Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“Two more days,” he stated. “I have it all programmed for two days. Can you make it?”
I nodded.
He leaned forward, grabbing my arm. “Are you sure? Your nightmares are bad. Really bad. I’m worried.”
I knew they were. I’d wake up sweating and shaking, my throat dry with fear. Sean had started sleeping in my room, waking me up before I began shouting out in my sleep and blowing my cover. He looked as exhausted as I felt.
“I have to see it through. I have to.”
Sean’s voice was low and serious. “I need you to come out of this in one piece. I know you have an agenda, but you need to understand I do as well. I will pull this whole fucking operation and kill him myself if I have to. I’d fucking kill them all before I lost you.”
“I can do this. It’s almost done.” I drew in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Any word about our, ah, animal problem?”
He shook his head. “I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Nothing?”
He kicked at a lump in the snow, cursing. “I shouldn’t have shown you that message. I thought her name-calling would make you laugh, not send you over the edge. I’m sure she’s resting.”
“For two days?” I tugged on my hair.
“Stop worrying.”
“Worried?” I hissed. “I’m beyond worried. I’m fucking frantic.”
Two days ago, Sean had handed me the phone. I’d grabbed it, pressing play. Skylar appeared, sitting on the edge of the bed. She was dressed in my sweatshirt and wrapped in a blanket. Her nose was bright red and her eyes watery. She smiled and waved. “Got a cold, fuckwit. I bet you gave it to me with your cooties. Thanks.”
She sneezed and reached for a tissue, blowing her nose loudly. “You could have left some chicken soup somewhere.” Then her voice dropped. “Be safe. I miss you.” She stood and walked away from the camera, the sound of her coughing fading away as she left the room. She looked terrible.
She hadn’t sent another message, and I was going crazy with worry.
I let my head fall back against the cold tree trunk. “How do we know she’s not worse?”
“She’s a smart girl. If she were, she’d tell us. Knowing Ms. Independent, she’s sleeping and looking after herself. It’s not like she left a message every day before now.”
“Did you try calling?”
He sighed. “Yeah, I actually did when I was away earlier. It went to voice mail, so I’m sure she has it off while she sleeps. She probably wouldn’t have answered anyway—it wasn’t from one of the regular numbers. You told her not to answer unless it was, and I didn’t have your phone with me.”
I snorted. “Because she always does what I tell her to do. Maybe she’s even sicker and couldn’t answer.” I couldn’t stop my anxious twitches. I pulled on my hair, grabbed the back of my neck. “I have to know she’s okay.”
It had been over a week since I’d last seen Skylar. Long, hard days of slowly losing myself in the violence that surrounded me constantly—days of darkness and a carefully maintained façade of indifference and disconnection—days of missing her. Restless nights with little to no sleep. The few hours I managed to keep my eyes shut, the images were so horrendous, I woke up panicked, my heart racing. Add in the worry I was feeling…I was losing it.
Sean surprised me when he nodded. “I have to admit, I’m worried.”
“Can you go check on her?”
He thought it over, rubbing his fingers along his chin. “I could. But I have a better idea.”
“Which is?”
“You go.”
I wanted that. I wanted to go and see her. Make sure she was okay. But it was impossible at this point—wasn’t it?
“But Orson…” I protested.
“Give me a minute.” Sean groaned and stood, pacing. I didn’t say anything as I watched him, knowing his mind was busy working out details.
He hunched down in front of me, his voice firm. “Okay, I’ll make some arrangements. Once I do, we’re going back in there, and you’re going to pick a fight with me and then storm out to your favorite club. I’ll get our guy to meet you there. I’ll sit in on the card game Orson has planned and bitch about you for a few hours. You can go check on her, and then you come straight back. A short visit—no overnight stay. We got away with that once, but it won’t work again.”
I didn’t argue. A couple of hours with her was better than nothing. I could make sure she was okay, and then I could concentrate on this shit again. Seeing her would help bring everything back into focus.
“Why are you doing this, Sean? You wanted me to send her away.”
He pursed his lips. “When your father died, you shut off a part of your heart, Cian. You never allowed anyone to get close. You even kept me and Julia at arm’s length. You used sex as a release, never feeling much of anything for your partners.”