Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
“But—”
“Go!”
I race up the stairwell so fast the angry tears welling in my eyes almost pop free.
Their threat to spill is heard in my tone when I reply to the goon’s request for me to check in.
“Check in.”
I made it back to my room with only a second to spare, meaning my door remains intact.
My heart is another story.
47
KATIE
“Shh, маленький ягненок, I’m here.”
I jackknife into a half-seated position before straying my eyes around my room. When I see a shadowed figure at the end of my bed, I whack on the lamp so fast it topples to the floor.
“Jesus…” I breathe out the curse word I really want to say before slumping my head back onto my pillow. A shadowy being isn’t standing at the foot of my bed. It is the suitcase I was requested to pack by the goon last night and my winter coat hanging in front of the freestanding closet.
It is lucky I packed early because I zonked out within an hour of eating last night. I haven’t done that in weeks. I guess knowing Ghost isn’t hating on me as badly as I thought loosened some of the heaviness on my shoulders. I just wish it could do something about my jealousy.
He’s engaged. I’m not meant to want a taken man.
But I want him.
Ugh!
After checking that it is light out, I toss off the comforter wrapped around me like a burrito then trudge into the bathroom. I usually wake two or three times throughout the night to pee, but since I slept through last night, my bladder is on the brink of bursting.
Once I’ve done my business, I wash my hands in the vanity sink, grimacing when I catch sight of my reflection in the mirror. One side of my hair is flat as a tack, but the other has faultless curls framing my pale face.
After shrugging off my wish for something to hide my fatigue, I head back into my room to gather the clothes Nun Ellery left out for me last night. They’re white but modest.
My hand shoots up to muffle my scream when I am startled by a large black figure near my stack of drawers. “You really need to stop doing that,” I scold Alek, mumbling through the fingers clamped over my mouth.
“Sorry. I knocked. You must not have heard me since you were in the shower.” I don’t get the chance to tell him I haven’t had a shower yet. “We’re heading out in five.”
“Heading where?”
Alek clicks his tongue against his top teeth. “The day I figure out that man’s inner workings will be the day I’ll take my final breath.” He lowers his eyes to my nightie. “Do you want to wear that or get changed?”
“What do you think?” My nighties leave nothing to the imagination, which is highly annoying when you’re trying to hide unwanted flab in your midsection. As I gather up the clothes personally selected for their purity, portions of my exchange with Lera pop into my head. “Lera mentioned she’s going on a plane. Do you think that is what this is about?”
My throat gets scratchy when Alek’s reply comes out shocked. “A plane?” When I nod, he asks, “Does Ghost know?”
“I don’t know.” It’s my turn to shrug. “He was in the pantry when she said it, so he might have heard her.” Although his whereabouts shouldn’t bother me, I can’t help but ask. “Did he stay here last night?”
I’m disappointed when Alek shakes his head. “He comes here every night, though.”
“To check on Lera.”
I realize I mumbled my highly ridiculous comment out loud when Alek laughs. Lera is not my competition. She is a child, for crying out loud. “Lera was only moved here last night.” When my brows furrow, confusion evident on my face, his laugh ramps up, almost making his next statement inaudible. “You, however, have been here for months. If you were two seconds later, you might have passed him in the secret stairwell.” While chuckling at my shocked expression, he nudges his head to my clothes spread out on the bed. “I will wait for you outside while you get dressed.”
I smile in thanks before walking him to the door. The importance of our move is unmissable when I peer down the hallway. All the pricy paintings are being removed and placed into crates, and the antique hallway tables are being protected with white sheets.
We’re not going on a weekend getaway.
The same heavy sentiment hits me when I dress and follow Alek to a long line of SUVs outside. The mansion is being placed into lockdown, and all of Kirill’s top goons are filling the SUV I’m loaded into.
“We’re going to the docks,” I murmur to no one in particular when the landscape registers as familiar. It was several months ago I traveled through here, but I drank in every inch of the landscape since I had been starved of visual stimulation for so long. I’d never forget it.