found.
After a warm, endless moment, I broke the silence. “I own a villa in Italy.”
“Mmm.” Her cheek bounced against my chest with her smile. “That sounds better than Shitknob, Mexico.”
I traced the curve of her hip and pulled it tight against mine. “Benny can forge our identities for any country. It doesn’t have to be Italy.”
We didn’t have to leave the U.S. as long as we maintained a low profile.
“I don’t care where we go.” Her voice tumbled into a breathy laugh. “Though Collin may be more inclined to visit an Italian villa than a Mexican hut.”
We settled into silence, leaving my mind to wander once again through all the crazy, anxious bullshit that could keep us from reaching that Italian villa. I mentally traced every risk and concern until I found one that had never been fleshed out.
I gripped her shoulders and dragged her up the bed until her head lay on the pillow. When her gaze settled on mine, I ran a finger over her mouth and lingered on her chin. “The day Trent showed you the video”—she flinched, but I kept talking—“he followed you into the bathroom. Tell me what I walked in on.”
Her eyes slid closed, and my stomach tightened. Adrenaline surged through my body, and my muscles heated. Trent was a serial rapist. If Kaci was one of his victims, there was no way I’d be able to leave him alive.
“Did he—” My voice punched through the open space, powered by dread and fury. I sucked in a breath and tried to gentle my tone. “Did he rape you?”
She opened her eyes, and they glowed in the soft illumination that reflected off the ceiling. “He tried once. I was fifteen, too young to fight him off with anything but my words.”
The anger simmering in my chest exploded into a roaring fire. I was about to go fucking ballistic in a way I’d never allowed myself before. “Tell me what happened.” My voice shook with a thousand fears rising to the surface.