Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
From the outside, it looked like we had a normal life.
I’m tired and feeling heavy by the time I drag myself off the floor. I’m about to put everything away when I hear a noise from downstairs that makes me go very still.
Sheila shouldn’t be home yet. She rarely leaves early. She always says, a quitter never hits it big, not in bingo, not in life. And she basically never wins.
There’s the noise again. A thump of a cabinet closing. I drift to the door, stomach tightening. I hear ice hitting a glass.
Someone’s making a drink.
“Hello? Aunt Sheila?” I go to the stairs and listen. There’s no answer. “Are you home early?”
I drift down the steps. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. Clearly, she just left before bingo was over for once.
But instead of Sheila, I find my fiancé standing in the kitchen.
He’s got Sheila’s bottle of good whiskey at his elbow. He lifts his tumbler to his lips and takes a sip. I stare at him, not sure what the hell is happening right now.
“Did you follow me here?” I blurt out.
He tilts his head. “Yes, I did.”
“You’re not even going to try to deny it?”
“I could lie if you want.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” I’m so outraged, and I’m not even sure why. “What are you doing here, Declan?”
“Making sure you weren’t doing something stupid.” He takes another sip. “Which you are.”
I glare at him, barely controlling my anger. “I’m allowed in my own house.”
“Nobody said you weren’t.”
“So what’s stupid about this?”
“It almost seems like you forgot there’s a very talented killer on the loose who happens to want you dead.”
My hands ball into fists. “Don’t try to scare me.”
“Maybe you need to be scared, princess. You don’t seem to be thinking clearly anyway.” He puts the glass down and comes toward me. “What don’t you understand about staying under my protection?”
“I was just visiting my aunt.”
“While she’s at bingo?”
My lips twitch with surprise. “How did you know that?”
“I know everything about you, Casey. I know when you wake up, when you fall asleep, what you dream about. And I know your aunt will never win that damn Coach bag for as long as she lives, mostly because she only hears half the balls that get called.” He stands in front of me, tall and beautiful. I’m so pissed I could scream.
“Why are you hiding things about my parents?” I hope the abrupt change in conversation will knock him off guard, but it doesn’t have much of an effect. He only continues to stare at me, saying nothing. “What did my parents do to make Senesi hate them so much? What did they really do? And why’s he coming after me?”
“Your parents sent him to prison. That’s all I know.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Ask someone who was there.”
“Why do you know all this? And why does Sheila act like she and you are familiar with each other?”
He leans in closer. “None of this matters.”
“It does to me.”
“You can’t sneak away anymore, Casey. Not until we’ve dealt with Senesi.”
“What happened to having freedom? Isn’t that what we discussed?”
“You can’t be free if you’re a corpse.”
“Stop trying to scare me.”
He reaches out and takes my arm. It’s not painful, but it’s firm. “You need a little fear in your life.”
I yank away and take a step back, my heart racing. He doesn’t move to come after me. “I’ve been terrified every second of every day since I found Natalie stabbed to death. Don’t you talk to me about needing fear, you asshole.”
His expression softens a touch. “Then listen to me. Don’t go places alone. I can assign guards if that’s what you need, but this is about keeping you alive. I don’t want to lose my wife before I’ve even had her.”
The strange, desperate longing in his voice makes me pause. Why does he care so much? What’s so special about me that he’s acting like my death would break him?
Most of the time, Declan couldn’t care less about anything but his work. He’s been treating me like a pair of hands and a set of tits for two years. But now suddenly, it’s like he can’t stop looking at me, and the attention is painful.
It’s almost as scary as this whole Senesi thing.
“Just take me home.” I turn my back on him. I can’t stand that look anymore.
“Are you going to be good?”
“I’m not a dog.”
“I wouldn’t marry you if you were.”
I yank open the front door. “I won’t be stupid at least.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
This trip didn’t reveal hidden secrets or anything like that, but it wasn’t a total waste.
Now I can be sure that Declan’s tracking me somehow.
And he’s also strangely obsessed with me.
But most of all, I’m positive that I’m missing something, and I’m determined to find out exactly what.