Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Wait. What’s that?
The little thought that popped up in her head interrupted the loop of fear she had fallen into.
Molly listened…and felt. There it was—the sensation again. It was like a single ray of sunshine trying to reach her, down in the black hole she had fallen into. It felt warm…loving…caring…compassionate.
Soon she found it wasn’t just a ray of sunshine—it became more solid than that. It was a kind of rope made of all those positive emotions. Tentatively, Molly took hold of it. When she did, the warmth became much stronger and she felt the powerful presence of someone who cared about her deeply on the other end.
Slowly, hand over hand, she began to pull herself out of the hole. She could still hear the terror and fear and all the bad memories of Zach and the hundred ways—both big and little—that he had tormented and hurt her, but she found she could ignore them now. She concentrated on the rope and before she knew it, she was climbing out of the hole she had fallen into.
Molly opened her eyes and looked around. She was crouched in the corner of the bathroom, wedged between the toilet and the wall with her arms wrapped around her knees, which were drawn up to her chin. How had she gotten here?
She had a memory of the man at the door holding flowers, chasing her, screaming questions…
No, don’t think about it! You’ll slip back into the hole!
Molly pushed the bad memories aside and rose on shaky legs. A glance in the mirror showed that her eyes were wide and shocked looking—they were also red rimmed from crying. Her hair was a mess too. She thought about staying for a moment to fix it, but she felt very strongly that the person who had thrown her the rope wanted to see her.
She was wobbly as she moved past the sink and put her hand on the brass knob of the bathroom door. Her other hand hesitated over the lock. Was it safe to open it? But she didn’t hear any shouting from the other side and no one was banging on the door. She felt only love and longing—someone wanted to see her very badly—someone who cared deeply for her.
Taking a deep breath, Molly flipped the lock and twisted the knob. She opened the door but when she tried to leave the bathroom, she stumbled over Torus’s long legs.
The big Kindred was sitting right there, beside the bathroom door. Molly gasped as she tripped but he reached out strong arms to catch her and pulled her into his lap.
“Molly,” he murmured. “Been waiting for you, sweetheart.”
Molly stiffened against him at first, but then melted when she smelled his warm, comforting cedar and spice scent. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, cradling her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him as he stroked her hair.
Molly felt soothed and comforted—but even more she felt valued and cherished. She was in the arms of a man who would kill or die to protect her—the feelings he was sending her were proof of that.
They sat like that for a long time before she felt ready to speak.
“Torus?” she asked at last, making his name a question as she looked up at him.
“Oh, little bird,” he rumbled in a low, broken voice and she saw, to her surprise, that his silver-gray eyes were suspiciously shiny.
“You’re not…crying, are you?” she asked uncertainly.
“I’m grieving for what you went through. Your pain is my pain.” He stroked her hair and looked so worried that Molly didn’t know what to say.
“I…I’m sorry I didn’t come out right away,” she offered at last. “I kind of…got lost inside myself. That man—it was the same one from yesterday. He pretended he had a flower delivery and then he forced his way in and he wouldn’t leave.”
His eyes flashed red.
“Did he touch you? Hurt you?”
She shook her head.
“No—he never got a chance. I ran and locked myself in the bathroom. But then he was screaming at me and banging on the door, and…and…” But words failed her and her throat locked up as the black hole tried to swallow her again.
“Don’t let it, little bird.” The words came through their TET link and she saw that Torus was giving her a worried look again.
“Stay here, with me,” he said aloud. “He’s gone now—he can’t hurt you.”
“What…what did you do to him?” Molly was almost afraid to ask.
Torus’s deep voice dropped to a growl.
“Not nearly as much as I wanted to. He managed to get away in his vehicle—which was the only thing I was able to damage.”
“At least you chased him away,” Molly pointed out.
Torus shook his head.
“That’s not enough—he attacked you—he went after my Mate! I should find where he lives and end him!”