Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
The walk is my favorite part. I used to draw it out, reluctant to return to Chuck and his bullshit, but that’s changed since I started staying at Oliver’s two weeks ago. Tonight, I lock the deadbolts on the back door and walk home at a steady clip, with no need to delay my arrival. My stomach flutters at the thought of him waiting there for me, and I do my best to tamp down my subconscious enthusiasm.
He’s not my boyfriend.
But my brain keeps forgetting that.
“Hey!” someone calls from the alley.
I stiffen and keep walking. In my experience, if you act confident and like you have nothing to fear, people will assume it’s true.
Hurried footsteps sound behind me. “Slow down, Savannah.”
My steps falter at the sound of Chuck’s voice, and seconds later, rough fingers wrap around my upper arm.
“Now you’re too good to stop and talk to me for a minute?” His hot breath is foul, but I make myself look at him. I’m all too familiar with the glaze in those heavy eyes. Chuck is drunk.
“Leave me alone.” I try to yank my arm away, but he holds tight.
“I just wanna talk.”
I yank back again. This time I come free. “Well, I don’t.”
“Oliver Rhett isn’t the only guy in this town who has money, you know. I could take care of you. Just come home.”
“Not. Interested.” I fumble in my purse, trying to slide my work keys between my fingers just in case I need to defend myself, but they fall from my hand to the ground.
He scoops them up. “Just talk to me a minute.”
“Give those back.” My manager will kill me if I lose those.
“You think Oliver’s some big hero, don’t you?” He chuckles. “Does he tell you everything, though? Or maybe you like being his whore.”
“Chuck, you are drunk, and I’m not talking to you like this.” Maybe I don’t need my keys. Maybe I can get back to Oliver’s and figure out how to replace them all.
I take a step back and then another, but he prowls after me, and I can’t bring myself to turn my back on him. He grabs my shirt and hauls me against his chest. “You know he’s just trying to get me back, right?” he asks, stutter-stepping to catch his balance. “He was so mad I broke his bitchy sister’s heart that he’s been dying for a way to make me pay, and I fucking fell for it.”
I’m so stiff I feel my body shatter to dust, as if someone has knocked me over. He’s too big and too drunk. “I said, back off.”
“Shh. I’ve missed you.” He trails a knuckle across my cheek. My keys jingle with the movement, and I jerk away.
A figure emerges from the darkness and grabs Chuck by the back of his shirt. “She said back off,” Oliver growls, throwing him to the ground. The keys slide across the pavement, and Oliver scoops them up.
Chuck calmly returns to his feet and wipes his palms on his jeans before lifting his hands in surrender. “I’m not trying to hurt anyone. Just trying to talk to my girl.”
“Fuck you,” Oliver spits, putting his body in front of mine. “Savannah isn’t yours, and if I hear about you so much as looking at her too long, I will fucking come after you. Don’t test me.”
“Whatever,” Chuck says. “Enjoy your whore.” Then he has the gall to wink at me. “See you around, Savvy.”
“The fuck you will,” Oliver growls. The threat is too low for the man to hear it, but I know Oliver means it.
Only once Chuck is out of sight does Oliver turn to me. He tucks the keys into my purse then puts both hands on my shoulders and looks me over. “You okay?”
I swallow hard. “He wouldn’t have hurt me,” I say, but I’m not sure I believe it.
“He’s a creep,” Oliver says. “But I swear I’ll make sure he knows there are consequences if he messes with you again. He doesn’t want that.”
“Thank you,” I whisper. “Is that true? What he said about your sister?”
He scowls in the direction Chuck disappeared, as if he might still find him there. “It’s true that he fucked around with her and then fucked her over.”
I swallow. Maybe all this with Oliver makes a little more sense now. “And that’s why you did what you did? Paying the debt? Getting me to live with you? So Chuck would think I left him for you?”
“Not completely. I consider pissing off Chuck an added bonus.” He takes my hand and threads his fingers through mine before giving a reassuring squeeze. “Come on. Let’s get home.”
We’re quiet on the walk back to his place. I can feel the rage radiating off Oliver, but I’m too twisted up in my own thoughts to analyze it. My chest aches with every step, and I start shaking a little. Then a lot. Then shivering violently.