Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
But Paige was a grown woman, not a child. From what I’d seen, she was smart and level-headed. She could make her own choices about what she did with her personal time. And I knew what I’d told her was true. If it ever came to a conflict between us, Griffen wouldn’t give me a second chance. Not if he thought I was taking advantage of a staff member—especially not if that staff member was his daughter’s nanny.
All of that should have had me turning away. Instead, I was distracted, wondering if I’d find Paige in my bed that night or if I’d have to hunt her down. I was glad she’d asked me to keep what was between us a secret. Just a little bit longer to have her all to myself. Everyone outside our secluded end of the guest wing could leave us alone. Here, it was just the two of us. Crappy lighting, dodgy electrical, questionable heat—I’d take it all to be alone with Paige.
I checked my phone. Nothing from Griffen, but it was too early for him to have gotten in touch with the prison. Just the thought of going back there turned my stomach. I still had nightmares. The heat in the summer. The cold in the winter. The clang of the doors. Once I’d gotten out, it had taken me almost a month to relax enough to take a deep breath. Aside from my bedroom, the library downstairs was one of the only places I was truly comfortable.
I felt more like myself these days than I had in a long time. But picturing the prison in my mind, all the progress I’d made dissolved. My chest went tight, my gut tied itself in a knot. I couldn’t breathe.
Fuck. I had to get past it. I had to hold it together if I wanted to get to the bottom of this.
I needed to see Cole, to look him in the eyes for the first time since I’d learned he was the one who had set me up for my father’s murder. I needed to know what he had planned next. I had to face him. The only way to do that was to go to the prison. I wouldn’t show him my weakness, couldn’t let him see how off-balance being back there would make me. I needed to get my shit together.
With nothing but time to kill, I got up, threw on a T-shirt and athletic shorts, and jogged down to the gym. If I had any hope of putting Griffen on his ass the next time we sparred, I needed to get in better shape. I had no illusions that I was going to get into the kind of physical condition Griffen and Hawk maintained. They were both a little scary, as was the rest of Hawk’s security team. But once, I’d been fit, strong, and agile. I’d let go of all of that in prison and hadn’t reclaimed it since I’d been out. It was time.
Maybe I could get my out-of-shape ass back into the kind of condition I’d need to go trail running again. Heartstone Manor was surrounded by trails, and there’d been a time when I’d loved nothing more than to kill a few hours sweating it out in the cool shade of the forest. For now, I’d make do with the treadmill.
An hour later, my phone chimed. Griffen.
We’re good to go whenever you’re ready.
I’m in the gym. Need a shower. 30 minutes.
He sent back a thumbs-up. The run had burned off some of my tension. I could do this. I could go back there, face Cole Haywood, and find out what I needed to know. I could do it because, unlike Cole, I’d be going home after our conversation.
Griffen met me in the garage, standing at the door with his keys in his hand. He scanned me and gave a nod, though I wasn’t sure what the nod was for. Approval at what I was wearing? I’d dressed casually in a dress shirt and pants. No tie, no suit. I didn’t want the extra armor. It felt too much like overcompensating. I didn’t need a suit to establish the difference between Cole and me. I remembered every moment of wearing that orange uniform. How diminished I’d felt when Cole or my family had come to visit. I wished I had the confidence to roll into the prison wearing jeans and an old T-shirt, but I wasn’t there yet. I wasn’t sure I ever would be.
Griffen didn’t say anything as we got into the SUV, appearing lost in thought. Silence reigned until the prison sign appeared on the highway.
“You ready for this?” Griffen asked quietly, his eyes flicking to me then back to the road.
My gut reaction was to put up a front. Sure, yeah, I can handle anything. I opened my mouth and snapped it shut. That wasn’t the way—not if I wanted to fix things with my brother. Putting up fronts was how I’d gotten myself in this mess in the first place. I leaned my head back against the headrest and looked up at the fabric of the ceiling. “Ready to see Cole again, or ready to go back in that prison?” I asked.