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)
Rocket’s head snapped to the side. A fine red mist swooshed into the air. Blood.
His solid weight fell directly on top of me, and a scream ripped from my throat.
Chest heaving, I turned my head to see Jamie throw the rifle to someone who caught it with both hands, and he trudged over. Jamie shoved Rocket’s shoulder until he flopped into the snowy dirt, then lifted me into his arms, peppering me with kisses. Each kiss zinged from my hair to the top of my curled-under toes. “I’m sorry, JorJor. I’m so sorry.”
28
BIG BEAR
Jamie
Chocolate ice cream and a chocolate-brown, curly-haired teddy bear saved me a couple of hours ago. Man, I loved chocolate. While I prepared for the hit, Enzo had stood in the line of a popular ice cream parlor on Pico. Said the place had a million TikTok views. The viral ice cream—which should’ve melted by the time I got into the car—became an alibi when the cops pulled us over. Enzo had bought the cooler with dry ice for that very reason. To keep our ice cream cold, as if we had just purchased it. The lady even asked how much we liked it. Should’ve gotten her badge number and reported her for wasting my time. I had to get to my girl.
A few miles away from the cabin, a sick feeling twisted my gut. “Enzo, floor it,” I ordered.
“I’m good. The ground is icy.”
“Drive. Faster.”
“Okay.” His eyes rolled away, and he took the thirty-mile-per-hour winding roads like a pro. “You’re Mr. Protocol. All of a sudden, you wanna get there dead. You got the champagne. I’m sure she’ll wake up and celebrate—”
“She’s in danger.”
“Your parents—”
“Focus on the road.” Less than sixty seconds out—with the way the trees flashed in my periphery—I undid my botched Velcro work on Carly’s teddy bear, not caring that I’d pulled enough stuffing out of it that it was now unrecognizable.
Forty-five seconds out, I started to screw my rifle together. “That next turn on your right.”
Enzo twisted the wheel until the tires argued.
Fifteen seconds away, I had the fossil of my .408 CheyTac. No handle or cheek rest. I stared through the Nightforce scope.
“Jamie.” A gravelly tone entered Enzo’s voice.
Still working a round into the chamber, my eyes snapped to a scene that made my blood run cold.
He stopped the F250 just as a man forced himself on top of a girl.
My girl.
Don’t get angry. I opened the door.
Calm. Complete stillness was crucial, particularly given the half-constructed rifle. With a blink of my eyes, I peered through the lens. Exhaled. Took the shot.
The man jerked sideways.
My chest rose and fell. I tossed the rifle to Enzo, who was strolling around the front of my brother’s truck. I walked over wearily, shoving the corpse to the side, picked Jordyn up, and kissed her repeatedly. Each kiss sent shivers through me. “I’m sorry, JorJor. I’m so sorry.”
I expected her to hit me. To get angry. Really angry. And she had every right to. I left her with—
Wait.
My family had some explaining to do.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“Rocket,” she murmured.
“Look at me.” I took her face in my hands. “You don’t have to be afraid of him anymore.”
Through trembling lips, she murmured, “I know.”
I glanced at the vehicle and the body. Crap. The job was unfinished.
“Take her inside, Jamie.” Enzo seemed to understand what tore me in half. Needing to console her and deal with Rocket.
With Jordyn quiet, cuddled against my chest, I rubbed her back. “Put Rocket in the trunk of his car for now. I’ve got plans for him. And my family. Evidently, they can’t protect one person.”
“Copy.”
As I carried Jordyn to the back deck, she murmured, “These plans, do they have anything to do with a meat tenderizer?”
A shell-shocked gaze I hadn’t seen since knee-deep in war flicked as I glanced down at her. I’d wanted to break down the walls of Jordyn’s pride and dismantle the fear that lurked underneath when I stole her from Aleksandr Chelomey. Apathy had shielded her then. Now, the barrier that protected her and kept her numb had broken. Was this what I wanted? To see her so affected by the crap humans could do? And what did she mean by a meat tenderizer?
I passed through the sliding glass door and up the stairs. I shouldered the door to the primary suite open. Navigating a path between blankets I’d folded on the floor and a smoldering fire in the hearth, I entered the bathroom. I placed Jordyn on the counter. Her gorgeous dark brown face had lost the glow that had become my treasure once we broke through the barriers of her hatred for me. Her body trembled—not from the cold, but the aftermath. Shock.
Wild panic didn’t light her eyes. Nothing did. I reached in, planted myself between her legs, and hugged her. Signs of life came from her when she hugged me back. Clung to me like a lifeline.