Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Her gaze swung back to the stairs we had used to get down here. “You’re locking me in a basement?” she whispered.
I looked around. This didn’t look like a basement. It was an elaborate master bedroom with a living area and bathroom. This had been Blaise’s room until he moved out with his woman to their own place. There was no reason for her to act as if I were locking her in a fucking cell.
“You’ve got a television,” I said, pointing at the flat screen on the wall.
She glanced at it, then nodded, but said nothing.
She could have been fucking killed. If I hadn’t found Gage with her, he’d have put a damn bullet in her if she hadn’t answered his question. There was no reason for her to act as if I were the bad guy here.
“Listen, you need to stay down here. You’re not safe without me,” I pressed. I needed her to understand and obey me.
She nodded again.
My phone rang, and I saw Blaise’s name light up the screen. He was here.
“I have to go,” I told her, then started for the stairs.
Why did I feel so damn guilty about leaving her down here alone? Hayes would have been thankful I’d saved her. I had done what my brother would have wanted me to do. Except now, I had her in a world he had never wanted to be a part of.
“I had no other choice,” I muttered under my breath as if he could hear me.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I used my key to lock Trinity safely downstairs before heading to the office to meet with the others.
I could hear Gage ranting about my taking Trinity when I walked into the room.
Blaise’s eyes swung to me, but there was only concern in his gaze. “Where is she?” he asked.
“Downstairs,” I replied.
Gage threw his hands up. “Fucking great. I get that she was Hayes’s woman, and that makes her a priority, but did we have to bring her in here before knowing if she’s as innocent as she claims?”
I glared at him, although I knew he was right. I’d taken a chance in trusting her at her word. “I took her phone. She had nothing else.”
“We need her checked out,” Blaise told me.
I nodded.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I get why you did it. But Gage is right about bringing her into the house. Are we sure she’s not got a tracking device on her? What all did she see of the house? The shop would have been a better choice.”
I tensed. “I’ll check her for a tracking device and keep her downstairs until we know she’s clear. If they’d wanted her dead, they would have checked the shop. It’s common knowledge I own it.”
“Just because she was your brother’s fiancée, don’t skip anywhere. She has to be stripped and checked thoroughly. You know the drill. Until we know for sure, she is not to be trusted,” Blaise said, watching me for any sign of weakness.
“Have you seen her?” Gage asked Blaise.
Blaise nodded, and his eyes stayed locked on me. “Can you keep your hands off her?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked him. “She was my brother’s fiancée!”
Blaise inhaled and rubbed his chin. “And he’s gone.”
Dammit! I wanted to put my fist through a wall. “She’s got big tits and an ass. That doesn’t fucking mean I can’t keep my dick in my pants.”
Blaise shrugged and stood up. “Good. Do that.”
I wanted to get away from them. I needed a fucking drink.
Blaise walked around the desk and headed for the door. “Get her checked out now. We need to know what we are dealing with,” he said, then left the room.
Gage was looking at me, and I swung my gaze to glare at him.
“What?” I growled.
“Go check her for a tracker. I’ll get us some pussy over here,” he said.
I stalked for the door and headed back to the stairs. I hoped the pussy got here fast. I was going to need it after this. My only other option was letting Levi or Gage check her, and there was no way in hell that was going to happen.
Five
Trinity
This was okay. It wasn’t a closet. I fought the urge to curl into a ball and rock. If I let myself react that way, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be checked out on reality. I could focus and stay calm. I looked around the room. It was massive. Almost bigger than the house I had grown up in. Definitely bigger than the closet in the basement.
Not the same, Trinity. It is not the same.
“You’re fine,” I whispered. “You got this. You survived a gun to your head. You can sit in this nice, large room and wait.”
I felt the tension in my chest tightening, and I took deep breaths. I could not go there in my head. I was in a house with killers or gangsters or whatever the hell they were. I had to stay alert. Even if Huck was Hayes’s brother. That man was nothing like Hayes.