Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 101001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 505(@200wpm)___ 404(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 505(@200wpm)___ 404(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Deke had been a good, honorable man and soldier who fought against injustice and would’ve helped her without question even if he thought her a spoiled, selfish brat.
And she had been to him many times. Teenage girls given any and every material possession tended to turn out that way. Now it was too late to apologize for the brat she’d been when Deke was alive.
“Ma’am, the police are arriving.”
Her eyes flew open to find Lance scrambling to right his pants. He shoved the drugged woman to the ground and then scrambled to get in the driver’s seat. As he began to pull out of his parking spot, police cars appeared on the scene, surrounding his car.
Olivia blew out a breath of relief. They hadn’t been in time to stop him, but at least the woman would get the help she needed, and Lance would be arrested and not able to hurt anyone again.
Oh God, had he done this before to other women? She shuddered at the thought. Then another sobering thought popped into her head. Would the arrest stick? Lance had money coming out his ass and a whole firm of lawyers at his disposal. Would he even spend a night in jail?
She needed insurance.
Blowing out a shaky breath, Olivia got to work emailing herself the footage from the minutes she’d been watching.
As the file compiled, she stood. Soon as it finished, she’d send it and get the hell out of there. Tapping her foot, she stepped closer to the desk, then leaned in and stared at her fiancé bent over the hood of a police car with his hands cuffed behind his back.
How had she missed this? How could she have been in a relationship with a man for years without knowing the dark, monstrous deeds he was capable of? Was there something obvious in him she should’ve noticed? A glimmer of evil in his eye? A sinister smirk? If so, she’d missed it entirely.
Did that make her stupid or plain oblivious?
And which was worse?
Lance’s gaze scanned the lot as the officers spoke to each other. As his gaze passed the camera, she shuddered, suddenly unable to imagine being anywhere near him again.
He kept up his visual journey until he darted his eyes back, staring straight into the camera. Shock and fear crossed his face for a fleeting second before a hard mask morphed his features into a fearsome and ugly warning. An icy shiver skittered down her spine. She swore he could see straight through the camera lens to her standing in his office.
The cameras hadn’t been off by accident. Lance had done it. He knew. He knew she was there and had witnessed what had just happened.
One side of his mouth turned up into a grin of evil promise. He narrowed his eyes and mouthed three words she made out clearly, even through the grainy video. “You’ll be sorry.”
Olivia lurched back, stumbling over the chair then falling to the ground as though he’d shot her.
Her heart hammered so hard, her ribs ached. Pressing her hand to her chest, she trembled.
The computer chimed, making her jump so hard she levitated an inch off the ground. The file finished uploading. She clambered onto unsteady legs then sent the file to herself as fast as humanly possible.
She had to get away. Now. Right now. He was going to kill her. She knew it in her bones.
Where the hell could she go? Her friends were Lance’s friends, and she wouldn’t risk her father. Besides, the man loved Lance. Could her father be trusted? Was he aware of this?
“You’re spiraling,” she whispered to herself.
A hotel? An Airbnb? Should she head out of town? All of those places were so easily tracked by credit card.
“Cash. I need cash.” Hell, he could track her car with the vehicle assist system. She’d have to ditch that too. Maybe she needed to lose her phone as well. And her smartwatch. Shit, there were so many ways her fiancé could keep tabs on her. Would he do that? Did he know how? She had to assume he did. Clearly, he had friends in low places.
First things first, she had to get the hell out of the house. She ran from the office to the main bedroom. She’d have to give up everything. Stop taking classes, leave the only city she’d ever lived in. She’d be on her own for the first time in her life. Fear settled low in her gut. Had she ever even eaten at a restaurant alone? Her brother had been right. She was a pampered princess without any knowledge of how to survive without someone rich propping her up.
Pitiful.
“Deke, help me,” she whispered.
Wait… Deke. He had a friend. One he raved about. A guy he claimed was the best man he’d ever met. A friend from the military.