Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
But he’s only ever seen her as a little sister.
Someone to coddle and tease.
But Immy needs more. She deserves more.
She needs love and passion. Protection and possession.
She needs a Daddy to adore and take care of her.
And Tobias could be that man.
He’s gruff. Sexy. A total Daddy.
And he wants her.
Jenner had his reasons for keeping his distance with Immy...but as a threat to her emerges, he comes to realize those reasons are becoming less important.
What is important is keeping her safe.
So will the two of them be able to work together to keep her safe?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
PROLOGUE
Immy heard the window of her bedroom open.
She stayed still, not wanting to scare him away. That had happened before. So she lay there frozen as he climbed through the window and slid it back down. Then he lay on the floor next to her bed.
Time to move.
She grabbed the spare pillow and blanket that she kept next to her and rolled over, dropping them down next to him.
“Immy,” Jenner said on a sigh. “Shit. I woke you up.”
“I was already awake,” she told him. “Are you all right?”
Immy knew what his answer would be. He always gave her the same answer.
“I’m fine, Immy. Go to sleep.”
As he took the pillow and blanket, she thought she heard him grunt in pain. Immy bit her lip.
Don’t ask.
Don’t ask.
Don’t ask.
It was so hard, though. She loved him. She adored all of her friends, but there had always been a special relationship between her and Jenner. He took care of her, stood up for her, he made this whole crazy scary world seem less crazy and scary because she knew he was at her side.
Always.
“I don’t ever want to be apart from you, Jenner,” she whispered.
Things were happening. Cat was close to turning sixteen and the Deity seemed to be taking an interest in her. That made Immy feel sick to her stomach. She was the youngest of all of them and wouldn’t be turning sixteen for another six months.
But she was dreading it.
Immy knew that when she turned sixteen, the Deity would give her to one of the men in the cult. As his wife.
She swallowed heavily. She wasn’t even sure what would happen then. But she just prayed she was given to someone kind.
Although that was doubtful.
The best case scenario was that she’d be given to Jenner. Being his wife would be amazing.
And then he could sleep in the bed with her instead of on the floor.
“I can hear you thinking, Immy,” he said. “Go to sleep.”
“How can you hear someone think?” she asked.
“Don’t know, I just can. And if you don’t go to sleep, I’m going to leave.”
Immy didn’t want that. She liked having Jenner close by so she could take care of him.
Four Years Later
He was failing to take good care of her.
Jenner paced up and down the living room floor, listening to Immy cough from her bedroom.
Fuck.
She could hardly breathe.
Abe stepped out of her bedroom, looking worried. He and Immy were close. Close in a way that had often made Jenner feel jealous.
Which was ridiculous.
Immy loved them all like brothers. Which is how he felt about her.
Yep.
Exactly how he felt.
“How is she?” he asked.
Sampson was making her a honey lemon drink while Isaiah was sitting on their old, crappy sofa, tapping away on his laptop.
But they all paused to look up at Abe who ran his hand over his face. “Not good. She’s running a fever, she’s bringing stuff up when she coughs, and it’s hard for her to catch her breath.”
“She needs to go to the hospital,” Jenner said. “I’ll call an ambulance.”
Immy had always had a compromised immune system. No one knew why, exactly. Her mom had said that she’d had anemia when she was born and that it was some sort of genetic issue. Immy’s parents didn’t really believe in traditional medicine. Sometimes he wondered if the Deity had promised to make Immy healthy to get them to join the cult.
Now that she was out of the cult, she seemed to be getting sick more often. And he knew why.
It was this place.
They’d wanted to live together again. All of them had hated living apart after they’d left the cult. Abe and Immy had been with her parents. He, Sampson, and Isaiah had lived with his mom.
Now, the five of them were all old enough to live on their own. Maeve was away at college and Cat was in New York. Abe and Isaiah were going to college here while Sampson was working at a gym and Jenner had a few singing gigs.
They were barely scraping by. Immy tried her best to add to the pot, but she was often ill and could only work part-time.
This apartment was making her sick. They couldn’t afford better, but they really couldn’t stay here.
It was going to kill her.
They were in the worst part of Nashville. Immy wasn’t allowed to leave the apartment without one of them with her. They tried their best to keep the place well-ventilated and clean, but mold kept growing in the bathroom and kitchen. They didn’t have the money to eat as healthy as she needed.
She needed a safe environment.
Somewhere dry and clean that wasn’t overcrowded.
And he had to provide that for her. To make sure she didn’t keep getting ill.
“She’s refusing to go,” Abe said.
Jenner frowned. “What do you mean, she’s refusing to go?”