Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Panic hit her. If she turned back to him, he would know it was her. If she continued forward, she would lead him into danger. On either side of the street, she saw nothing but houses closed up for afternoon siestas.
She had nowhere to go—and she had to act fast.
But was there really a choice? Trees had to come first.
She turned around, determined to prevent Victor from spotting him during his drive into town and deciding it was a fabulous time for revenge. Trees was already on her. She ran into his chest with a gasp.
“Laila.” He plucked the sunglasses from her face as the wind blew her hat away.
She was too ensnared by his nearness to protest.
He looked more intense and even more manly than she remembered. And more beloved. He cupped her shoulders, fastening his stare on her, his green eyes so sharp and full of concern. Laila froze. Every nerve stood on end. Heat sizzled everywhere he touched her. She’d missed him far more than she wanted to admit and ached to press herself against him, to throw herself into his arms and give herself completely to him.
But that was her emotion talking. She couldn’t let her feelings rule her. They weren’t real. The coming danger was. “You shouldn’t be here. Go. Please. Return to Louisiana. Do not look for me again.”
“I’m not leaving without you. Tell me what happened. Why did you take off? You could have stayed in the panic room and been safe.”
She couldn’t waste time explaining that Victor had threatened to burn his house down. It was more important to persuade him to leave this town and this country—and her—behind.
“I did not want to be safe. I wanted to be free. Let me go.”
“Whatever you’re doing here, whatever reason you had for walking out, I know it had something to do with keeping your family safe. Ensuring that isn’t your job; it’s mine. I’m going to make sure you, your sister, and your nephew are protected. All you have to do is tell me what’s going on.”
No wonder she’d been falling for this man. He was noble and watchful. Kind and heroic. And she hadn’t believed in him until it was too late.
You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone…
And like a fool, she’d spent so much of her time with him scheming to escape. She had only ever let herself believe in him for a few moments in the dark, in secret, when he’d made love to her after killing Hector. For that one night, she had closed her eyes, pretended to be a woman without a violent past, and given herself to Trees completely.
Laila shook her head. “There is nothing to tell. I do not want you here. Go and leave me be.”
“Trees?” the other man in the cowboy hat called with a bob of his head up the street.
On the corner, Gustavo stood, watching their every move.
Laila tried not to panic, but the mechanic would call Victor, who was likely already on his way. There would be violence, and since not many men were as tall as Trees, Victor would know immediately who had come to town and why.
Before she could wriggle away, Trees plucked her off the ground. As if she weighed nothing, he carried her between the nearest two houses, ignoring her struggles, until they were out of Gustavo’s sight.
He pushed her against the wall, palms beside her head, caging her in. “I will never leave you. I will never stop coming for you. So tell me why you went with Victor, let me fix it, then I’ll take you home, Laila. And I’ll love you for the rest of my life.”
His words wrenched her heart. There was nothing she wanted more than to throw herself against him, arms and legs clinging, as she lost herself in him and pretended danger didn’t exist.
Impossible.
Tears welled in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but she wasn’t quick enough. As one rolled down her cheek, she bit her lip to hold in a sob and tried to wrench away before he saw her weakness.
Too late.
“Laila.” His rough voice caressed her. He cradled her head in his massive hands, fingers thrusting into her hair. “Little one…”
She was powerless to stop him when he surged forward and covered her with his big body, plastering her against the wall. He captured her lips with his and swallowed her whimper as she opened helplessly to him, welcoming the press of his mouth and the drive of his tongue. She clung to him. As she drowned in his kiss, she dug her nails into his shoulders, silently begging for more, as she writhed to get even closer. For one selfish moment, she ignored everything, fearing that now would have to last her for the rest of her life.