Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
The agony swirling through my chest immediately begins to fade, replaced with nothing but pure need and desire, and just as I feel the tip of his cock pressing against my entrance, his phone rings from his bedside table.
“Fuck,” he groans, his lips moving against my skin, both of us recognizing the particular tone for the station, knowing he’s being called out. “I’m sorry, doll.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper, feeling the exact moment the desire dies inside of me, allowing the pain to come soaring back.
Knight releases my hands and reaches for his phone as he rolls off me, already getting to his feet. When he answers the call, I can’t help but watch him stride through his room and into the closet, already reaching for his uniform.
Knight finishes with his call, tossing his phone down on a shelf in the closet as he pulls his shirt over his head. “Active shooter situation,” he explains. “I’ll be gone a few hours, but I need you to stay right here where I know you’re safe.”
I nod, not having any plans to take off just yet. Plus, after last night, I don’t know if I’ll be safe in my apartment. My stalker has been biding his time, and now that there’s a creepy message telling me the clock is ticking, I don’t know if trapping myself in my apartment is really the smartest idea.
“Okay,” he finally says, stepping up to the edge of the bed. He grips my ankle and drags me across the mattress until I’m right in front of him, his eyes locked on mine. “You call me if you need anything and I will come.”
I swallow over the growing lump in my throat, hating how emotional his words are making me. “Promise.”
He watches me a moment longer, and after deciding that I’ll probably be fine, he turns on his heel and strides out of his bedroom, taking his tactical belt with him. His footsteps pound down the hall, and the front door opens, closes, and the lock clicks into place. A wave of loneliness crashes over me, and I scootch down into the blankets and drift in and out of sleep for the next few hours.
By the time I wake, it’s almost four in the afternoon, and I let out a frustrated groan, knowing that I’ll have to start getting ready for work soon. I’m really not sure that I can be at work right now, knowing Laith’s body is right there in locker thirty-six—knowing one of my colleagues spent their day opening him up, cracking his chest, and looking over his body. Just the thought that someone would have had their hands wrapped around his heart . . . fuck.
My stomach twists, and I grab my phone, trying to distract myself from the pain. One thing is for sure, if this asshole has started coming after my friends and the people I care most about, then it’s time that Izzy and I have a serious conversation.
I told her about my stalker the very first night I felt his presence in the morgue, but she insisted that it was all in my head, and now I have to tell her that she was wrong, but more than that, she needs to know that she could be caught in the crosshairs just from being someone I love.
Hell, how am I supposed to explain Laith? How am I going to break her heart like that? Sure, she wasn’t as close with Laith as I was, but that doesn’t mean that his death isn’t going to destroy her just as it has me.
Blowing out a shaky breath, I bring up her number, knowing I need to do this now rather than later, and before I’ve even put the phone to my ear, her too chirpy voice is coming through the line. “Girl, where the hell have you been? I’ve sent you like a billion messages today. I need to tell you . . . wait. I know exactly where you’ve been!” she laughs to herself. “Tell me you’ve been getting dicked down by Knight fucking Slater all day!”
“I . . .” I let out a heavy sigh. “Iz, I . . . fuck.”
There’s a slight pause, and it’s as if she’s waiting for me to figure out what the hell I’m calling for, and honestly, I’ve got no fucking idea. How am I supposed to put any of this into words?
“Harper?” she murmurs, her tone shifting, clearly picking up that something’s going on. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to tell you something,” I murmur, my heart breaking for a whole new reason. “It’s important, and really fucked up, and I need you to have an open mind, but . . . damn it. I don’t know how to tell you this.”
“Tell me what?”
“It’s Laith,” I say, getting choked up. “Something—” A noise sounds from deeper in the house and my words fall away as my blood runs cold.