Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Kade isn’t in my bedroom when I enter it, so I muster the strength to go downstairs.
I slowly descend the stairs and freeze halfway down. It’s gone. It’s all gone. The body. The blood. The lamp, my dress, and shoes. All of it is clean, no remainders of what had occurred less than thirty minutes ago. The only thing that proves I wasn’t hallucinating the whole ugly mess is Kade standing there in the space.
“Upstairs. You need to get dressed. After that, we’ll work out your story,” he murmurs, but I’m still so frozen with shock that I can’t make myself move. “Move your ass,” he growls. “I can’t stay here forever, and we need to make sure you know exactly what to say.” It’s not his usual growl, but still a snap, as if he knows his tone is the only thing that will motivate me.
I don’t care right now whether he likes me. Or if I like him. Lord knows he’s put me through it lately. But he’s here, and he’s helping me. I cling to that as tight as I can. I scurry up the stairs and rush into my bedroom. As soon as I enter, I drop my robe and pull out a pair of pajamas from the dresser.
Kade walks in as I’m dressing, and I can feel his eyes assessing me.
“Your story.” His voice is sharp enough, intense enough to cut through any shock still holding me back. “Here’s what happened. He brought you home. Straight home. Repeat that.”
“Jackson brought me straight home,” I whisper.
My throat hurts so much, though I can’t tell whether it was the screaming or Jackson choking me that made my voice raspy. Kade’s eyes roam every inch of my face, but it isn’t until he reaches my throat that the murderous look appears in his eyes.
“I want to bring him back to life so that I can kill him my fuckin’ self for touching you.”
I don’t know what to say, or even think, about that. I know he cares in his twisted way, know he considers me to be his, but he can’t mean anything other than as his possession, right?
He clenches his jaw and then continues. “He dropped you off. You were upset, but all you wanted was a shower and to go to bed. You wanted to put everything behind you. Say it.”
“I wanted to forget everything that happened tonight. I just wanted to get to sleep and forget all of it.”
“That’s good. Now this is the most important part. Are you listening to me?”
I nod. It’s a relief to be told what to do. I don’t have to think. I only have to listen.
“Jackson drove away. You don’t know where he went. He didn’t tell you anything. He left after you came inside, and that is the last you saw of him. Understood?”
Right away, something tickles at the back of my mind. “But the guardhouse. What about the—”
“They weren’t down there. Not sure why. You got lucky tonight.”
Sure. Lucky.
“And the security camera footage can be erased. I have someone working on it now,” he adds, ignoring my surprise.
How does he even know what to do here?
How did he get everything cleaned up? How long was I in the shower?
“How did you do this? How is everything gone?”
“This isn’t my first rodeo, Allie. Now focus on getting your story straight.” He checks the time on his phone and scowls. “The clock’s ticking. I want to hear it. What happened tonight?”
I need to get it together. First, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Jackson dropped me off at the house. He…”
Kade’s hands grip my arms, and he squeezes. Not hard enough to hurt, but firmly. “Come on,” he urges. “You have to be convincing.”
I pull in another breath. “I was upset when Jackson dropped me off. He didn’t say anything about what he was doing after he left me here. He only waited until I got inside, and then he left. I took a shower, and I got into bed. I just…” I drag my tongue over my lips to moisten them. “I just wanted to forget everything that happened at the gala.”
“That’s right. That’s exactly what you did.”
He releases me and drags a hand through his hair. Again, I notice how clean he is. Especially for a tux. He couldn’t have done this, right? There was so much blood, it would be all over him. Wouldn’t it? I don’t understand.
He catches me staring and narrows his eyes. “What?”
“I don’t understand. I can’t remember anything. I didn’t…”
“You didn’t what?” he asks.
“I didn’t do this. I didn’t kill him.”
Kade scoffs, and it would’ve been kinder if he had slapped me. “Allie. Come on... who else could have? You’re the only one in the house.” I start to shake my head, unable to believe that I could do something so horrible. Kade senses my distress and defuses it. “It’s okay, though. You did it to save yourself, and if he did that to you, he would’ve done it to others. Probably already has done it to someone else.”