Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
But me and Sean?
There was no helping either one of us.
I was caught in his web and he didn’t want to let me go.
He’ll find you eventually…
Ignoring that depressing thought, I give my head a slight shake before spinning around in Nathan’s office chair and surveying the pristine workspace. He’d invited me to breakfast early this morning, where he and Jamie told me a little about each family member and gave me a typed-out schedule for the week. They both agreed Jude would be the most difficult to help.
My first patient, too.
Lovely.
I settle my gaze on a portrait on the wall of Nathan, Jamie, and the twins when they must’ve been ten or eleven. Their happy, smiling faces warm my heart. They’re the family I’d always wished I’d been born into. Instead, I got a single dad who drank away his woes and beat on his only son whenever the alcohol wasn’t enough to mask the pain.
I lived that life and still somehow found myself with Sean.
Thankfully, I can help others much easier than I can help myself. I’m determined to get through to Jude, not only to earn the twenty thousand Nathan’s promised, but also to truly get him to a place where he feels comfortable removing his mask and leaving the family property again. When Nathan told me Jude never leaves their land, I knew it was definitely something to strive for.
When I swirl around in the chair again, passing the time until my patient gets here, I get an icy chill that runs down my spine. I stop abruptly, startled to find Jude standing in the doorway, filling every inch and looking every bit like a horror movie psychopath.
You never really know how much you use a person’s facial expressions to get a read on them until you’re unable to do just that.
“Oh, hi,” I blurt out, voice unnaturally high. “Please, come in. Have a seat.”
Jude doesn’t move but continues to silently stare at me through the two eyeholes of his white mask. The sunshine streaming in through the window behind me lights up his intense blue eyes, making them almost glimmer beyond the mask holes.
“Are you even able to legally drink?” Jude grunts out in greeting.
Irritation chases away the awkwardness and slight apprehension I’m feeling. I’ve always been mocked for my youthful features. Never taken seriously.
Rather than throw a tantrum, huffing and puffing about how I’m actually twenty-seven, I force out a chuckle and gesture at the seat in front of me. “I am. Close the door and sit.”
He’s still for a moment and then miraculously obeys. The door clicks shut softly and then he prowls my way, sucking the air from the room and filling it with a masculine scent. I can’t pinpoint the actual smell, but it’s definitely men’s soap and something with a hint of cinnamon.
I’m suddenly craving hot, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls.
I try not to stare at him, but it’s hard. He’s huge, much larger than anyone else who showed up for their family dinner last night, and slightly terrifying. It’s not just the mask either. There’s a feral undertone that permeates the air around him. If I were into reading auras, I’d conclude his would be black.
Not that I even know what black means.
But his definitely gives me dark, twisted, scary vibes.
Slowly, he sits down on the chair, the wood creaking with his weight. Even wearing a black hoodie and black workout pants, it’s evident he’s not just incredibly fit, but he’s bulky with hard-earned muscles.
I must look like a wimp in comparison.
My gut sours again as I think about the gym I can no longer go to. It’s Sean’s gym—where I met him—and I’m sure as hell never going back.
“How are you feeling today?” I ask, smiling widely. “Having a good day so far?”
Jude snorts and leans back in his chair. His dark hair is tousled and damp like he showered right before coming over. Rather than letting myself get caught up in that visual, I forge on despite his unwillingness to answer.
“Nathan told me a little about you and your family.” I resist the urge to nervously fidget in the desk chair that now feels too big for me. “He said you were in a fire at age sixteen, where you lost your mother.”
Might as well rip off the Band-Aid.
He stiffens and his breathing grows heavier behind the mask. I can sense his fury in the way his hands tighten around the arms of the chair. Again, he says nothing.
“That had to have been horrible for you.”
“No shit,” he says finally. “Dad’s really paying you for this?”
“I’m beyond qualified to do this job,” I bite out, a tad defensive. “I’m here to help, not hurt, Jude. You can talk to me.”
“So you can take valuable information about my family and turn it against us?”