Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Well, now that Los Angeles has become a war zone,”—I sighed, glancing up at the multiple freeway overpasses above us—“where do we go?”
I trembled from the chill. Winter wasn’t here yet, but the icy coldness of evening nipped through my dirty sweatsuit.
“Gimme a second to figure out our next move.” The adrenaline faded from Jamie’s face and then came uncertainty before his handsome features faded into cold, tactical clarity. Gah. I had watched too many action flicks and read too many similar books. Maybe to prepare for this?
Scratching my head, which felt like a nest of cobwebs, I asked, “Um, I noticed someone has been blowing up your phone. Do we need to ditch it? And the laptop?” Yep. My life was actors and the heroes in books that took me away from the sin I lived in.
Jamie chuckled. “You’re a regular auld spy.”
Embarrassment clawed up my throat, so I snapped, “You mean old.”
“That’s what I said.”
“No, you said auld. Okay. Gerard Butler?”
“Who?”
Actor. “Oh, never mind.”
He offered a perfectly laid eye roll, then pulled me into his arms. “Admit it, you like my accent. One I didn’t know I had until you said so. Maybe all this alpha male rage brings the Scots outta me?”
“Hah. I’m inclined to agree with that. The angrier you get, the thicker it gets.” I winked, letting him know that he always sounded Scottish.
Jamie rolled his eyes again, like he still didn’t believe it, but humored me anyway. “Alright, alright. Don’t say it out loud, though a nod will do.”
I snorted. “As if.”
He chuckled, squeezing my hips. “I love how you insist on having the last word.”
And I loved how he’d incorporated the L-word in this conversation. I pulled away from him. “Look at you, tryna make a Black girl blush.”
“Trying?” He scoffed. “Mission accomplished. Or shall I say, this mission wasn’t impossible?”
“Mm-hmm, a Mission Impossible reference?” I chuckled.
As he held me in his arms, I glanced over at a couple starting a fire in a trashcan to warm the night. Jamie caught my attention with the rough padding of his thumb along my jaw. “When we marry, I’ll make you blush all the way to your toes.”
My heart rate raced to a crescendo. “After all my attempts to torture you—nothing. And here you are returning the favor. Talk of marriage has me weak in the knees. And why here? Ugh.” This entire scenario, with us standing here, brought those reckless teenage summer romances I used to read to the forefront of my mind. Covered in dirt, we were a mess, yet my desire for him was at the highest point. “If we were somewhere else …”
“On that note,” he chuckled. “This is why I’m so honest with affection for you. Right here. So that we don’t ruin our abstinence quest.”
What abstin— “Can we just go?” Before one of these tents starts to look appealing with me and you and the audience of insects that are no doubt in it.
“Actually, not until it’s fully dark.” Jamie stopped near overturned wooden crates by the steel trash bin, now transformed into a fire pit. We sat down. I stilled myself from trembling from the chilly air. The sweat from all our running wasn’t doing me any favors now. He swung his backpack off, crouched down to Rebel. As he unraveled her bandages, I removed the items to cleanse her wound. “Oh, dear girl,” he sighed.
I’d fallen asleep before the veterinarian finished surgery, but even I could tell she’d bled too much. I handed him an alcohol prep pad. My eyes scanned the homeless couple who sat opposite the trash can, whispering and flicking glances across the flames at us. Why so suspicious? I didn’t have a phobia per se, but we had enough money in Jamie’s backpack that I wouldn’t be mad if they and all their homies fought us for it. Couldn’t be mad. I’d given the In-N-Out lady a couple of bills that I’d forgotten to make IOUs for.
Yeah. Quite irrelevant under the circumstances. I focused on what mattered. “I can’t believe I’m asking this, Jamie … Can we call your parents? I still don’t know if we need to ditch your electronics.”
“Oh, yeah. You looked genuinely concerned. I didn’t answer you. Sorry.” Jamie’s hands moved with compassion and precision as he re-bandaged Rebel. “Phones track location even when powered off, but I’ve disabled mine. We’re good. Did the same with my laptop.”
“So, we can call your parents? Or your brother.” My eyes narrowed as I captured the memory of me and the other handsome MacKenzie’s brief argument. What was his name? “Call Leith.”
“No. I don’t trust them, JorJor.”
“Why?”
“Before I was interrupted by the cops”—he glanced over his shoulder, as if ready to fight—“I’d told you that for some reason you slipped my mind while growing up. I remembered so much of it. There were so many times that I wished to God I couldn’t recall a single thing while wrestling with the darkness that drowned me. After I found that little girl, I took back every time I begged God to make it all go away. I’d remember every moment as long as I could remember you.”