Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 82(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 82(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
There she is. Josie. And she looks terrified.
Vincent has her backed up against a wall, one hand holding her by the wrist and his other hand pulled back in a threatening manner like he’s ready to slap her or hit her.
“All the things I’ve given you and you still think that you—” Vincent stops when he sees me and stands up straight. He may be the boss, but I guess even the boss wants to save face sometimes. “Yeah? Magnus, right? You got a problem, boy?”
“Nope,” I reply, my eyes darting to Josie as she quickly wipes her tears. “Just heading to the men’s room.”
“We were just having a discussion,” Vincent replies, straightening his tie. He leans in and whispers something to Josie. His voice is low, but I can still make it out. “Clean yourself up and meet me back at our table.”
I act completely normal and walk past both of them toward the men’s room, keeping my head down and my eyes averted the entire way. This seems to work as Vincent says nothing to me and just storms past me down the hall. I stop at the door to the men’s room and turn back to Josie, who is drying her eyes with the fabric of her dress.
Seeing her like this feels like a punch to the gut. I already want to storm back into the club, find Vincent, and break his fucking face. But I know I can’t do that. Not right now. There are more men than just me working security tonight. I’d be a dead man after I struck the first blow. But more than that, what the hell do I know about these two? Maybe this is how their relationship functions. Maybe it’s one of those dysfunctional one’s that people from the outside can never understand. Or maybe she’s a gold-digger and just takes his abuse because she’s in it for the lifestyle.
Jesus Christ, what am I saying? Josie isn’t like that. How could I even think something like that? What is wrong with me? She’s right there in front of me, crying, trying to put herself back together, and I’m questioning her integrity as a woman.
I clench my fist so tight that my nails start to bite into the skin of my palm, and then I do something that I know is the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done.
I walk right over to Josie’s side and put my hand on her shoulder.
“Are you all right?”
She sniffles and turns to me. Our eyes meet, and I feel like I’ve been struck by a bolt of lightning. “Hi. My name is Magnus.”
The feeling goes straight down through me until it touches my toes. There it is. She finally looked at me. I finally get a glimpse into her eyes, and all I can say is it feels like heaven.
“I…I’m fine,” she whimpers, but anyone with half a brain could tell she’s lying her cute little ass off.
“No. No, you’re not fine, Josie,” I reply. “Tell me what’s wrong. Is Vincent hurting you? Because that didn’t look good back there.”
She looks like a scared little rabbit. She wants to tell me something, but she’s also afraid of me.
“Don’t worry, Josie. I work for Vincent, but you can tell me anything. I’m here to help you. You can trust me. A wife shouldn’t be afraid of her husband.”
My heart is pounding with desire. My lungs are filled with the scent of her perfume, but being this close, I can also smell her. I’m nearly ready to explode. All the times she walked past me, never looking, never seeing, and now she’s staring me dead in the eye with those big blue globes…I’m overflowing with a hunger so raw that all I want is her naked and wet, writhing around beneath me in the throes of ecstasy.
“I…I’m not his wife.” I blink twice as she looks up at me, waiting for my reaction.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m his captive. His prisoner,” Josie replies. “Vincent has been holding me hostage now for months, trying to get me to…to give him something…”
She drops her head in shame. She can’t say what Vincent wants, but she doesn’t have to. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out.
Rage boils up inside me. Yeah, I want to tear this whole club down to the foundation now. Right now. But I’m not prepared for that tonight. I’m prepared for something else though.
I take her hand and lead her toward the back door. “Come on. I’m getting you out of here.”
“No!” she protests as I shoulder open the door to the back parking lot. “Vincent! He-he’s got my mother!”
“Well, I’ll deal with that too,” I growl as I open the door to my truck and hoist Josie into the passenger seat. “But for now, we’re getting you to safety.”