Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 168587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 843(@200wpm)___ 674(@250wpm)___ 562(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 168587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 843(@200wpm)___ 674(@250wpm)___ 562(@300wpm)
Her head falls to the side, heavy eyes blinking, trying to focus.
“She’s on heavy pain killers,” Gavin tells me, wiping off his bloody hands. “She’s going to be in and out for a while.”
Reaching out, she tries to sit up. I rush over to the bed. “Stay down,” I tell her softly.
“But—”
“You need to rest, Lake.” I reach out and push some dark strands of hair from her face.
Her eyes fall shut.
“It’s okay, little darling.” I cup her bloody cheek. “Just close your eyes. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
Her lashes flutter open, and she looks up at me, her pretty blue eyes look glossed over from the drugs. “Promise?” Her voice is soft, fading.
I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I promise.” This time when they close, they don’t reopen. I sit back, running a hand through my hair before looking up at Gavin.
“She was lucky,” he states. “Another inch to the right and I would have needed an OR and even that might not have been enough.”
We kept her down in the basement until he got here. After he removed the knife and stitched her up, we moved her up here to rest. “Thank you.” I stand and reach out my hand. He shakes it, not bothering to care that it’s still bloody.
He nods. “Of course. I’d say the knife was already broken before she was stabbed with it.”
The question is, was she stabbed on purpose or by accident? I’m going to find out.
“She’ll be okay. I’ll come back and check on her in the morning, just make sure she takes is easy. I’d say she’ll have a full recovery in no time.” I thank him again and see him out of the apartment.
I go to the kitchen, grab a big bowl and fill it with warm water and soap then make my way back to the bedroom. I grab a washcloth from the bathroom and pull the comforter down to expose her chest. I place the washcloth into the bowl and then wring it out before I start to clean the blood off her chest, neck, and face along with the little makeup that remains.
“I’m sorry, little darling,” I tell her, hating what happened to her. It’s my fault. Even if she wasn’t targeted, I put her in this club. I made her work on the floor. I should have confined her to the apartment. Kept her as secluded as possible from the world that I know wants to harm her. I should have learned my lesson after Whitney.
Senior year at Barrington University
“Still nothing?” Ryat asks me while I stare at my cell.
“Nothing,” I answer. I’ve been calling and texting Whitney for two days now. But she does this a lot. Goes MIA. It’s because she’s pretending to be pregnant while partying and doesn’t want me to know.
“Just track her phone,” he tells me.
“It’s off,” I growl. Does he think I haven’t thought of that? “Been off since yesterday morning.”
“Well—”
Just as he starts to speak, my cell rings and I see it’s her. “What the fuck, Whit? Where have you been?” I demand.
“Tyson.” She cries on the other end.
I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “What?” This is what she does, ignores me for days and then pretends to have some catastrophic reason to reach out to me. She knows how to play the damsel in distress way too well.
“Pl-ease…” she chokes out. “I need you.”
I sit up straighter, the sound of her voice sounding more convincing than usual. “Where are you?”
“I—” Cough. “I don’t know.”
“I can track you.” I pull the cell from my ear and turn on her tracking. It shows she’s ten minutes away. “I’m on my way.”
LAIKYN
I’ve been off work for ten days. Tyson said three weeks, but Gavin said that I was doing surprisingly well. It didn’t do any damage to any important organs. It was more superficial than anything, if you ask me. I can go back to work, but I have to be careful not to lift too much too soon and tear my stitches open. Other than that, I’m good.
I haven’t spoken to Tyson much. I’m pissed at him. He promised me that he wouldn’t drug me, and he did. Just another reason I can’t trust him. Things got hard and he just knocked me out.
Not sure why I’m so surprised.
We also haven’t had sex since I was stabbed. If I’m being honest with myself, that’s another reason why I’m so on edge and pissy. I never realized how much sex can affect your everyday life until now. I hate that I ever experienced it to begin with because he can cut me off at any time.
I’m not sure why he hasn’t touched me. Tyson never gives you hints as to why he does what he does. He just expects you to live with it. Or I guess it could have to do with the fact that we were already kinda arguing about what went down in his office with Collin. Well, I was pissed at him, and he didn’t seem to care.