Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
That was an impossible dream.
Another thump. She grabbed her toy squirrel, holding her close.
Coco had gotten her through some tough times. Her mom had bought Coco for her a long time ago. Coco had been there for her when Mom died, when her father started drinking, when her teacher started bullying her, making her retreat into herself. And more recently when her brother left her. When Aaron was being a jerk and her dad was being abusive.
So she hugged Coco tight as she heard footsteps and what sounded like someone banging into a wall.
“Mouse! Mouse, get out here and help your old man!” her father yelled.
She stared down at her hands which were trembling. Then she glanced over at the door. Had she locked it?
Of course you locked it.
You always lock it.
And it had a good deadbolt that she’d installed herself.
“Mouse! Get out here now!”
Shit.
She got up and tucked Coco safely away. Who knew what her father would do if he saw her? Devi wasn’t going to risk Coco being harmed.
She unlocked the door and stepped out of the room.
Suddenly, she realized that she should have thought through her actions more. She could have escaped out the window in her room and ran. Where she would have gone, she wasn’t certain. But sometimes it was safer out in the woods than it was in her own home.
At the very least she should have put on more clothes. She stared down at her oversized T-shirt. It wasn’t revealing or sexy. But it also wasn’t that long, ending just past her ass. If she bent over the asshole in her living room would get quite the show.
Fuck.
She took a step back, giving Vega a wary look. Unconsciously, she put her hand over the bruise on her arm. His gaze went to her arm and he licked his lips.
Her heart raced at the weird look on his face. What was wrong with this guy? Did he get off on knowing that he’d bruised her?
She was in real trouble here.
What was he doing in her house in the middle of the night? With her father?
Actually, whatever the reason she didn’t care. She just wanted him gone. Or she could leave.
Whatever got her away from him first.
“Mouse, come and help your old man,” her father slurred his words. Vega held his arm over his shoulder and seemed to be the only reason why her father wasn’t flat on the floor.
But why would Vega be helping her father? It didn’t make sense and she didn’t like the fact that she’d seen him two nights in a row near or in her home.
Nope. She didn’t like that at all.
“Don’t leave,” Vega said with a smirk and she realized that she had backed up so she was nearly in her bedroom.
“Mouse! Get us something to drink!” her father demanded.
Yeah. That wasn’t happening. Why wouldn’t he stop calling her Mouse? Tears filled her eyes and she had to work hard to push them back.
Why couldn’t her father ever be a dad? Why couldn’t he love her? Protect her? Take care of her?
Was that really too much to ask?
It seemed that it was. She didn’t know what it said about her that her own father couldn’t treat her with respect.
So why did she expect it from other men? She certainly didn’t get it from Vega. Or from Aaron. Or some of the guys in the bar.
But Mac has always shown you respect.
Hayes did too. And she’d only spoken briefly to Donovan but he’d seemed like a decent man.
They were out there. Good men like her brother.
She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “There isn’t any.”
“What?” her father roared, making her wince.
Shit.
She shouldn’t be showing any reaction in front of Vega. He might be a jerk, but that didn’t mean that he was stupid. He was likely reading her like a book.
“I told you to get me some fucking alcohol, girl!” Her father tried to step forward and for some reason Vega chose to let him go. He fell onto the floor in a heap.
She gulped but didn’t move. She wasn’t going to put herself closer to his zone.
That would be stupid.
“Hey! Pick me the fuck up!” her father yelled.
Vega just shot him a cold look. She could ask him to help her get her father into his bedroom. But she really didn’t want to give him any reason to stay longer.
“What are you doing here? With my father?” she asked.
Vega shrugged. “Just doing my good deed for the day.”
She snorted. “Right. You don’t have any good in you.”
Vega smirked as though he found her hilarious. She didn’t like that he found her interesting. She’d rather he forget that she existed.
“I found him like this sitting on the side of the road. Could have left him there to get run over.”