Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
“There were no good choices, Carly. No one can blame you for the path you chose.”
She sighed and buried her head in my shirt, sniffling. Knowing Carly, I was sure she was mortified to be shedding tears in front of me, so I ignored them, despite my desire to wipe them away and comfort her.
“Eventually, my guilt overrode my fear and I agreed to have Meagan set up a meeting with Nic. I told my father I was going to confession and met Nic at the church. As soon as she introduced us, I asked her to leave. I’m not sure she would have if not for Nic. I don’t know what he said to her, but she agreed to leave. He was smart enough to know I didn’t want her involved or for any of this to trace back to her. She still has no idea. I agreed to help Nic take my family down, and he agreed to protect me. My father thinks he rules with an iron fist and he believed I would never betray him. It helped that he thinks women are no better than chattel. So he didn’t bother to hide things from me.” She shrugged and looked up at me with watery eyes. “After our—um—incident, I went to Tommy and told him I needed to disappear.”
I refused to be grateful to that bastard for keeping my girl safe. If I ever met him, I was pretty sure I’d kick his ass. Instead, I focused on how fucking proud I was of Carly. So much so, I had no words. With nothing to say, I lifted her chin and softly kissed her.
SIX
Carly
Sweet kisses, the best home-cooked meal I’d ever eaten, and a night spent cuddling—Bran certainly was the king of the unexpected. He was so different from what I’d assumed based on what I’d heard about him and how he’d behaved when he was watching over me for Nic.
The steely enforcer with a killer reputation had a soft side he didn’t seem afraid to show me. Then again, he wasn’t scared to reveal his hard edges either. Surprisingly enough, the combination seemed to be my kryptonite. When he grabbed my face the way he had, I should have been pissed way the hell off. Instead, it had sent a spark of desire straight to my core. If he hadn’t walked away, I’m not sure if I would have been able to resist ripping his clothes off and jumping him. I wasn’t convinced it was for the best that I hadn’t, since the chemistry between us was sizzling hot and impossible to ignore. Even the knowledge that I was walking into a meeting with Nic DeLuca to talk about the situation with my da wasn’t dimming it in the least bit.
I couldn’t help but think that it would have taken the edge off a little if we’d gone with the heat of the moment and seen what happened next. Then again, I wasn’t sure walking into this meeting sore from losing my virginity to the DeLuca enforcer would have been the smart thing to do.
Fun as hell? Sure.
Wise? Not in the least.
Coming back to town when my da was out to kill me wasn’t exactly the smartest thing I’d ever done either. Brandon had a way of convincing me to do stuff I never would have agreed to without his influence. Case in point, meeting with Nic DeLuca at one of his warehouses when I’d been in town for less than half a day, and it was sure to be one of the places my da had on his radar for possible clues as to my whereabouts. I should have known Brandon had it covered, though.
“Climb in the back and lay flat on the floor between the seats,” he instructed when we were about a mile out from the building.
“Seriously?” I grumbled as I unclicked my seatbelt.
“Don’t give me any lip. When it comes to your safety, my word is law.”
I didn’t respond until I was settled on the floor of the car, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. This isn’t a democracy. But, what about all the other times you think your word is law?”
“I didn’t say your safety was the only situation where it applies.” His voice was a low rumble that sent shivers up my spine. “It just happened to be why I mentioned it at this particular point in time, when you need to follow my orders without question.”
“Caveman.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, kitten. Because I’m most definitely going to be the boss when I fuck you too.”
“We’ll just see about that,” I muttered.
“If you keep up with all the sass, you will see, and sooner than I’d planned,” he threatened, taking a sharp turn that jolted me slightly.