Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
We ordered food and discussed Lily’s wedding. Several times Sandy and James come up for their antics, and Dylan stiffens beside me. Lily doesn’t notice, but her hubby does and quickly changes the subject. Several times during our reunion, Dylan’s phone goes off but he doesn’t answer it.
“You can take the call,” I tell him.
“No, love. It can wait. I’m returning to work tomorrow. I can work while you’re resting.” He’s been doing that whenever I’m napping, but the man runs a billion-dollar company, so he’s busy all the time. I tilt my head, and he sighs. “Fine, I’ll be back in one minute.” He nods slightly to one of his men as he steps away. I already know it means they had better step up and watch me.
“Wow, he still doesn’t trust me, does he?”
“It’s not just you he doesn’t trust, Lily. It’s everyone around me. He wants to make sure that I always feel safe. Also, I didn’t want to say anything before, but James was involved in my kidnapping.” She gasps.
“That totally makes sense.”
“Why?”
“First, James is a damn sleazeball, and second, Dylan got tense every time you mentioned that fucker,” her husband says.
“Oh, goodness. I’m so sorry for even bringing him up. It just felt like he was making sure to stick out at my wedding,” she says.
“It was probably to make himself look less guilty. If he was present, then he couldn’t be off trafficking Harley,” Dylan says, returning to our table and taking his place beside me. “I’m sorry about the call. Unfortunately, sweetheart, we need to cut this a little short. That was an important call, and we have to be somewhere soon. We only have another half hour, but we can do this again soon.”
“Dylan, I was thinking maybe we could have dinner together,” I say.
“I plan to have dinner with you every night,” he says, raising his eyebrows and grinning.
“I meant all of us.”
“I know. I’m teasing, sweetheart.” He bends down and kisses my lips. A sigh escapes from my mouth, and I blush when he pulls back while both my cousin and her husband stare at us with smiles on their faces. “We can definitely schedule something, but we have a lot to do this week.”
“I’d like that,” Lillian says. We eat our food and talk for a little longer before Dylan picks up the check, refusing to let anyone else do it. Lillian and I hug it out forever before the guys have to pull us apart and Dylan leads me to our waiting vehicle.
Our driver pulls into traffic, and then I ask about something that has been on my mind. “So we haven’t spoken about this, but what am I supposed to do now that you’re at work and I’m unemployed?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I plan to knock you up often, so I’m sure that will keep you busy, but other than that, you can decide, but I want to vet out a serious security team that I can ensure your safety with at all times, okay?”
“I’d like that.” Thank goodness he said that because truth be told, I’m not ready to be alone. After what happened, I don’t want to be outside by myself. Hell, I don’t want to be outside at all, but with him, I feel safe.
“Harley, you don’t have to hold back, sweetheart. I can see that you’re afraid, and you have every right to be, but I promise you that every single fucker involved can’t touch you again.”
I gasp and stare at Dylan, trying to puzzle out his meaning, but the only thing I can think about is what I overheard in Steeleville. He killed them. How do I feel about that? I don’t know. I take a deep breath, and I’m not bothered by it. In fact, I’m happy that he was strong enough to protect me, but what about his safety…the police? “Did you…”
“I only killed one in self-defense. James is in jail for other charges.”
“What about Sandy?”
“Sweetheart…this is a little hard for you to hear, so I need you to take a deep breath.”
“You can just tell me.”
“Tim killed her and left her in my bed.”
“What?” I gasp, pressing my hand to my chest as my back hits the car door.
“Be careful. He strangled her after they had an argument, it seems. They destroyed the condo, and that’s why we can’t go back. They ruined all of my clothes and my belongings.”
“But why? I mean…I just don’t get it.”
“It’s not important why people are crazy because they can’t harm us anymore.”
“What about the other guy?”
“Boxer Malone?”
“Yes, him.”
“Tim killed him before he came for me.”
“Good. I hate to say it, but you’re right. They’re not here to hurt me. Are you in trouble for killing Tim?”
“No. It was immediately ruled self-defense. The cameras in my building were all on and revealed Tim’s actions.” I throw my arms around his shoulders and squeeze him.