Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 74324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
I came up behind her, and I knew the moment she realized someone was behind her because goose bumps started to pop up all over her arms and exposed back.
“Who’s behind me, Core?” Annie asked with deceptive calm.
The newly christened ‘Core’ turned his head slightly, nodding at me in acknowledgement, then he disappeared without another word.
“You shouldn’t tease a man about his name. It’s not nice,” I told her, caging her in with both of my hands against the table at her side.
She stiffened impossibly more.
“Why are you here getting drunk? Who told you about this place?” I asked, leaning down so my mouth ran along the back of her shoulder.
She shivered.
“I h-heard about it from Lenore,” she whispered.
I smiled against her skin.
“What else did she tell you about this place?” I asked carefully.
I opened my mouth against her skin, and whatever words she was about to assault my ears with, drifted off the tip of her tongue as if they’d never been.
“Mig,” she breathed.
“I’ve missed you,” I told her.
She wouldn’t remember that admission in the morning, so that’s why I felt free to say what I did next.
“And you need to be careful. I have enemies. I make new enemies every day. But as much as I love you, I’ll never expose you to the ugliness of my world. It doesn’t matter how much you beg me. There’ll never be any time that I’ll ever be right for you. It breaks my heart to say this, but you deserve everything. The moon and the fuckin’ stars combined. I wish with everything that I am that I could give that to you, but I can’t. I’m a street fighter who started to use his fists from ten years of age, and I only got worse from there. Your beauty doesn’t belong in my dark world,” I whispered into her ear. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t protect you with my life…and take you out of situations that I know you aren’t safe in.”
She sniffled, and my heart ached even more to know that I caused her to cry.
However, she got up on her own volition, grabbed her keys, and started to walk out the door.
Chapter 10
Fuck the fucking fuckers before the fucking motherfuckers fuck you.
-Text from Annie to Mig
Mig
Atticus’ eyes narrowed on Annie before his gaze snapped back up to me.
He must’ve read the situation, because he didn’t say a word as I walked out the door just as quickly as I’d arrived.
Once outside, Apple caught up with me.
He didn’t stay by my side, but he stayed close enough that if I needed anything I wouldn’t need to yell.
Wolf was still on his bike, gauging the situation.
Annie’s sniffles were making my stomach cramp, but she didn’t say a single word.
Not even when I led her to my bike.
“Are you okay to ride behind me, or do I need to drive your car home?” I asked.
She finally turned to me, and the look on her face had the breath leaving my body.
God, she looked broken.
And I’d done that to her.
I’d given her the green light, just to rip it away from her at the first sign of trouble.
But I wouldn’t budge from this.
At least, that was what I told myself as I helped her onto the back of the bike, mounted in front of her, and rode away.
She didn’t hold on to me on the first half of the way to her home.
The only thing that was touching were the insides of her knees around my hips.
And I found that I didn’t like that.
Really.
But did I have a right to care about that when I didn’t plan to go there with her?
No.
Was I rational when it came to Annie.
Hell no.
I took a corner a little tighter than I usually would, forcing her to wrap her hands around my waist.
She squeaked and scooted forward where she was exactly where I wanted her, and I was finally able to take a deep breath since Drew had called me nearly an hour before.
When I pulled into Annie’s store, I waved at Wolf and Drew as they accelerated past me.
Tonight was my night to watch Annie, anyway.
So I’d drop her off, tuck her in like the guy I should be, and watch from the shadows until my relief came.
“Where’s your bag?” I asked her.
“Upstairs. I brought my key and driver’s license, though,” she answered, getting off and walking to her door.
I followed her, stopping just behind her when she got to the door and unlocked the lock.
What I noticed she didn’t do, however, was unarm her alarm.
“You know the point of that alarm, right?” I asked, leaning against the doorjamb.
She shrugged. “Sure do.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What, you want to get your place broken into? You want another two by four to the head?”
She leaned forward into my space, giving me a clear view of the tops of her breasts.