Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
“All feels lost when we’re faced with the horrors hidden in the dark corners of life,” he murmurs. “But you’re not alone, Miss Truman. My family and I will raise an army and go to war on your behalf. You just stay here and rest your battle-weary heart.”
Feeling emotional because I’m getting a taste of what it’s like to have a father for the first time in my life, I struggle to hold the tears in.
Lifting my head, I press a kiss to his cheek before I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. “Thank you so much.”
Drawing back, I say, “Julian and Falcon are lucky to have you.”
Mr. Reyes lifts a hand to my cheek, wiping a tear away. “Since I’ve retired, I have a lot of idle time. Why don’t you do me a favor and tell me more about yourself?”
“You might regret asking,” I tease. “Once I start talking, it’s hard to make me stop.”
When Mr. Reyes crosses a leg over the other and leans back.
I settle in, as well. “I have an older sister, Della. She’s married to Carter. I helped raise my niece the first four years of her life,” I tell him with pride because Danny has turned into a beautiful little girl. “We grew up in Saluda, it’s a small town in North Carolina.”
When I pause for a moment, Mr. Reyes asks, “Do your parents still live there?”
Swallowing hard because I still feel overly emotional, I say, “My father passed away a couple of months before I was born, and my mother was taken by cancer when I was six.”
“Loss is a terrible thing,” Mr. Reyes whispers. “We never fully recover from the blow it deals us.”
“Yeah,” I agree, remembering I said something similar to Julian the other night at dinner.
“I understand you’re studying law?” he asks, changing the subject from my parents.
“Yes, I like arguing,” I joke.
Mr. Reyes lets out a deep chuckle, then his eyes rest on Julian, where he’s standing on the porch with Carter. Every now and then, Julian glances at us.
“My son takes after me, Miss Truman. He can be stubborn as a mule, but he’s loyal to a fault.”
“I won’t argue about that,” I laugh.
“He also loves deeply,” Mr. Reyes continues and realizing where this conversation is going, it wipes the smile from my face. “It broke his heart when his fiancée passed away, and you’re the first woman who’s company I’ve seen him enjoy since.”
My eyes drift to Julian, remembering what he said to Carter about if we were ever to start a relationship.
‘Jamie is amazing, beautiful, smart, and funny. Of course, I’m interested in her, but right now, it’s the last thing on my mind.’
“Be gentle with my son, Miss Truman. Even though he’s stronger than I ever was, I’m not sure he’ll survive heartbreak a second time.”
Turning my gaze back to Mr. Reyes, I see the worry on his face. “I’ll do everything in my power to not hurt him.” I take a deep breath as I let my gaze wander back to Julian and Carter.
If anything goes wrong and I’m faced with death, I’ll fight with everything I have.
The thought is a terrifying one, and it steals my breath for a moment. My heart begins to race at the mere notion of coming face to face with whoever’s been stalking me.
I’ll fight for Della because I know she can’t lose me as well.
Mr. Reyes places his hand on my back, and it makes tears blur my vision as I watch Julian and Carter walk our way.
I’m surrounded by the most powerful families in America, yet I feel utterly powerless.
How do you survive an onslaught from someone who doesn’t care about who you are and has no respect for human life?
I walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water and hear the footsteps right behind me. It’s going to take some getting used to being followed by guards all the time.
Opening the cupboard where the glasses are, I turn to the two guards, and ask, “Can I get y’all water?”
They both nod, and as I take three glasses from the shelf, Carter calls from deeper in the house, “Jamie!”
“In the kitchen,” I shout back.
He comes jogging into the room. “Miss Sebastian is on the line.”
Taking his phone, I bring it to my ear. “Hey, Miss Sebastian.”
“Angel-child.” Her voice is void of its usual cheerfulness. “The toxicology report we did on your hair strands came back. It tested positive for gamma-hydroxybutyrate. It’s a central nervous system depressant better known as GHB.” She takes a deep breath, then says, “Jamie, you were roofied.”
Shocked from the news, I stare at Carter.
“Are you there, Jamie?”
“Yeah, I’m just a little…” I thought I’d be relieved to hear I’m not losing my mind, but I’m not. I’m terrified.