Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
In the living room, Marco is standing where I left him, but Jackson is pacing back and forth. I don’t dare meet his eyes as I take Marco’s hand.
“Come on, Luke is taking us out for a few hours,” I tell him, and disappointment flashes across his face.
No one says a word when we step onto the elevator or when we exit the building. Luke is totally silent as he takes us to his car down the street. We get in, and as soon as Luke pulls away from the curb, Marco speaks.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe.”
I want to believe him, but he was a little too chummy with my father. To my surprise, Luke takes the corner a little too sharp, and then he speeds up. The sound of the engine is loud, and I grab on to the handle of the door.
“What the hell?” I say, and he does it again before blowing through a yellow light just as it turns red.
“Making sure we’re not being followed,” he says as he checks the rearview mirror. “And you’re not going back tonight.”
“What? Really?” Marco perks up from the back seat.
“Or tomorrow morning.” Our eyes lock for a long second before his go back to the road.
“He knows who you are,” I remind Luke. My father is going to kill him.
“So he does.” Luke slips in and out between a few cars before taking a quick turn and then another.
“This is so cool!” Marco says excitedly. “How did you learn to drive like this? Can you teach me?”
“No!” I snap before Luke can respond.
“It’s part of my job.”
“As a thief?”
“I’ve never stolen anything in my life, sweetheart.” A smirk plays on his lips. I want to believe him, but this isn’t a fairy tale. Knights don’t come rushing in to save the day, and I’m sure he has his own agenda.
“Then what are you going to do about my father? He won’t take this lightly and not because he’s actually worried about us. His ego will have him hunting you down.”
“I do the hunting, Kelly.” Luke hits a button on the dash then keys in a code. He slows down as he comes around another corner and I’ve lost track of where we are. There are buildings all around and up ahead I see a garage door opening. Luke pulls in, and the door is already closing behind us. We’re enclosed instantly, and everything goes black.
“Where are we?” I ask, hating the dark.
Lights flicker on, and Luke opens his door. “One of my safe houses.”
“Are you like a spy or something?” Marco asks before jumping out. I go to chase after him, but Luke’s hand comes down on my thigh, halting me.
“I lied,” Luke admits.
I should be scared, but for some reason his touch is calming. “What did you lie about?”
“That I’ve never stolen anything.” He leans toward me, and I watch him lick his lips. “I just stole you.”
Chapter Eight
LUKE
The kiss I place on her lips is quick, and when I pull back, she blinks in surprise. I wasn’t planning on doing it, but after everything that went down with her father, I had to. Standing there and not being able to look at her, touch her, or comfort her was awful, but it had to be done. I needed to convince him that he could let the both of them go without causing a scene.
I was willing to fight my way out of there, but I wasn’t willing to put either of them in the crosshairs. Now that I’ve got them here in a safe location, I can get to work on untangling the both of them from that monster.
“Come on, let me show you around the place.”
Marco has already gone inside, but I show Kelly a few things in the garage before we walk through the rest of it. She doesn’t say much as I show her the kitchen and living room and spare bedrooms. The condo is spacious and completely private, and although this isn’t my main house, I’ve spent some time here.
“There’s a private bedroom and bathroom with a game area in the basement if you think Marco would be okay down there?.
“Yeah, I think he’d love that actually.” She gives me a small smile, and I can see she’s hesitant to touch anything.
“The primary is on this level and another smaller room upstairs, but that’s mostly for storage. Feel free to look through whatever is up there and take what you need.”
“Thank you.” She wraps her arms around herself, and for a second, I think she might cry.
“Hey.” I reach out with both hands, and I’m glad when she takes a step toward me instead of away. “It’s going to be okay. You understand? I’m going to keep you and your brother safe.”
“It sounds crazy, but it’s like I’m afraid to believe you.”