Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
“It’s Jackson,” I growl into the phone.
“Oh,” is all she says.
“Is Kennedy there?” I try to keep my voice casual, but I’m pretty sure she hears how difficult this call is for me.
It takes her a few seconds to answer, my guess is she’s probably as shocked about me calling as I am. Oh, the things I fucking do for you, bug.
“No, why would she be here?” Worry overtakes her shocked tone. Fuck, this isn’t what I wanted to deal with, but without knowing where Kennedy is, that worry could be very real. “She’s at Blackthorn. Isn’t she?”
“No one has seen her in three days,” I explain. “I thought she might have taken a trip home or something.”
“Oh, my god, no.” She sounds frantic at this point, and her worry is starting to spread over to me. “She hasn’t been here, hasn’t called either. Hold on, let me check something real quick.”
I listen to the phone being set down, followed by some typing on a computer. A few moments later, she comes back on the line, her voice a little calmer now, or at least more composed.
“I just checked her credit card statement. She used her card to check into a hotel in town.”
Relief washes over me, making me face the reality of how worried I was about her. “What hotel?”
“The Dunham Inn.”
“I know where that is. I’ll go check on her, and if there’s a problem, I’ll give you a call.”
“Really? You would do that?”
“Yeah, I’ll tell her to call you later too.” I hang up the phone, grab my car keys, and head out the door.
On my way to the hotel, some of the relief I felt has already morphed back into anger. What the fuck was she thinking just taking off like that? Hiding out in some hotel? Was this her way of fighting back?
Or maybe she truly was jealous over seeing me with Crystal the other day? If I cared about her feelings, I would tell her Crystal was no one to me, that the second we rounded the corner, I pushed her away. That I even told her to leave me alone, but I’m not about to reveal that fact just to make her feel better.
Flirting with Crystal was only to hurt her feelings. I didn’t really think she would be jealous and only hoped to show her that she meant nothing to me. That I could have anyone I wanted, that she wasn’t anything special. Mainly, I did it to piss her off, not to run her out of school. Twenty minutes later, I pull up to the hotel and hand my keys to the valet. Walking into the lobby, I’m happy to see a young woman behind the reception counter. That’s going to make all of this go so much faster.
“Hello, do you have reservations with us?” she greets.
“Hi there.” I give her my most dazzling smile. “I’m actually already a guest. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my key card. You wouldn’t be able to make me another one, would you?” I follow up with some puppy dog eyes.
“Oh, sure, I think I could help.” She giggles and bats her eyelashes at me.
“The reservations were made under Meyers.”
“All I need is your ID and room number.”
“Well, the problem is my wallet is in the room… and I am terrible with numbers. I checked-in three days ago. You must have not been here that day, ’cause I sure as hell would remember someone as pretty as you.”
Her cheeks turn crimson red as she starts to type something on her laptop. I continue smiling, even though on the inside, I’m wishing for this to be over as soon as possible so I can get to Kennedy.
She pulls out a card and hands it to me. Giving me her best fuck me eyes, she says, “Here you go, Mr. Meyers. Room four-hundred-and-ten.”
“Thanks,” I snap, watching her face fall before taking the card from her finger. I spin around and head to the fourth floor. You can run my little bug, but you’ll never be able to hide from me.
18
Kennedy
You know that strange feeling you get when you’re sleeping, and you feel like someone’s watching you? But there isn’t any possible way that could really be happening. Not when you are locked inside a hotel room. No, that couldn’t happen. Unless you have someone like Jackson in your life.
Blinking my eyes open, I’ve barely woken up when I let out a screech at the shadow hovering over my bed. A hand comes out of nowhere and presses against my mouth, a moment before Jackson’s face comes into view. His gaze is hard, and I know instantly that I’m in trouble.
“I’m going to pull my hand away, and you’re going to tell me what the fuck you’re trying to prove by coming here?” The deep tone of his voice jolts my body awake, and my nipples harden against the thin material of my T-shirt, which, other than panties, is all I have on. Even with the blanket covering me, I feel so exposed and unprotected.