Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“I had already planned to kill those men. I had taken a contract to find and kill Scorpion and any of his associates. That contract was with several countries, none of which, at that time, was the United States. It just so happened that my rescue mission brought me straight to his camp. Unfortunately, he was gone and so was his inner circle.”
Shabina frowned, trying to think back. Her memories were hazy. She’d been so ill. “He was so angry. He often was, but he’d gotten a message and told everyone that he had to leave immediately. He usually left behind at least two of the men he called his cabinet, but this time he ordered all of them to go with him. At one point, I think he considered taking me, but I was so far gone, he was afraid if he moved me, I’d die.”
“You know for certain he received a message before he left?” There was speculation in Rainier’s voice.
She nodded. The tears were beginning to finally slow, leaving her hiccupping. She was such a mess. She took the tissue he handed her. Rainier always seemed to be prepared for any emergency.
“He was so angry after reading it. Most of his men were afraid of him, and as soon as he began to rage at everyone, they got as far from him as possible. I wanted to make him angrier. I hoped he would kill me. When he was that angry, he looked for any target, and I was often his favorite. I did manage to draw his attention, which normally would have brought him straight to me. He would have beat me with his fists, but he’d already stabbed me multiple times in the thigh and had his men take turns with a whip.”
“Why was he so angry with you?”
“I tried to escape. I was very weak. He’d gone through his starving-me phase, and that hadn’t made me comply. For me, it was just another way to maybe leave the world. A couple of his men had stopped him before he killed me after he dragged me back to camp, but the punishment was the worst I’d ever gone through. Again, his men stopped him, or I know I would have died. He had turned calm after the camp medic told him I wasn’t going to live. He told him if I died, the medic and his entire family would die.”
“That’s Scorpion calm?”
Her body gave a shudder as she took a deep breath, doing her best to regain control. “He isn’t a calm man.” She looked up at him. “He killed the guards that were so good to me, didn’t he?” There was despair in her voice.
“They were dead the moment they signed up to work as mercenaries. All those men were. He’d planned to kill them all along. Deadly Storms just helped him out. In any case, baby, those guards participated in raiding other small tribes and killing innocent people. They may have objected to how far Scorpion was going to torture a young teenage girl, but don’t forget they were paid to kill innocents.”
He was right. She hadn’t thought about that. She should have. It was just that they were the only ones to show her any kindness.
Rainier stroked a hand down the back of her hair. “Let’s get you cleaned up and comfortable, Shabina.”
Instinctively, her hands tightened on his shirt. That usually meant he was going to leave. He needed to leave, but it was the last thing she wanted.
Chapter Eleven
Shabina shook her head. “Don’t go yet, Rainier. I know you have to, but not yet. I’ll be able to deal with all of this in another few minutes. I’ve almost stopped crying. I don’t even know where that came from.”
“I didn’t say anything about leaving, baby.” His arms tightened around her. “You always demand too much of yourself. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to carry you into the bathroom and run a bath for you. Hot water will help your body relax.”
Every muscle and joint in her body felt as if she’d been hit by a truck. The idea of hot water sounded good but being away from Rainier, even for a few minutes, was terrifying. After the ordeal of the past few weeks, she didn’t want to let go of him. She felt safe for the first time in months.
Compulsively, her fingers clutched in his shirt. When she was with him, she felt she could find her strength to fight on, even if it was just for a short period of time.
He stood smoothly. A Rainier move. He was a big man, all muscle, but when he moved, he flowed across the ground, almost as if he glided above it. Shabina never understood how he could so easily lift her when she wasn’t small. She might be on the shorter side, but she had curves. He acted like she didn’t weigh anything at all. He carried her right through to the master bath and sat on the edge of the tub, turning on the taps with one hand, keeping her secure on his lap with the other.