Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 68006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“What’s the story?” I manage to get out before I retch again.
“No story, Kelly,” the one who claims to be my father says. “I didn’t know you existed until you had already left your mother’s house. Your brother and I came to the diner every so often, and well, your brother…”
“You’re mine,” The Dark One says. “Mine not only by blood.”
“Aren’t fathers supposed to protect their daughters? And aren’t brothers supposed to protect their sisters?”
“Obsession runs deep,” my father says. “I couldn’t stop your brother, so I gave you to him. I let him take you to that island. I had to pay off your mother for her silence, but she was more than willing to take my money. I let him have you. Because I knew, if you ever got off that island, you’d have a better life than working long hours at a diner.”
“Yeah. That’s what you are all right. Altruistic.” I choke back nausea. “Leif will find me.”
“Leif is scouring the city for you,” The Dark One says.
“They’re already on lockdown, Ronald,” the other one says. “They—"
“Leif has no idea that you’re still here in the hotel,” the Dark One continues, speaking over his supposed father. “He doesn’t care about you, Kelly. He never cared about you.”
Only…he swore to protect me…
Has he forsaken me? Does he not love me anymore?
No.
The word comes to me so quickly I don’t even realize it.
No, Leif has not forsaken me. And yes, Leif still loves me. He saw something lovable in me, and that must mean it’s there. Because Leif—strong, dependable, good Leif—wouldn’t be able to love someone who’s unlovable.
“He’ll come. He’ll figure it out.”
“By the time he figures it out, we will be long gone,” The Dark One says. “Now, Kelly, I have a knife and a penis, and one of them is going inside you tonight.”
I brace myself, ready to kick the shit out of The Dark One, until my father pulls him back.
“No. I’ve allowed you to have her, Ronald, but I will not watch it.”
While I hate my father with a purple passion—he and his son are completely psychotic and demented—I’m grateful to be spared in this moment.
God… What kind of sick genetics do I come from?
My mother…and this? An absent father who gives me away to a psycho half-brother?
And a psycho half-brother who’s obsessed with me? Who gets off on sending his sister to hell on earth and then violating her repeatedly? I can only hope the worst of him comes from his mother’s side.
Leif, please hurry.
Please…
36
LEIF
I’m surprised the stairwells are open. The SWAT team should have locked them. Or…instructed the manager to do it.
I return to Lenore.
“The stairwells aren’t locked down,” I say.
“They should be,” she says. “I gave instructions to—”
“Whoever you gave instructions to isn’t listening to you. Whoever has my woman up there has someone on the inside. We already know they tried to blackmail the tech guy who was manning the cameras. There’s someone else—it could be someone standing right here—helping these people.”
“I don’t have to stand here and take this kind of insult,” the manager says.
“You don’t have to take anything,” Reid says to her, “but I can tell you that my family does a lot of business with this hotel. I trust Leif. If he says there’s someone on the inside working with these guys, I want you to take it seriously.”
“I have full trust and faith in my staff,” she says.
“I’m sure you do. The best spies are those you would never suspect.” I grip my hands together. “For example, who’s in charge of locking down in the case of an emergency?”
“My security chief, of course. Lyle Nesbitt.”
“And where is he?”
“He’s fully armed, so he’s most likely with the SWAT team.”
“I don’t think so,” I say. “I don’t care how handy the guy is. No SWAT team wants a civilian hanging around.”
The manager simply bites her lip.
“Where’s Nesbitt, anyway?”
“He was here a little while ago. He talked to the cops.”
“He’s not here now.” I look around. “Just the officers, Mr. Wolfe here, and you.”
“We are in a lockdown. I’ve instructed most of the employees to go to the conference center on this floor. It’s big enough to hold all the employees, and they’ll be safe there, locked in, until this is taken care of.”
“I see. So where is that chief of security, then? Surely he didn’t run like a scared rabbit to the conference center with the rest of the employees.”
“He’s the night security chief,” she says. “It is the middle of the night, or haven’t you noticed?”
“I don’t know whether it’s night or day anymore, for the amount of sleep I’ve gotten.” I say.
“It’s the night guy, Nesbitt. I know him well. He’s a decent human being. I trust him implicitly.”
“Do you trust all the guys who work under him?” I ask. “Someone isn’t doing their job, or the stairwells would’ve been locked off.”