Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
The flight was long, with a layover in Atlanta for a bit, but I finally made it off the plane in New York and breathed a sigh of relief as I pushed through the throng of people at JFK International. Since I’d only brought carry-on, I bypassed baggage claim and set out to look for my mom, who was picking me up out front. Once outside, I heard her calling for me in the car bay near a cab. Seeing her, I sprinted to her, throwing myself into her arms.
She gathered me in for a hug, “Oh, sweetie, everything’s okay. We’re together now.” Her voice was soothing as I cried into her hair.
We finally broke apart and she took a moment to study my tear-stained face before tossing my bags into the cab.
I might have been a fighter like my dad, but I definitely looked like my mom. She was very pretty for her age and had the same brown hair. She and Rich were health food nuts, which kept them looking trim. Because of their jobs, they had to dress nice as well. My mom was definitely a knockout.
After tossing my bags into the trunk, I got into the back of the cab with her. She pulled me close and held me in an embrace all the way to the hotel.
This. I definitely needed.
SHE WASN’T ANSWERING my texts and I was worried as hell. Lia was in no shape to have this bomb dropped on her because she was still so fragile from last night. As I relived our fight earlier, I wished I had just kept my mouth shut. We’d be happy together right now had I not bared my revelation to her. But that wasn’t right and I couldn’t live with myself if it meant lying to her.
I’d driven by her house, Anj’s, and the bank. I was running out of places to look for her.
Where the hell did she go?
Finally, feeling as if I had no more options, I called Ben’s cell.
“Mr. Reeves, what can I do for you this Saturday afternoon?” he inquired with twinge of annoyance in his voice.
“Have you talked to Lia? Is she with you? I really need to speak with her,” I rushed.
He huffed through the phone. “Dammit, Cale. What have you done? I spoke to her earlier and she took an impromptu vacation to see her mom in New York. Now, as much as that girl misses her momma, I have a feeling it had more to do with you. She doesn’t even as much as look at a guy the entire time I know her, but when you come rolling into town, suddenly she’s hopping on your white horse and riding off into the sunset. I told you not to hurt her. Fix it, Cale,” he threatened.
“FUCK!” I boomed into the phone. “New York? When will she be back? I promise you I will win her back. She just has to listen to me. I fucking love her.”
“Love’s a strong word, Cale. If you mean it and if she ever felt the same about you, she’ll find her way back. You’re going to have to work hard for her though. Lia is a one of a kind, but she won’t put up with bullshit,” he sighed.
“Thanks, Ben,” I replied, hanging up the phone.
Damn it all to hell. Lia had left me here in Texas with my heart broken.
I spent the rest of the day lying in bed, thinking about everything that had happened. God, I already missed her and it hadn’t even been a full day yet. There had to be a way to fix this. She had to give me a chance to convince her that everything could still work out. The real psycho was in jail after last night.
Thinking about what Sam had almost done to Lia had me grabbing the bedside lamp off the table and heaving it. It crashed against the wall, smashing to pieces. As much as I wanted to solely blame him, I couldn’t help but point back at myself. I’d fucking kidnapped a woman.
Am I even any better than Sam?
What would I have done to her had she not crashed the car and escaped?
I was a fucking monster. I shuddered at the empty memories of my blackout. In a way, I was thankful I didn’t have to relive it. The thought of having hurt Lia absolutely killed me. She was my everything. I wished I would have died in that crash.
I stood up and paced the room. Since I hadn’t died and had royally fucked up my future with Lia, I needed to figure out a solution. There was no way in hell I was going to let her just walk away from us. Crazy pasts or not, we were perfect together.
Deciding that calling my dad might be a good start, I phoned him.