Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Then he could go hunting.
Sure, there would be blowback. But North preferred not to think about the future. Or the past.
He lived in the present.
However, Jared seemed to be too preoccupied with this girl to pay any attention to him. Something North wasn’t sure he liked.
“I’m going to try and talk to her,” Jared said abruptly.
That sounded like a stupid idea.
“Jared,” he warned.
They all knew what happened to people that Jared showed he cared about.
They “disappeared.”
Jared had learned early on in life to show no care or interest in anyone.
That’s part of the reason North was just his assistant. And why he pretended to be mild-mannered, almost timid.
It quite amused him.
This was only his third time meeting Jared’s prick of a father.
“I’ll be careful. She has her own bedroom. My father said she snores.”
Hmm. Did she?
Or did she pretend to in order to get away from him?
“And that he likes to have his other whores here sometimes so he doesn’t want her always in his bed,” Jared added.
Ahh. Right. That made more sense.
Jared walked quietly along the hallway. If anyone caught him then he’d be in deep shit. Sometimes his father saw him as competition. Those were the times he worried that Fergus might snap and have him taken out.
It was like walking a tightrope, never knowing whether he’d make it to the other side of the canyon or plummet to his death.
He guessed the suspense kept him alive.
But now he had people relying on him in Colombia. People that he’d taken into his care, that he was hiding from his father.
And he couldn’t die and leave them on their own.
The same thing with North and Tabby.
And now her? Are you sure you want to add more to your plate?
He didn’t knock.
When he walked in, he didn’t see her immediately. He glanced around. The bed was rumpled. Had she been in it?
But she wasn’t there. Nor was she in the bathroom. What the fuck?
Had she run?
His heart raced. If she had, then she’d just written her own death certificate.
His father loathed disobedience.
But then he noticed the door to the closet was closed, however there was a line of light under the door.
Was she in there?
Reaching for the handle, he opened it and ended up with an arm full of wildcat.
She was silent, and she couldn’t hit for shit. He took them to the floor in an effort to contain her quietly.
He managed to grab her wrists, stopping her flailing fists from getting him anywhere vital. Then he rolled her over onto her back and pinned her hands above her head, his legs around her thighs as he straddled her.
What the fuck?
Her eyes were closed, scrunched up tight but a single tear slid down her cheek.
That hit him hard.
She was pale and drawn. Clearly thinner than she should be. And now she was so fucking scared that she was hiding in closets and attacking people?
“Angie. Hey, Angie, it’s all right. It’s just me. Jared.”
She opened her eyes and stared up at him incredulously.
Shit. What was he thinking? She probably thought he was exactly like his father. How to convince her otherwise without giving too much away?
Because in the back of his mind he knew that he shouldn’t fully trust her. He couldn’t fully trust anyone.
There was always the possibility that someone might betray him.
However, he fucking hated the way she stared up at him with horror, disbelief and . . . anger.
“Listen, I’m going to get off you now. And I just want to talk, okay?”
She gave him a suspicious look. He got slowly to his feet.
No sudden movements. She scooted away from him, then hastily stood, swaying slightly. She was pale and her breathing was coming in fast pants.
“Hey, are you all right?” he asked.
Another incredulous look.
Yeah, he was two-for-two today.
“I get it. Dumb question.”
She was wearing a pair of soft white pajamas with small hearts all over them. Not the sort of sexy wear that he thought his father would buy for her.
And her hair was in two braids. Her face was free of the garish makeup she’d worn downstairs.
She looked so much younger. It made him feel ill.
“He’s old enough to be your grandfather,” he muttered.
She didn’t reply, just looked at him warily.
“Why did you marry him?” he asked.
He knew it was a dumb question as soon as he asked it. Her cheeks flushed as she glared up at him.
“Oh, I thought it would be a fun thing to do,” she replied sarcastically. “It’s working out grand.”
“Right. I get it. Dumb question.”
Closing her eyes she shook her head. “Sorry. Sorry.”
Fuck. He liked her fiery and angry more than he did defeated and sad.
“My father gave me to him soon after I turned eighteen. Fergus was going to just . . . just keep me as a plaything. But his “advisors” told him it would be a good look to have a wife. And who better than someone he already owned?”