Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
No, no, no. Stop saying those things.
I couldn’t handle it. He was the monster. He was the thing I should fear most. When he said things like that, things no one had ever said to me, it confused me.
I walked out of the kitchen, needing to get some distance. He would talk some more, and I didn’t trust the things he would say. I went to the door that led outside and stared out at the rental car that I hadn’t used. There was no other vehicle here.
How had Blaise gotten here? Had Huck left in Blaise’s vehicle?
“How do you feel about pizza?” Blaise asked me.
I turned to look at him. “You found pizza?” I asked him.
“No. I ordered it,” he replied.
I stood there, looking at him, suddenly wanting to laugh and feeling wrong for feeling that way.
“Why did you do it?” I blurted out.
Even if nothing he said would make it okay, I needed to know. Because this emotional turmoil inside of me was going to make me go insane.
“Order pizza? Because you need to eat,” he replied, his expression dark. He knew that was not what I had been asking him.
I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant,” I replied.
“It’s not time to talk about that,” was his only response, and then he walked past me.
That wasn’t the answer I wanted. “Then, you need to leave. Emotionally, I can’t handle this. Please, leave.”
He stopped walking, but he didn’t turn around and look at me. His hands fisted at his sides. If he didn’t want to leave, I wasn’t going to be able to make him. All I had was the rental car outside, but if he pushed me, I would leave in it and use the card Saxon had left for me to find a hotel room. I could hope there wasn’t some tracking device on the car, but I could ditch it before I got a room. The rest I didn’t have an answer for. I just couldn’t stay here with him.
“Can’t you just understand that I am protecting you?” he asked, finally turning back to look at me.
I shook my head. “No, I can’t. Killing my family isn’t protecting me. We didn’t have much, but they didn’t do anything to hurt me.”
Blaise looked as if he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned and walked to the door that led out onto the balcony. I wasn’t going to follow him. I wouldn’t beg him for anything else. If this was the way he was going to be, then I was leaving.
I went back upstairs and grabbed my duffel bag, then filled it with the few items of clothing that Saxon had taken me to buy when we left town. Opening the drawer, I took out the envelope that Blaise had left for me and slipped it into the bag too. One day, I would read it.
When I got back downstairs, I walked over to take the keys to the Mercedes and the credit card that Saxon had left me and slipped them into my pocket. Glancing back one more time, I saw Blaise’s back through the windows that overlooked the mountains. He would hear the SUV leave, but he had no way of following me.
I opened and closed the door quietly, then turned to walk down the steps toward the driveway. When I drove away, I would be alone. Fear began to blossom in my chest, and I tried to ignore it. I had thought I was alone once already, and I hadn’t handled it that great. This time, I would truly be alone. There would be no Huck secretly watching over me.
Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the car door with the key fob. I would be okay. I’d be careful. Staying here wasn’t an option. Blaise wouldn’t leave, and if I didn’t get distance from him, I would find myself once again back in his world. He’d gotten my pants off in less than thirty minutes. It was clear that I wasn’t ready to be near him.
“Probably not your best idea,” Huck drawled from behind me.
Closing my eyes and letting out a sigh, I turned around to look at him. I’d thought he had left, but there he was, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest, watching me.
Damn him. Did he have to be everywhere?
“I have no other choice. Y’all won’t leave, so I will,” I told him.
He scowled at me, as if I was the one who had done something wrong. “Do you love him?” he asked me.
What kind of question was that? It was pointless. He’d done the unforgivable.
“I did,” I replied. I still did, but admitting that made me feel dirty.
“Did?” he asked me, then pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.
“He killed my family!” I shouted.