Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 114551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“What is it?” Dalton rushes out.
“She’s out of state.”
Zade flies to his feet and starts pacing, his hands balling into fists before coming to peer over my shoulder. “Where the fuck is she?”
Helplessness begins washing over me as I scroll through the long list of stops, not finding a damn thing until I look a little further and see the train entering Missouri. “No fucking way,” I breathe, my heart beginning to race, feeling one step closer to my girl. “She went home.”
“What?” Cross grunts across the office. “What do you mean she went home?”
“To Missouri,” I tell him. “The train goes straight through her hometown.”
Dalton rushes over and plucks the phone out of my hand. “Bullshit,” he says, looking at the list of stops as Zade drops back into his desk chair and starts hacking into the surveillance footage from the Missouri train station. “What time would she have gotten there?” he questions, a moment later.
“Ummm, a little after midday,” I say, double checking the schedule.
Zade hacks into the network with ease and scrolls a while before hitting play on the footage of the train’s arrival at the station. He slows it right down as we all hover over his shoulder, watching the screen and hoping like fuck we find her.
Minutes tick by as we watch the people step off the train, and then just when I think we’ve missed her, the blonde goddess steps off the train with her head down. “There,” Dalton rushes out before I get the chance. “I’d recognize that sweet ass anywhere.”
“Good,” Zade says, standing. “Let’s go.”
“Hate to break the news,” Cross says. “Missouri is at least a twelve-hour drive. She’s already been there since midday. She’ll likely be gone before we get there.”
Zade shakes his head. “If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll still be there,” he rumbles before glancing up, his lips pressed into a hard line. “We’re taking the jet.”
Chapter 8
OAKLEY
Reaching up to the top of my old closet, I grab my suitcase and pull it down, having to quickly dart out of the way before being squished by the damn thing. I open it on the floor and get busy throwing everything I can into it while trying to come up with a plan to save my ass.
I’ve already been here too long, and it won’t take a genius to realize that I might have gone home. It’s only a matter of time before someone comes here searching for me, and I sure as hell don’t want to be here when that happens.
Grabbing handfuls of tops and hoodies, I dump them into the suitcase before reaching for my pants drawer. I’m just about finished packing my underwear and shoes when I hear the familiar creak of the front door.
My heart races, and I fly to my feet, my whole body shaking. I quickly peer around my room, searching for something to use as a weapon when a voice rings through the silence. “Hello?” Aunt Liv’s hesitant tone questions from out in the living room. “Is somebody here?”
I let out a heavy breath, relief surging through my veins. “Aunt Liv?” I call out, racing to my bedroom door and peering out into the hallway. “Is that you?”
“Oakley?” she responds.
Thank fuck.
I rush out of my bedroom, down the hall, and out into the living room. Aunt Liv gapes at me, and I can’t stop the tears before they’re streaming down my face. I crash into her, and she wraps me in her arms, her handbag falling off her arm and spilling across the floor in the process.
Liv holds me tight, gently rocking me like she used to when I was a kid, as I cry into her shoulder. “Oh, my sweet girl,” she coos, her hand gently roaming up and down my back.
“I . . . I . . . ”
“Shhhh,” she soothes. “You’re safe with me.”
I pull back, wiping my eyes, hating being so vulnerable when she always taught me to be strong. “I know everything,” I tell her. “I know all about the Empire and what horrid things they do and how you’re not really my aunt.”
Liv’s eyes widen, pain deep in her gaze. “Oh, Oakley, honey. I’m so sorry. That must have been so hard to hear, but if you know anything about the Empire, then you know that I was only following orders. Your father . . . from what I know, he wasn’t a great man, and all those years ago when I was assigned your case, all I was told is that a little girl really needed my help, and I was more than happy to provide you with a safe and loving home. I never could have imagined how deeply I would love you, Oakley. We might have come together as strangers, but don’t mistake my feelings for you. I love you as though you were my own child.”