Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
He tugged his gloves back on as he escorted her out. It felt surreal that he was actually allowing her to leave, let alone escorting her out like a guest instead of an intruder. They left the library and headed down the massive staircase together. He clasped his hands behind his back as they walked in silence.
Unease bit into her, as if at any second, the rug would be pulled out. The police would show up to whisk her away to a place that couldn’t keep her. Or something far worse.
But nothing happened. He just opened the front door.
Snow fell like a blanket over the front steps and sidewalk, transforming the landscape into a winter wonderland. Tomorrow it would all be a slushy mess, but right now it was breathtaking.
“I’ll expect you promptly tomorrow,” Graves said.
She tilted her chin up to look into those incredible gray eyes. They hadn’t been this close, and she’d been so focused on retrieving the ring that she hadn’t considered quite how tall he was. He towered over her frame. His heat burned through her like a brand. As if he could sear a piece of him onto her existence. Burn straight through her hardened exterior and reveal what could have been had she not been abandoned and used and abused.
She shuddered under that scrutiny. Seeing things in herself she’d rather keep hidden. “I keep my promises.”
“If you don’t, I’ll come for your answer.”
She didn’t much like that idea.
“Fine,” she said and then trotted down the snow-strewn steps.
“Miss McKenna,” he called before she got too far away.
She whirled around, anticipating the catch. It had been too easy to just walk out. But instead, Graves tossed the giant ring toward her. She plucked it out of the air. Surprise hit her features as she looked at the robin’s egg–size diamond. Why would he give this to her? He’d done everything he could to keep it.
“A show of good faith,” he said.
Oh, he was going to be difficult to work with.
In that moment, she saw that he had as many tricks up his tailored sleeves as she did and more time and experience. She was going to have to be careful to survive him. Because standing there on the threshold of his mansion, holding the very thing she’d come for, with his handsome face half hidden in shadow, it was very hard to even think of anything in his presence.
And that scared her most of all.
Chapter Five
Ethan’s brown eyes were wide with concern when he met her on street level. His hand ghosted over the black coils of his hair before dropping back down to his side in worry. “What the hell happened? You look like you got the shit beat out of you.”
“I did,” she grumbled.
“I kept radioing you and never heard back.”
Kierse remembered the two-way radio crashing to the ground and skittering off into the shadows. She grimaced. “I lost it.”
“You lost it?”
His hand dropped onto his face, running down the brown skin that always looked like it had been dipped in sepia. He was roughly the same height as Kierse but with long, lanky limbs that made him seem taller than he was. And right now, with him drawing up in exasperation, he gained a few inches.
“You were right,” she said, trying to hide her limp. “It was a monster. A big monster.”
Ethan made a noise of distress, putting an arm under her shoulders, and she leaned into his strength as the sting slowly eased in her ankle. “I never saw anyone come in or out. What was it? A vamp? Werewolf?”
“Fuck if I know.”
He startled as they ambled down the street. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I mean . . . I don’t know, Ethan. It wasn’t a man, but he wasn’t any kind of monster I’d ever seen or heard of.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I’ll tell you and Gen about it when I get back.”
“Get back?”
She fingered the ring in her pocket and flashed it at him. “I’m going to just take this to Amberdash now.”
His eyes rounded at the sight of the ring. “You got the ring still? Even after breaking the Treaty? What the hell?”
Her eyes darted around the seemingly empty street. “Later, Ethan.”
He blanched as if realizing the severity of the situation. “You should come home now. See Amberdash in the morning.”
She shook her head as they veered east on 75th Street toward Central Park, where they had planned to catch the bus. “I’ll explain when I get home.”
They always recounted the night’s success with Gen. She was the center of their imperfect trio. She was the one who had saved them both from a fate worse than hell.
Ethan’s grip on Kierse tightened. “I’ll come with you.”
She smirked at him. “Come on. I know you’re still planning to see Corey tonight at the festival.”