Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
I should have been finding a way to help her, not standing here gawking at some man.
He returned his attention to Finkle who had turned an alarming shade of mottled purple as he squeaked out an apology. The man released his grip. Finkle landed on his feet but then stumbled and fell back on his ass. He got onto his knees and scurried around the floor like a crab, picking up his papers as he continued to sputter apologies.
That was when the man focused on me.
Holy shit. As if his height wasn’t intimidating enough, the direct stare he leveled at me from those deep blue, almost black eyes was…unsettling.
I dropped my gaze to the floor and mumbled, “Thank you for your help.”
“What the fuck were you thinking?”
Startled by his harsh tone, my head snapped up. “What?”
He took a step forward.
I stepped back.
He kept coming at me until my back was pressed against the cold marble wall.
Around me everything seemed to move in slow motion. All sound was muffled. The focus of my world narrowed to only this tall, enigmatic stranger. It was…disorienting.
I tried to shimmy past him as if we were passing on a sidewalk. “Excuse me.”
With his hands on his hips, he shifted his stance to block my path and then repeated his angry question. “I said, what the fuck were you thinking?”
Okay, it was fun seeing all over six feet of him making Finkle squirm, but now that all that anger was directed at me? Not so much. My mouth opened and closed several times before I could respond. I then played dumb. “I don’t know what you mean?”
“Why would you confront a man alone like that? Where is your husband?”
I crossed my arms over my middle and raised my chin. “I don’t have a husband or a boyfriend. And I wasn’t alone! I’m in the middle of a freaking courthouse…and….and…I don’t need a man to fight my battles for me.”
There. That told him.
His dark brow furrowed, giving his hooded eyes an even more sinister edge. “Apparently you do. What is your name?”
“What’s yours?” I fired back.
“Greyson Stockford. Now are you going to tell me your name,” his eyes dropped to my mouth, “or do I have to switch tactics to get the information out of you?”
I blinked. It was impossible to look around his enormous frame to see if anyone was observing our highly unusual exchange, or if anyone was coming to my rescue. I had no idea where Rylee was and thought of crying out, but somehow, I knew I wouldn’t have any more success than poor Finkle over there. “It’s Hailey.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked; I was forcing him to drag the information out of me. “Hailey, what?”
I bit my lip, not wanting to give this stranger my full name.
He remained firm. His only response a raised eyebrow. Making it clear I wasn’t passing until he’d gotten his answer. I relented. “Hailey Wrenn.”
“That doesn’t work for me.”
I didn’t even know how to respond.
He stretched his arm out and ran two fingertips over the curve of my jaw. “A wren is a plain little bird. There is nothing plain about you.”
I gave myself a mental shake. Captivating or not, I didn’t have time for this. I twisted my head to the side to break his touch. “I have to go. My friend needs me.”
“Who’s your friend?”
This time I didn’t try to play games. “Madison Hastings.” I tilted my chin out, ready to counter any snarky comment he might make about my innocent friend being a murderer.
“Madison Hastings? The woman on trial for killing Jameson Worthington?”
“She didn’t kill that bastard. She wasn’t the one driving. She’s being framed. And if you don’t—”
“I believe you.”
“—believe me, you can just fuck right off. Wait. What did you just say?”
He chuckled. “You really are adorable when you get all puffed up and angry. I said, I believe you.”
“You believe me?” Tears sprang to my eyes. I swiped at them. I hated my reaction, but I had been defending Madison for weeks now to anyone who would bother to listen, and he was the first person outside of our friend Rylee to say they believed me.
I pulled away from him, but he placed his hand on the other side of my head, holding me in place. “Let me go.” It was too good to be true, and I had almost been dumb and desperate enough to trust him.
Greyson’s stare hardened as he glanced over his shoulder. “No, we need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
He seized my wrist and dragged me through the lobby and out the courthouse doors. “Good, because I have plenty to say to you, and I hate being interrupted.”
I yanked back with all my strength but to no effect. He didn’t even break his stride.