Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 153571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 768(@200wpm)___ 614(@250wpm)___ 512(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 768(@200wpm)___ 614(@250wpm)___ 512(@300wpm)
I take a deep breath, trying to hold it together for both of us. I have to hold it together for him. "Carter is with us. Benson is in the car behind us," I tell him, speaking as calmly as possible. "We're okay, baby. They're right here with us."
"What the fuck is he doing?" Carter mutters, pulling my attention away from the phone again.
Before I can say anything else, Tahani hits the brake, stopping the car.
"Why isn't he moving?" she mutters, craning her neck to see behind her.
Carter's phone rings again. Before it's even through the first ring, he's got it at his ear. "What?" His scowl deepens, his brows pulling together as he barks that single word. "You're fucking kidding me."
"What is going on?" Tahani demands, her voice sharp and panicky.
Carter's gaze flicks to her face and then to mine. Worry flickers through his green eyes before he quickly schools his expression into a stoic mask—the same one Roman wears when he doesn’t want me to know what he’s thinking. When he’s seriously fucking worried about something. "There's a car blocking the roadway behind us," he says softly. "Benson's getting out to check it out."
Tahani whimpers.
"Don't," I tell him, surprised when my voice doesn't waver or shake. "Tell him not to get out of his car, Carter. They'll kill him if he does."
Tahani whimpers again, her hand like a vise around mine. I have to pry her fingers off mine so I can undo my seatbelt and turn around to face Carter. I hit the speaker button on my phone so Roman can hear what's going on even though I really want to hang up on him like I did in the house. Just like then, I'm not so sure there is a way out of this. We're blocked in, unable to go anywhere. If we die, I don't want him to hear it happening. I don’t want him to live with those memories tormenting him.
"Roman, Benson says we're blocked in," I tell him, fighting to keep my voice level so he doesn't lose it. If he flips out, I'm not sure what he's going to do. Roman isn’t someone you control. He’s a beast, controlled only through his own will. If he snaps, it’s going to be bad. Right now, I need him in control because we need his help more than ever.
"Motherfucker," he curses.
"Gregory, I've got backing units on the way, but it's going to be at least fifteen minutes before they make it here," Carter says quietly.
Roman's quiet for a long time, and then he mutters something under his breath. "Baby, I love you and Tahani so fucking much. But I need you to give Carter the phone right now," he tells me, his voice soft and commanding at the same damn time. It's that tone I can't ignore, the one that tells me in no uncertain terms that he's in charge and I need to obey.
"Roman," I argue anyway. Of course I do. Because he needs someone to argue with him because I don’t think anyone ever has. They just do what he says, no questions asked. Not me. Never me.
"Now, Mila," he grits out.
I glare at the phone before reluctantly handing it over to Carter. As soon as he has it in his hands, he hits the button to turn the speaker phone off and puts it to his ear.
"What's up, man?" he says, his gaze locked on me. He's quiet for a long moment, listening to whatever Roman says to him. His expression is that same frustratingly blank mask. I think they teach that infuriating look in cop school.
"Are you okay?" I ask Tahani.
For as long as I've known her, she's been talkative. When she's nervous, she chatters. When it's too quiet, she chatters. The fact that she's completely silent worries me. She's terrified out of her mind.
"Yes," she lies anyway, nodding.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the driver's door of the SUV blocking Tahani's driveway swing open. No one gets out, though. The tint is so dark I still can't tell that anyone is even in the vehicle. Clearly, someone is, or the door wouldn't have opened.
"Carter."
"I see it," he mutters to me, his voice grim.
I glance back at him to see that he's watching the SUV, his eyes hard.
"If I get shot, I'm killing you," he mutters into the phone to Roman and then looks between me and Tahani again. He purses his lips and then holds his gun out toward me. "Take this, darlin'," he demands.
When I hesitate, Tahani reaches out and grabs it from him. Her hands are surprisingly steady. She's careful with the weapon, making sure to keep it aimed away from us. She shifts positions in the seat, focusing the gun on the SUV ahead of us without a word.