Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
They were keys. Keys unlocking the doors of his mind that had been bolted shut for decades. His whole body stiffened like a current had gone through him. His jaw clenched, and a storm rolled into his eyes—grief, rage, recognition.
Like he’d swallowed poison but somehow lived through it.
I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.
“Jamie?” I asked finally, my voice barely a whisper. “What is it?”
He looked at me, but not really. His eyes were somewhere far away.
“Three Scots took me,” Jamie said slowly, voice hollow. “Flipped me to the man who owned us in less than a day.”
Owned us.
That hit me like a slap.
Jamie went on, his voice breaking like he couldn’t stop now that it had started. “I remember getting out of his Lincoln Continental like it was yesterday. But before we got home, we stopped on the side of the road. One of the men—the first three—he was still in the trunk. Slammed his hand against it, repeatedly.” Jamie’s eyes narrowed. “He wanted out.”
“Oh my gosh.” The words seemed to spring from me as I sat frozen, heart pounding, throat tight.
The love of my life had protected everyone but himself for so long … and now here he was, breaking open.
“The sounds. Nolan’s trying to get me to eat some stupid McDonald’s.” He suppressed a dry heave. “To this day, I still gag when I think of Mickey D’s. I associated that with the day. But I didn’t really assess the way Nolan acted when we sat in that Lincoln. He couldn’t care less about the three in the trunk. Fine by me. But he didn’t care about me either. It was like he was presenting gifts to a monarch.”
“You included?” I frowned.
“Yep. Except I didn’t belong in the basement with the others.”
“Your parents thought he’d vindicated you? They handled your three original abductors? They didn’t know about … the governor.”
“My time with you was spotty. I remember that old guy.” A lethal look flashed before his face. Then awareness. “He … liked when we called him Governor.”
“Jamie, you forgot?” I gasped. “Yeah. That’s true. He’d ask us to call him that. It was the key to getting fed or-or a toy when he pulled us out of our cage to—” I cleared my throat instead of triggering him further. “Oh, my gosh, I love your brain. It’s totally protected you from so much. He was the governor, Jamie. Not just some wannabe, pretending.” At my side, Jamie grew quiet. I waited for some form of emotion to flit across his face. Malice. Anger … Something.
Nothing.
“Now, Hagerty is President Pro Tempore. He presides over the entire U S Senate. But I think you get the whole ranking up situation, right?”
“Hagerty?” Jamie sat forward, pressing his thumb onto his laptop power button to disable the screen lock. Apparently, he changed his mind. He whispered our abductor’s name again, rose from the couch, and pulled his phone from his jean pocket.
“You calling your family?”
A snort. And then he walked toward the sliders and onto the deck overlooking Big Bear.
“Oh, no, he didn’t,” I muttered, leaning back in the seat. While I wanted to keep my distance from Jamie, the other way around didn’t seem to factor. Not in any way that made sense. My stomach’s growl prompted me to set aside that thought for another time. “Time to eat.” I patted my abdomen. As I rose, my attention turned toward social media images on Jamie’s laptop.
I sank back onto the super cushioned couch and pulled the computer into my lap, reading over the headlines.
“Former Marine Raider involved in high-speed pursuit with LAPD.” My eyes fell on the subtitle, and I whispered, “But who’s the true culprit?” My gaze flicked back up to the top of the online post. Reputable website. Switching to a new Safari tab, I modified the search and came up with internet gold.
Social media sites ran rampant with the story. One such YouTube video displayed footage as if someone in front of Taco Bell had caught the entire police stop. The video transitioned into a split screen showing Jamie complying as he kneeled to the ground and an officer shouting about a weapon. The footage paused, and the Youtuber’s smirk was deeper than mine. Arms folded, I watched the rest of the video. This dude was a professional. Grabbing aerial views from KTLA and other news stations before coming back onto the screen to ask his audience their thoughts.
As if this were Alice in Wonderland, I fell into a rabbit hole of comments. Most of them were positive. A few others argued about police rights, and some who agreed with Jamie’s stance tried to explain that what the one officer did was wrong while praising Officer Brown. And Jamie. Obviously.
Then the comments got worse—not for Jamie.
For my heart. Women wanted him. The depraved acts men had slapped me around to do … well, they’d do it. Gladly. Yuck.