Total pages in book: 12
Estimated words: 11283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 56(@200wpm)___ 45(@250wpm)___ 38(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 56(@200wpm)___ 45(@250wpm)___ 38(@300wpm)
The sex is good, yes, but it’s more than that.
It’s the small things he does, too. He’s always making me breakfast. He does little chores at home without complaining and without being told to. He fixed the broken leg of my vanity table and the leaking faucet.
Most of all, I feel like I can tell him anything and everything, and he won’t judge me. He listens and doesn’t think I’m being stupid.
God, I’m falling for him. Fast and hard.
Then again, people don’t call it a whirlwind romance for nothing, and he’s so—
My thoughts screech to a halt when the door to the driver’s side opens. The smile freezes on my face when I see that it’s not Jackson, and the little hairs on my arms and neck stand.
It’s an older man with scars all over his face and arms and a broken nose. One eye is drooping, and there’s a thick ridge of scar tissue along his right ear.
At first, I think he’s got the wrong car, but he throws me a smile that makes my stomach drop, a knot coiling tighter in my gut.
The alarm bells ring in my head, and I spring into action, trying to unbuckle my seatbelt and open the door, but he’s faster than me.
He guns the engine, and I’m shoved against the seat as he weaves through the parking lot and traffic, farther and farther from Jackson. My breath catches in my throat, fear knocking the air from my lungs.
I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I can’t speak.
I force myself to look for a weapon or be a weapon, but there’s nothing beyond my debilitating fear.
“Whatever you’re planning, don’t. I have no problem beating the shit out of you if you don’t behave,” he says. Something about his deadpan tone convinces me he’s telling the truth.
I gulp breaths to stay quiet, my fingers gripping each other so tightly that my knuckles turn white.
The car feels cramped, the air tight, squeezing me from all sides. My chest is caving in, and there’s nothing inside me except unyielding terror. The fear claws at me, wrapping its tendrils around my neck.
I rub furiously at my skin, prickling with icy dread.
Who is this guy? What does he want from me? Can I fight him?
I make a mental catalog of all the things I can possibly use, but the toolbox is in the trunk. I have nothing here except the registration, receipts, and other useless papers.
Sweat trickles down my back and dots my forehead. My shirt sticks to my skin, and my hands turn clammy.
“W-what do you want?” I finally spit out.
I don’t dare look at him, but I can feel him smile when he speaks, and it’s all I can do not to vomit all over the car and faint. “You’ll see. You’re just at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person, sweetheart.”
5
JACKSON
The door closes behind me, and on instinct, I pat the thick white envelope inside my jacket just to make sure it’s still there. It’s not much, but Jenny and I can leave town and start a life together.
After all the paperwork, I can start picking up where I left off. Jenny doesn’t know what I used to do for a living, and I can’t wait to tell her all about it. She’s throwing her lot to a man who seems to have a bleak future ahead. She doesn’t mind that I don’t have money or anything to my name.
Jenny wants me for me, and that’s more than enough.
She’ll be surprised to know we’re set for life even if I ultimately decide to spend my days in bed with her—not too bad of a plan, to be honest.
See, I am not an impulsive guy. Not the type who will drop everything for a woman. Then again, it’s Jenny. She’s NOT just any other woman.
She’s mine.
Thinking of her makes me smile, but I stop dead in my tracks when I see that the car isn’t where I left it. I swing my gaze to the left and right. Nothing.
Did she leave? Did she get bored and get coffee? But the cafe is just across the street. Maybe she had an emergency?
It takes me a while before I notice a kid tugging on my shirt. I look down to see a boy with wide eyes and a tooth gap. He has his skateboard clutched to his chest while handing me a small piece of paper.
I furrow my forehead. “What’s this?”
“Someone told me to give it to you.”
I read the note, and my stomach twists.
“Welcome back, son. You know where to find me. Be fast. I’m not a patient man.”
Goddammit. That sick fuck. That piece of shit, motherfucker. When I get my hands on him, I’ll pulverize his face to his ground.
I look for the kid to pepper him with questions, but he’s gone. Shit. I know where that bastard is, and now he’s taken Jenny.