Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“Take a deep breath,” I order, my voice hard but not cruel.
She takes a shaky breath, still looking up at me.
“And another, keep going until you feel calmer.”
She does, in and out, her chest rising and falling, until finally she settles enough for me to speak with her.
“Want to tell me what happened in there tonight? What got you so wound up you’re cryin’ like this?”
“I ...” she croaks. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Firstly,” she tells me, “you’re a biker and you just said you’d break his neck ...”
His.
It’s about a man.
Now I most certainly will break the little fucker’s neck.
My jaw tics but, thankfully, she is glancing down at her feet so she misses it. I need to know what caused that reaction in her tonight. I need to know who frightened her. Someone did. That much I’m sure of. Now I need to know who and where the hell I can find him. My fingers twitch at the thought, but I keep a calm composure and reach for her, gently taking her chin in my hand and tilting her head back. She gasps a little, those pretty pink lips parting, and her eyes meet mine.
“I’m not here to hurt you or make your life harder. You don’t know me well yet, so I understand your hesitation, but you can trust me. I’d never do a fuckin’ thing to put you in harm’s way. I want to know what made you so damned scared out there you froze like you had just seen a ghost walk on stage and start singin’ your song.”
She blinks, and looks away even though I’m holding her face.
“Eyes back to me,” I order. “Now.”
She swings her eyes back to me.
“Talk to me. Please.”
She exhales, and holds my gaze. “Do you promise me I can trust you?”
“Promise.”
“And promise you won’t do anything with what I tell you?”
I frown. “Depends.”
“On what?” she asks.
“On the extent of it. If someone has hurt you, I can’t promise you I won’t go and rip that little weasel limb from fuckin’ limb.”
She smiles again. “I’m detecting a big hint of aggression inside you, Maverick.”
“Plenty in there for the wrong people, darlin’. Now spill.”
She sighs. “Okay. If you let my chin go, we’ll sit down, and I’ll tell you everything.”
I let her chin go.
And we sit down.
And she tells me everything.
~*~*~*~
SCARLETT
“He was my ex.”
I don’t really know where to start, so I just dive in for the most obvious choice. The one that pretty much explains most of it and covers a whole lot of ground. I watch Maverick’s face for any clues of what he’s thinking but he doesn’t make a twitch. He just watches me, eyes intense, and nods for me to go on.
I know I shouldn’t really be telling him any of this. I’m not supposed to talk with anyone about it, for my own safety but, honestly, I’m tired of having no one to talk to. Seeing him in the crowd tonight, after well over a year of nothing, just standing there, staring at me with that cold, evil grin on his face, it took the breath clean out of my lungs. Fear gripped me, and I could see nothing, feel nothing, do nothing. He raised a hand, wiggled his fingers in a terrifying wave, and disappeared.
Susan didn’t believe me.
That makes me so ... so ... bitterly disappointed. Especially considering she didn’t believe me the last time and it nearly got me killed. I know she has reason to doubt. They checked with security right away. Nobody saw him come in, and nobody saw him come out. Nothing on the cameras. What they don’t understand is that Treyton Jay Wilder is a smart fucking man and he has a way around everything. Everything.
I did have moments after he first disappeared where I swore he was watching me and used to freak out, but I had reason to. I was scared all the time. Afraid he would come back. That he’d hurt me somehow. Susan thinks this is another one of those times—she thinks I imagined what I saw. She’s wrong. I haven’t had one of those moments for so long. It was him tonight. I’m certain of it.
I just don’t understand why.
And that terrifies me to my core.
“Goin’ to tell me more, or do I have to guess?” Maverick says, snapping me from my thoughts.
I take a deep breath. Screw it. I need someone on my side for once. And I know Maverick will believe me. Mostly, I know he’ll look out for me. That feels nice. To have someone covering your back, not because they’re paid to, but because they care, and they believe in you, and they don’t want to see you hurt.
“We were together a little over two years. At first, everything was good. He used to come on tour with me, we had fun. He seemed like a good guy. It didn’t last long, maybe four or so months. Then he started getting short tempered, and disappearing every night for hours, getting all these strange phone calls, things like that ...”