Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
My body gets tight, my muscles ready to spring into action.
Father Francis interprets my silence correctly. “You don’t have to share if you’re not comfortable—”
“No. She can ask.” As much as I hate talking about my past, I want her to know. But I have to be careful. Back then, I was at my weakest. And I don’t want to reveal my weakness to her.
“I meant what I said earlier. About trust. It’s the foundation for any intimacy. If you share some of your secrets with her, it would be a show of good faith. A sign you are willing to trust her.”
Which will allow me to lure her in closer.
“All right.”
After the call ends, I think about it. I don’t have to tell her everything. Just enough details to make her feel like I’m opening up. If she feels sorry for me, it’ll be easier to convince her to soothe my pain. A trap and my sob story will be the bait.
Except I don’t want to lie to her. The thought sets my teeth on edge. I want her to look at me with those soft brown eyes, which are way more expressive than eyes have a right to be. I want her to really trust me, and not just because I manipulated her.
But because she wants to.
I glance at the store. Bella’s been inside for a while now. I don’t like having her out of my sight. She’s my responsibility now. Is her father giving her all sorts of new ways to poison me?
I tap on my phone, texting one of my Fraternitas brothers, Argos. He’s a tech genius and in charge of security. St. James will have made sure we have eyes on the Boscos.
Argus texts me back a link. I click on it, and my screen fills with a live feed. Bella stands in an office, holding a black landline phone to her ear. Her face is frozen in a mask that tells me she’s furious but trying not to cry.
I don’t know what’s going on, but I know this: I’m going to kill whoever put that look on my little bride’s face.
16
Bella
* * *
I stand with the phone to my ear until someone knocks at the door, breaking the spell.
It’s Kaiser.
As always, his presence alters the space. The room seems to shrink around him. The balance of power shifts until the lion’s share rests on him. He’s in my father’s territory, but there’s no denying he’s the most dangerous person here.
He sweeps his gaze around the room, scanning for enemies. Once he gets to my face, he doesn’t say anything, but the muscles in his shoulders and chest slightly swell. He’s tense, ready for a fight. He turns his glacial gaze on the phone I’m still holding, like a sniper settling his target in his sights.
You will marry Kaiser, my father said. He will be good for you. He will protect you.
He’s here to protect me now.
“Who’s that?” he growls.
“My father.” I replace the handset on its cradle.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I lie. “Everything’s fine. We can go now.”
I hold my head high and walk out of LilyRose, the store named after my mother, with Kaiser shadowing me.
I wish my mom were here. She would defend me. She’d take my side.
If only my father were more like my mom.
I miss her so bad. The sight of her in her floral robes, the scent of rosewater clinging to her skin. She had glossy black hair that hung down her back in loose curls, and she was warm and soft and always ready with a hug.
I could really, really use a hug. Instead, I have to get back into my fiancé’s car and go through with a bunch of bullshit. Alone.
In the car, I don’t dare look at Kaiser. I’m still raw. My eyes ache from the strain of trying not to cry.
The silence stretches.
“We should go,” I say. “You’re illegally parked.”
He takes my wrist and turns it over, frowning. My left palm hurts from where I’ve been digging my nails into it. He rubs a thumb over the marks, soothing them away.
Despite myself, I sigh. I lean back in my seat, letting the tension seep out of me.
“Thank you for coming to get me.”
He raises my hand, and something brushes against my palm, so light, it might not have happened. A kiss.
My eyes are closed. I didn’t see it. I can pretend it didn’t happen.
After a moment, he sets my hand down on his knee. I can feel his muscles flex as he turns the car on and begins to drive.
I intend to pretend to sleep all the way back to Metropolis, but after a few minutes, Kaiser parks the car.
I open my eyes. We’re downtown, tucked in a forgotten corner of a strip mall. Most of the storefronts are closed or run down, including the one we’re parked in front of. There’s no sign that says it’s open, but someone propped the door ajar with a giant hardback book. The windows are full of stacks of old paperbacks.