Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
She looked well loved.
And fancy since Josh had left her a pretty slip dress and heels to change into after she got out of her fet wear. No jeans and snarky T-shirt that had seen better days for her tonight.
Was this who she could be if she found a way to stay with them? She was still Nicole. She was still the same woman, but she was more confident, more secure. Money wouldn’t change her with the singular exception of not having to worry about where her next meal was coming from. When she thought about it, she could be a truer version of herself if she wasn’t simply focused on survival.
What would life be like if she didn’t have to suspect every human being she met?
She would go to her grave with the memory of Josh standing in front of her telling her to take what he gave her and make something beautiful with it.
Was it that simple? Her world had been chaos for so long. The idea a life could be happy and satisfying simply because she loved her men and the family they could build seemed like a distant dream.
She heard a buzzing noise in the background. The locker room was empty. It was still early, and the club would be hopping for another couple of hours.
But her men wanted time alone with her.
Time to show her how well they could love her. Was she brave enough to take their love with both hands and trust it?
She took out the designer lipstick and brushed it over her mouth. The color was perfect, of course. Josh wouldn’t screw up any details.
Would his family accept her? Even if Josh and Grim could believe her story, it didn’t mean Jack Barnes would, and could she blame him?
The buzzing started again, and it was coming from the row her locker was on.
She gathered her makeup kit and moved to the locker when the buzzing noise started again. Her cell. Who would call her? She glanced at her phone’s screen and it let her know she wasn’t late. Josh and Grim would be waiting for her outside the locker room soon, but she still had some time.
She didn’t recognize the number, but they could be using someone else’s phone. She slid her finger across the screen. “Hello.”
“Nic. Thank god.” There was a huff that sounded like relief. “I’ve been trying to get you for an hour.”
She thought she recognized the voice. “Heather?”
“Are you in the club?” Heather asked.
“Yes. I’m in the locker room.”
“Is anyone with you?”
A knot formed in her gut. She was certain she was alone. It had been nice when she’d first entered the locker room, but now she felt a chill. “No. Uhm, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”
“I’m sorry but I need you to be scared right now. I found out there are private investigators looking for you, and they are in that club. I don’t have a ton of time to explain but the Dawson family runs an investigative firm, and they’ve been looking into your background. They know, Nicole.”
Her vision went slightly blurry, and she leaned against the locker for support. “They know?”
Dawson. Harlow. Harlow had been introduced as Harlow Dawson. Josh’s friend knew, and she was going to tell him. She was going to tell him the woman he’d fucked was wanted for killing the last man to do that.
She was going to be sick.
“I need you to stay calm,” Heather said over the line. “The Dawsons aren’t people to fuck with. They won’t play by anyone’s rules but their own. I’m on my way in. Meet me in the lobby and I’ll get you out of there.”
“You’re here?” It was relief in the moment. She wasn’t thinking about anything but the fact that there might be a way out. Unless they’d already called the cops. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Heather said, and she could hear cars moving in the background. “Meet me downstairs. Grab what you can and don’t stop for anything.”
She was already in motion. If she had time, she would change out of the stupid silky gown that had made her feel sexy mere moments before. Now she realized how vulnerable it made her. “You need a card to get in.”
“Trust me.” There was a deep confidence in Heather’s tone. “I can get in. Go, Nic. Go now, and leave the phone. They’re probably tracking you.”
Was that why Harlow had lingered? She’d read enough suspense books to know the dumbass heroine usually got her phone tagged. Tears blurred the world as she dropped her phone and stepped out of her heels. She couldn’t run in them. But her sneakers would take a while to tie, and panic was stirring inside her.
With only her purse, bare feet on the hardwoods, she rushed out of the locker room. Please don’t let them be waiting. Please.