Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 73153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
My eyes snapped over to my dad's figure pounding down the sidewalk, getting closer and closer to me. If this guy didn't let me go, I was going to lose.
I couldn't let him hurt me again.
"Let me go,” I snarled through clenched teeth.
The stranger shoved me behind his body right as my dad came to a stop in front of him, his breathing labored. "Boy, I would appreciate it if you would give my daughter to me—right now."
I whimpered, a tear leaking out of my eye. This was it.
He was going to hurt me again.
"Sir, I'd advise you to turn around and go the fuck home. I promise, if you bother this pretty young lady right here ever again, you'll wish you'd never had."
My dad met my eyes over the guy's shoulder. "This," he said, gesturing between me and him, "is not over."
I gulped, fear trickling down my spine. My dad stalked away, and only when the guy was sure he wouldn't be turning back around did he turn to face me.
"You alright?" The anger was now gone from his eyes, only holding concern.
I rubbed my head, suddenly feeling light-headed when it began pounding. "I don't feel so good," I muttered.
I collapsed against him as everything went dark.
TREVOR
I snatched my phone up from my nightstand when I saw Gabriel's number come across the screen. He never called me unless it was extremely important, and though I was still waiting on a call from Tracey, something in my gut told me to answer it.
I had met Gabriel back when I was twelve, a year before child services took me from my parents. He took me under his wing, teaching me how to defend myself.
I hadn't heard from him in a couple of years.
I debated answering it. I had called Miss Brinson, and she had told me that Tracey hadn't made it home yet. She wasn’t answering my phone calls, either.
I was just hoping she was walking really slow and that nothing had happened to her. I was trying to give her the space she was asking for, but fuck, it was hard.
"Hello?" I asked, answering anyway. If he was calling, I knew it was something serious.
However, I didn't realize just how fucking serious it was.
"Hey, kid, how are you doing?"
"Fine," I muttered. "I'm waiting on a phone call. What's up?" I asked, trying to cut the conversation short.
"I've got a girl here; she's passed out, but I recognized the hoodie she was wearing. You used to wear the damn thing all the time when you were younger." My heart constricted, desperate for it to not be Tracey that was passed out. She had been wearing my hoodie that she had found buried in the depths of my closet when she left.
"What does she look like?" I asked cautiously.
His next words described my baby girl—the love of my life. I cursed, snatching my bike keys up from my nightstand and shrugging my jacket on. "Do you still live in that same apartment?"
"Yeah. Come on over."
He hung up the phone, and I ran out of the door. Jesus Christ, how the fuck had she ended up all the way on the south side? I thought she knew her fucking way home!
Fuck, anything could have happened to her!
After I kicked the stand down on my bike, I made a run for the stairs to the rundown apartment building. Once I reached Gabriel’s door, I banged on it, impatiently waiting on him to open it. It wasn’t long before I heard the lock unclicking, and he swung open the door.
Gabriel hadn't aged much in the past few years. He still had the normal scruff on his face, and his eyes still held a million secrets. His hands were still scarred, and that same leather jacket was still settled over his shoulders.
"She's on the couch."
I walked past him, stepping into the familiar apartment. My eyes landed on her almost instantly. She was passed out on his couch, a small throw blanket draped over her. "What the fuck happened to her?" I ran my hand through my hair, breathing a little bit easier since she didn’t have any bruising that I could see.
Gabriel shrugged at me, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Some burly asshole was chasing after her. The poor girl was running for her fucking life. The man called her his daughter or something like that."
"Fuck." I linked my hands above my head, leaning my head back to look at the ceiling. Gabriel watched me, his eyes not giving anything away.
Nobody had any idea the bastard was out of jail.
"I need a goddamn drink.” The urge to destroy something was almost overwhelming.
I looked down at Tracey when she groaned softly, slowly coming awake. I knelt beside her, ignoring Gabriel’s curious eyes on my back. As far as he knew, I was still that same heartless, asshole kid that he had taken under his wing all those years ago.