Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 73462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“Yeah. I know, man.” I massage the back of my neck. So much for that release. I’m tense as a bronc before the gate swings open.
“The thing is,” Jake continues. “Brett is in love with Sienna. I can see it in his eyes when he talks about her, hear it in his voice.”
“So you’ll let him go, then?”
Jake shakes his head. “It’s not that simple. She saw us.”
I groan. “She saw…what, exactly?”
“Simmer down. It was only a kiss. And I told him to go after her.”
“Did he?”
Jake nods. “Yeah. But I’m worried. And I don’t know how I truly feel about any of it.”
“Fuck.” I scratch at my suddenly itchy scalp. “This was a mistake. What was I thinking, bringing you here? I risked your safety, and what for? Because I was feeling guilty about keeping this secret all this time. Especially from Brett, once he told me his feelings. And then finding out that Misty’s your sister. I should have stayed out of it.”
“Don’t put it all on yourself,” Jake says. “I didn’t have to come. You gave me a choice.”
“Why did you come?” I ask. “Seriously, why? It’s been twenty years. You’ve been safe.”
He looks at me. Really looks at me, as if he’s willing me to see inside his brain. “Because for twenty years, Riv, I’ve been running against the wind. I can’t anymore. I’m exhausted. Part of me wants my life back, and the consequences be damned. But I never wanted to fuck things up for any of you. Especially not for Brett.”
I open my mouth to reply, but a rustling from the bedroom startles me. The door opens.
And Emily—my gorgeous Emily—walks toward us wearing nothing but a sheet around her.
Even as stressed as this conversation has me, my cock reacts.
She tilts her head, stares at Jake.
And asks, “Why exactly would you be fucking up anything for Brett?”
EPISODE 234
COLD AS ICE
Misty
I stare at the words, my skin prickling like I’ve been plunged into ice water.
I left something for you.
He used to say that. After punishments. After the “lessons.” He’d leave things. A flower. A coin. Once, a dead bird. Always with that same line, like a signature.
“Is it him?” Evangeline whispers.
“I don’t know.” My voice is low, uneven. “But it sounds like him.”
Her breath hitches. She clutches her belly.
I check the timestamp. Message came through two minutes ago. Whoever sent it could be nearby. On the island. Maybe even watching us right now.
“We need to find it,” I say.
She swallows hard. “Find what?”
“The thing he left.” I gesture to the phone, now trembling slightly in my hand. “We can’t ignore this.”
She nods, but I see the fear in her eyes. The same fear I used to see in my own reflection.
I step into protector mode. I have to. I couldn’t protect myself back then. Maybe I can protect Evangeline now. Pay her back for how I blackmailed her with the same information I used to get here to the island.
“Where have you been today?” I ask.
Evangeline blinks. “What?”
“Today. Where were you? Anywhere off-limits? Any deliveries?”
“Just the pool deck earlier. Then the loading dock when the florals came in. And I helped the spa staff set up the VIP cabana for Ariel and Alex tomorrow.”
Great. Lots of places. Too many people. Too many opportunities to plant…whatever was left.
“Let’s check your suite first,” I say.
She hesitates. “Misty, he can’t possibly be here. The guys have the best security in the business.”
“You think my father doesn’t have his ways?”
I say nothing more. I don’t have to.
We slip out the massage room like we’re being followed.
In my head is my father’s voice, all those years ago.
Hold it. Hold your breath. Want to cry? You do it underwater. No one wants to hear it.
Bastard made me drown in silence.
I’m not drowning anymore.
We reach Evangeline’s suite. She fumbles with the keycard, drops it, curses under her breath. I snatch it from the ground, swipe the lock, and push the door open.
We check the living area. Onto the bedroom.
And I see it.
A baby onesie.
Folded.
Neatly.
Placed on the dresser like a gift.
It’s white.
And burned at the edges.
Evangeline lets out a small gasp. “I didn’t buy that.”
“I know.”
There’s no note. No explanation. Just the ruined garment, like a warning.
I know your secret.
I left something for you.
It’s him. It has to be.
And if he knows about the baby?
Evangeline and my little sibling aren’t safe.
I clench my fists. “We’re not waiting around for him to make the next move.”
“What are we going to do?” Evie whispers.
I turn to her, heart hammering, and for once, I don’t feel like the coldest person in the room.
“I’m going to do what I should’ve done a long time ago.”
She looks at me like she’s seeing someone new.
Maybe she is.
Because I’m not afraid of my father anymore.
I’m just angry.
And that makes me dangerous.
Ask anyone.