Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“It was something I felt I needed to do. I needed to take control. Me. So I went to Apollo and asked for his help to find out who the killer was. Once I knew… well…” I didn’t want to tell the story. I didn’t want to relive that awful night. But I also wanted to finally be honest with Locke. “Once it was over, I no longer felt afraid. I no longer felt so out of control. My father no longer haunted me.”
“Are you fucking crazy! You could have gotten yourself killed,” he boomed.
“Stop!” I shouted at him, leaning in and stabbing my finger into his chest. “Stop treating me like a child. I don’t know what I have to do to prove to you that I am not some innocent little girl that needs your fucking pampering. I did something that none of you men did. I took control. I wasn’t going to wonder who and when. I found out. I took care of it. Is that the actions of the sweet, innocent child you’ve always considered me?”
Locke’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tensing as he glared down at me. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, his anger boiling just beneath the surface. “You’re right, you’re not a child. But you’re as fucking reckless as your father and look where that landed him. And you don’t get to decide to just step into this dark world he lived in and then act like all is fine afterwards. That’s not how the world works. There could be ramifications for what you did.”
“Apollo said he’d handle it. He told me I was good and to not worry.” I hated telling Locke that I had turned to someone else besides him for protection, but I had.
“You should have told me.” Locke’s voice was deep, serious, and I could see a fire burning within his eyes.
“Yeah, well,” I said between clenched teeth, “there were a lot of things you should have told me too. Clearly, you and I like to keep secrets.”
Locke’s eyes bored into mine, and for a moment, I thought he was going to lash out. But instead, he took a deep breath and stepped back.
“My life was out of control,” I said, calmer. “I had to do something. Me. Not you, not anyone else. Me.”
“I understand that,” he said, his voice low and measured. “I understand wanting to take control, to do something about the pain you’re feeling. But you have to understand that what you did was dangerous. You could have gotten yourself killed.”
I shook my head. “No. I took control of my own safety. Me. I made sure that no one would be lurking in the shadows to hurt me. I wanted to go to sleep every night and know there was no boogie man in the darkness waiting for me. I wanted to end it. Me.” I took a big step away from him and reached for my bin of fish and began pushing it up the cobblestone path. “I did what I had to do to survive. To make sure I could go on living another day. You don’t wait for someone else to save you.”
Locke’s hand shot out, gripping my wrist tightly. “You can’t just take justice in your own hands.”
“Why? You were going to. Right?” I shook his hand free and continued to push the fish to the market. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a living to make. Me. Alone.”
Chapter 33
Storee
I should have known better than to think Locke would just let me leave and not follow me home. And maybe a part of me was happy that he didn’t just let me go. Maybe I wanted a man to fight for me so I didn’t have to always be the fighter. Maybe—
“I’m busy, Locke,” I said, my stubborn ass not willing to budge. “I need to get cleaned up,” I added as I opened my front door, trying to close it quickly behind me.
Locke’s foot came between the door and the frame, halting my attempt to shut him out completely. He pushed his way into my small bungalow, his tall frame filling up the space as he looked around, taking in my messy living room. His eyes finally landed on me, and I felt a shiver run down my spine as I realized how close he was standing to me.
Locke crossed his arms, his chiseled jaw clenching in frustration. “We aren’t done.”
My stomach flipped at the sound of his deep voice. I knew I should be angry with him for following me, but I couldn’t deny the way my body reacted to him. The way my pulse quickened and my skin tingled whenever he was near.
“I have nothing to say to you, Locke,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.