Series: The Circle of Monsters Series by Sam Crescent
Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
“Where are we going exactly?” she asked.
Galen snapped back into the present. “Don’t ask.”
There was a barely audible gasp, but she kept her face neutral. He strapped on his gun harness, loaded up, then grabbed his jacket.
It wasn’t too hot outside. This time of year could be either hot or comfortable. He motioned to the black SUV and she rounded the truck and got in the passenger side.
“How many cars do you have?” she asked.
“A few. I like to mix things up. It’s never a good idea to be too predictable.”
He pulled out of the dirt driveway and headed toward the city. For a few minutes, he felt like a normal guy on any normal day, but nothing about his life was ordinary. Today was a fantasy, playing a role that wasn’t meant for him, nothing more. But he’d enjoy every moment of it. And she deserved to have a day without looking over her shoulder.
“Have you talked with Viko?” she asked.
“Relax, Skye. I’m not killing you today.”
“You’re wearing at least two guns.”
He shrugged. “I never leave the house without firepower.”
“Okay...” Then she shifted in her seat to face him. “Are you taking me somewhere so someone else can kill me?”
This time he couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m taking you to lunch. That’s it. I’m not trying to trick you.”
Within minutes he parked at the lakefront restaurant and cut the engine. She looked around, with shock and confusion on her face.
She joined him on the walkway. “A restaurant? For real?”
He took her hand and led her to the front doors. Galen felt proud to have her at his side, and an unexpected wave of possessiveness washed over him.
“Am I underdressed?” she asked once they stepped into the lobby.
Galen shook his head. He could feel her trepidation. “You’re perfect the way you are.”
Her long red hair was brushed out smooth, and her natural beauty was incomparable to any of the women he knew. Skye was refreshing. Real. She made him want to drop his walls and the act and just live.
He got them a table for two with a view of the water on the patio.
She smiled after settling in her seat.
“What’s funny?” he asked.
“Nothing. It’s just that this kind of feels like a date.”
“Is that so dumb?”
Skye shrugged. “You know the situation. I’m basically a prisoner until I’m killed. And that time is still up in the air.”
He leaned back in his seat, his face stoic. It was hard fucking with her when she was so open and honest.
“I’m not going to kill you.”
“Maybe not today.”
“No, not ever.” He moved closer, resting his forearms on the table.
“But Viko…”
“I said I won’t kill you.”
“Why not? What’s changed?”
What could he tell her? That he was falling in love with a girl he barely knew? An innocent breath of fresh air that he couldn’t imagine living a day without? She was changing him, one hour and day at a time. But all these feelings were useless because nothing could become real between them. His world was only smoke and mirrors.
“I’ve changed,” he admitted. “I don’t know, Skye. You’ve changed me.”
She stopped smiling and fidgeted, staring at him directly in the eyes. The tips of their fingers touched across the small table.
“What does that mean?” she whispered.
“Maybe in another life, another time, things could have been different. But it’s not as simple as boy meets girl.”
“Why not?”
He swallowed hard. Could she feel the same fierce attraction and connection for him that he felt for her? It didn’t seem possible. Women usually wanted him for his body or his status in the Circle of Monsters. They didn’t want the man, didn’t want to know what broke him. Skye asked all the hard questions, even though he rarely gave answers.
Galen grabbed her hands in his. “You know what I am, what I do. You’re better than me, not to mention how dangerous this lifestyle is.”
“Shouldn’t that be my choice?”
“You want to risk your life?” he asked.
“I want to be with you.”
He pulled his hands away as if burned. This was what he wanted, wasn’t it? She must be fucking with his head, toying with his emotions. Skye was everything, and what was he? Some reject foster kid with nothing and no one in this world. She couldn’t be serious.
Galen left the table. He needed to think, to breathe, maybe splash some water onto his face. She was making him deal his real feelings for her and they were no joke. It terrified him that he’d allowed himself to fall this deep, this fast. Part of him wanted to embrace it, the other part was used to running from everything. It was safer. Easier.
****
Skye felt a unique attraction to Galen. She kept reminding herself she was his captive, but she still refused to listen to her conscience. He was different. She didn’t feel like a prisoner in his house. It was hard because of all the unknowns and the things she wished could happen between them. Now, he’d basically stated he felt the same way. He couldn’t just throw that out there and then deny their connection. They may have met in the most unorthodox of ways, but it could have been fate all along. No one became a hit man by choice. They were created in the dark corners of trauma and abuse. She wanted to heal him, to create something beautiful together. Yet, no matter how much she wanted to belong to Galen, she knew he’d push her away.