Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 215412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 862(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 862(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
Carl and Jasper close ranks, more assertive than usual, funneling me toward the harbor. I let them move me along, but my eyes stray over my shoulder, remaining fixed on Jag.
He removes the phone from his pocket and taps the screen.
A vibration buzzes against my palm, and I look down.
Jag: How’s your boy?
Me: Don’t touch him.
Jag: I didn’t.
The dots bounce. Pause. Bounce again.
Jag: Can’t say he didn’t touch me.
My breath punches out, and I slam to a stop.
“Miss Rath.” Jasper nudges me forward. “We need to—”
“I need to answer this text. Give me a minute.” Subtly, I peer toward the alley and glare at the shadow still lingering there.
Me: What did you do?
Jag: You know and you’ll think about it tonight when you’re alone.
The words blur. My throat burns. I almost drop the phone.
Why am I surprised? This is what he does. As long as he lives, he’ll steal every person I care about. He steals them. Then he kills them.
Me: Why can’t you leave me alone? Please. Just walk away. Let me go.
Jag: Little Bird, walking away from you is the one sin I’ll never commit.
Little Bird.
Shimmery, traitorous warmth flushes my cheeks and sweeps through my bloodstream before doubt crashes in.
He speaks in venomous lullabies, always half-truth and half-hook. He knows how to string me between craving and loathing until I forget how deadly he is.
This has to stop.
As Carl and Jasper shift impatiently, scanning the perimeter, Jag sinks deeper into the shadows. I know he’s still there, watching me from the darkness. I feel him more than I see him, that glaring, overprotective aura embracing me too tightly. Suffocating.
I tear my eyes away and let the guards guide me down the street.
Their presence forms an iron wall around me, but I still feel my stepbrother, pursuing his prey, his jaguar eyes slicing into my back, and branding me with a vow I feel in my bones.
Soon.
I can only assume that means one thing. The sooner he has me, the sooner he can throw me away.
At the pier, tourists crowd in clusters. Locals haul crates, and fishermen shout over gulls. All the usual chaos. But amid the bustle of bodies, someone stands out.
Not a fisherman. Not a tourist or commuter. Not anyone with a purpose. Just an average man wearing average street clothes. Dressed to vanish into a crowd.
He doesn’t move. Doesn’t fumble for a phone or glance at the sky. He just stands there, still as a statue, his eyes fixed on me like I’m the only thing that exists.
It’s not his face or his stance that lifts the hairs on my nape. It’s his watchfulness. He tracks me like it’s his job. Like a thug. Only he doesn’t look like a thug. Doesn’t need to. I feel it in my tingling scalp and dampening palms.
My steps falter as I peer over my shoulder. My gaze arrows through the sea of people and immediately lands on Jag. But his focus isn’t on me. It’s locked on the man.
Carl and Jasper notice the threat, too. They tighten around me instantly, their postures humming with alertness.
“Keep walking.” Jasper’s assertive grip belies his casual tone. “Don’t slow down.”
“Faster, Miss Rath.” Carl presses close behind.
I match their pace, my nerves unraveling. But I’m not afraid. Not with Jag in sight. I may never be safe from him, but no one else will hurt me while he’s near.
“Kai! Let’s move.” Carl shoves me onto the gangway and raises his voice at the captain. “Get us off the pier now!”
The engines hum alive, Kai already at the helm, as we climb aboard. The deck tilts as he guns it, propellers churning froth, speeding us away.
I grip the rail, knuckles white, eyes on the crowd shrinking behind us.
Jag floats through the swirl of bodies, effortlessly gliding toward the man with a predatory calm in every step.
But the man… He’s gone. Vanished.
Only the echo of his stare lingers, crawling over my skin, a cold reminder that Jag might not be the only one stalking me.
The ride feels too long. My pulse spins harder than the engines. Through the rain-smeared glass, the island rises out of the water, black trees crowding the shore, the stone mansion crouched and waiting.
We dock, and Carl and Jasper flank me to the house with no space to breathe. No chance to slip away. Their boots keep pace with mine as we hurry up the path.
Monty steps out before I veer toward the guest house, his silhouette sharp against the porch light. His expression hardens the second he sees the guards glued to me.
“Where’s Wolf?” His eyes flick to me, quick and assessing, then back to them.
“He returned home on his yacht several hours ago.” Jasper shares a look with Carl.
Monty pivots toward the guest house.
“Sir.” Carl plants a hand in his path. “We have a situation.”