Total pages in book: 170
Estimated words: 160166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
I breathe through my nose and release each breath through my mouth, trying to calm myself. Whatever else happens, I need to stay as strong as I can.
Voices in the hallway tell me that Carter and the lawyer are finished talking. I hear them exchange goodbyes, and then the whoosh of air as the front door opens. It closes a second later and I hear the lock flip.
Then footsteps. Fuck. My heart thumps at the same pace.
I take my hands away from my eyes and sit up straight behind the table. I could pray and beg for that man not to come in here but I know he’s going to. Of course he is.
Carter enters the kitchen with worry in his eyes and comes to me without hesitation, putting one hand on my shoulder. “How are you doing, Braelynn?”
It’s not at all what I expected to happen. An interrogation would be more in line with what’s happened since the police burst into the hotel room. The unexpected kindness from Carter makes me want to let go of all the strength I’ve been holding on to and break down. My chin quivers, but I close my teeth together. If I let the breakdown happen, he’d hold me.
“I’m okay.” At my words, he squeezes my shoulder and moves to the other side of the table, sitting down across from me.
I can’t help but ask the worry that never leaves me, “Is Declan going to be all right?”
Even asking the question makes me feel a hundred times more conflicted. If he doesn’t love me, then I shouldn’t care. But the feelings I have for him can’t be turned on and off with a snap of my fingers. Heartache gets stronger in my chest until it seems almost impossible to avoid breaking down.
Carter must be able to see that because his expression is genuinely worried. “He’ll be fine. I’m concerned about you.”
He’s quiet, and my first thought is that I shouldn’t say anything. Or that I should say I’m fine. I war with myself internally and I know too much time has passed when I settle on the truth.
“I don’t think I’m okay. I don’t trust myself.” My hands shake on the table and I thread my fingers together and hold them tight. The storm of emotions inside me only gets stronger. If I had the freedom to cry and let it all out, maybe I’d feel better…or maybe not. It’s hard to tell if I have any freedom at all. I meet Carter’s eyes across the table. I don’t know what he knows. “Do you know what happened?”
“We know everything.” The way he says it and the look in his eyes…
This truth makes my stomach feel cold with all the dread of the day. It gets colder and colder until finally it goes numb.
They know everything.
There. That’s out in the open.
I swallow thickly, my mouth dry, and brace myself for the next question I have to ask him.
“Are you going to kill me?”
I shouldn’t be afraid, death would at least be an escape, but fear runs through me, coating every vein in more cold. I stare down at my hands on the table. Men like Carter could kill me in a second. That’s also true of Declan. If that’s their intention, I probably won’t have long to worry about it. It could be over in the time it takes to pull a trigger.
But I am afraid. I don’t want to die. Regret leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and my chest hurts more than ever.
“Braelynn.”
I look up at Carter’s face and from his expression, I think he’s said my name several times. The question I asked hangs between us. Are you going to kill me? I sit up straight and steel myself for an answer. Carter doesn’t look like he’s about to pronounce a death sentence, but I’ve been wrong before. I’ve been so, so wrong before.
“We’re not going to kill you.” His voice is low and steady, not shaking at all, though I don’t know why it would be. He’s used to things like this happening.
“Okay.” I can’t help the relief that trickles through my veins. It’s probably foolish to be relieved at a time like this, but I’m not in charge of my body that way right now. Then again, there are worse things than dying, which crashes through the relief like a boulder. “What are you going to do to me, then?”
Carter looks me dead in the eyes. “We’re going to keep you safe.”
DECLAN
Sleep weighs my eyes down as the car door opens in the crisp cold. I take my time getting in the front and sink back into the leather seat as Jase drives off. Nothing seems real. Yet everything is heavy. I can’t stop thinking about my Braelynn.