Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
“Anytime. Now, let’s go get your woman.”
I nodded and stared out ahead, hoping Molly would forgive me for leaving her unprotected. It was my job to protect her, to keep her safe, and I failed.
“We don’t have time for you to blame yourself, Colt. We need to be focused on finding Molly.”
“I should have protected her.”
Wyatt sighed. “She was on ranch property. If she can’t be safe here, then nowhere is safe.”
That was a terrifying thought, but I understood Wyatt’s point. “We have to find her.”
“We will,” he insisted and slammed on the brakes.
“Wyatt, we don’t have time for a pep talk.”
“Shut up and look,” he pointed out just ahead of the windshield.
I followed the path of his finger and gasped at the sight of the green pickup truck smashed into a tree. “She could be hurt.”
“But they’re on foot,” he reminded me. “Can’t have gone too far in the time it took Hunter to go to Billy and then to us. Right?”
“Exactly,” he said around a smile. “There are a few vacant outbuildings around here. We should start there.”
I jumped out of the car before I could agree with Wyatt. “We should go on foot. He’ll hear the car coming from a mile away.” And though I didn’t voice my worries out loud, Wyatt understood.
“Let’s go, then.”
Hang on, Molly. I’m comin’ for ya.
Chapter 29
Molly
“We weren’t right for each other, Travis.” Reasoning with him wasn’t working, and I didn’t know what else to do. Every word I said either offended him or sent him into an anger spiral.
“We were fucking perfect together until you got it in your head that you wanted better than me!”
I shook my head. “We were never perfect. You thought I should’ve been grateful to have you, like you were somehow better than me. That’s why I left. You didn’t like or respect me.” The more distance I got from Travis and our relationship, the clearer it all was.
“I put so much time into our relationship and you gave it up for that old fuck in months. Months, Molly!”
It was hard not to smile at how upset that fact made him, but I bit down on the inside of my cheek to avoid angering him further. “I was never safe with you.”
“Bullshit! I never once laid a hand on you.”
That much was true, anyway. “Maybe not, but you only felt good when you were tearing me down, which meant I never felt good or loved or safe with you—definitely not enough to get naked with you.” I shook my head, trying to remove my emotions from this situation. “Neither of us was happy in our relationship.”
“We’ll be happy this time,” he insisted. “And I’m working on forgiving you for whoring yourself out to a middle-aged cowboy.”
My shoulders fell because I didn’t know what else to say or do to make him understand that we were over. Forever. I couldn’t let the feeling of defeat overwhelm me. I had to find a way out of here and away from Travis, who was growing more delusional by the minute. “I didn’t whore myself out to anyone.”
“Still, I’ll forgive you, and we’ll be happy together. You’ll see.” He couldn’t even manage a smile or a softer tone when he made that promise.
“We will never be happy together, Travis. Can’t you see? You want an object to control. Do you even like me?” I already knew the answer, but I suspected he did not.
“You loved me once,” he reminded me desperately.
“I thought I could love you at one time, sure. But this—kidnapping me and tying me up? How can I ever love anyone who would do this to me? Who would put a knife to a child?”
“You’ll love me again.” He shook his head, speaking more to himself than to me because, once again, Travis wasn’t listening to what I had to say.
“You only wanted an ornament, Travis. You don’t know me, and you don’t want me, so I don’t even understand what any of this is about.” If I’d been stronger and ended things sooner, maybe none of this would have happened.
No, this is on him, not me.
He whirled around and got right in my face, eyes wide and angry. “This is about us. I want you back, and you do too. You’re just confused right now.”
“I’m not confused,” I sighed. “I’m not confused, and I don’t love you, Travis.”
“You do,” he roared, punctuating his words with a backhand across my face. “You loved me once, and you can love me again. You will.”
My face stung from the blow, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying like hell to keep my tears from falling. I needed to be strong, more now than ever. “I will never love you,” I whispered. “Never,” I said again, louder the second time.
“You will,” he growled and gripped my jaw between his thumb and forefinger, squeezing hard enough I knew there would be bruises tomorrow. If I make it that long, I thought just a moment before his mouth crashed down on mine again.