Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
He releases his hold on me. “Next time, don’t hesitate. I felt you prepare for your strike,” he informs me.
“Thanks,” I say dryly.
“Follow me, no questions,” he orders, heading back through the door we just exited, pulling out two guns in the process.
“Oh shit,” I whisper; shit just got too real.
Chapter Nine
TRISTAN
Did Lily think I would so easily let her slip away from me? I was, however, over this waiting game to see what they all thought they were up to. Killian has gone rogue. That was one I didn’t see coming; sure, he could turn on you. I just never would have guessed it would have been over a girl.
I’m not entirely sure what the plan is, but I have a few ideas. I sit outside the building in a black SUV across the street and wait. My phone is on the cameras, but my eyes are going back to the building.
Until something gives me pause. I flip to the back stairs cameras, rewind, and play. I do it a few times until I finally catch it. It’s quick, but the feed is now on a loop.
Motherfucker. I start to get out of the SUV, and that’s when I spot the girl.
She strides through the front doors of the building with a crown on her head, wielding a pink lightsaber. All right, I can admit I didn’t see that one coming. I exit the vehicle, straighten my jacket, and walk across the street.
I watch the two men at the front security desk speak to her. Her movements are big and over the top. I know instantly it’s a diversion. Obvious but effective. While everyone’s eyes are on the crazy girl with the toy sword, Killian will slip Lily out the back.
I grit my teeth. The only thing keeping me calm is that I have my eyes locked on the one thing I now know means everything to Killian.
Teddy is fully committed to this role, and the two guards have no idea what to do with her or her lightsaber.
“Why didn’t you stop them?” Teddy points over her shoulder at two men in suits walking in the lobby.
“They are free to come and go,” one of them tells her.
“Is it because I’m a girl? My age? My crown?!” She acts appalled.
“No.” The bold one, Kent, is shaking his head. “It’s because of—”
“Me,” I tell her. Teddy stiffens before she slowly turns to face me. I see the recognition.
“Mr. Vanderbilt, we were just escorting her out.” Kent stands up straighter.
“She’s not going anywhere.” Teddy’s eyes widen when I grab her elbow.
“Hey!” She tries to jerk out of my hold. “Stranger danger!” she shouts.
“You want to see Lily?” That stops her from trying to fight me.
“It’s okay,” she tells the two guards. “No need to call the police on Tristan here.”
Kent chuckles. “We would never do that.”
Teddy’s brows pull together, not liking that response. “But he was kidnapping me.”
“This conversation is over. I’m done with this little game.” I pull her toward the back elevators. “You think you could pull one over on me?” I ask her. What did she think she was going to do with a lightsaber?
“I think you’re a jerk-face.” She glares up at me. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
“Oh, I know.” I smirk. I pull her into the elevator and hit the button for my floor. “Killian Kotov is here.” I watch the blood drain from her face, realizing I knew from the start.
Then I feel something hard press into my stomach, but it’s too late. Voltage rips through me, locking every muscle for three endless seconds. My teeth grind together. I don’t fall. I don’t make a sound beyond the breath hissing through my nose.
Teddy stares at the Taser in her hand like it betrayed her. “Well,” she says, “that’s awkward.”
I rip it from her fingers and crush it under my heel. The plastic cracks, batteries spilling across the elevator floor.
“That was rude,” she mutters. Is this girl all there? Not my problem.
The elevator rises. My body throbs where the prongs hit, a deep ache that will bruise by morning. I flex my hand, testing control. Still functional.
The doors open onto my floor.
The penthouse stretches before us, open and modern, floor-to-ceiling windows showing the city sprawled below.
What matters is the smell. Vanilla and something softer, something that lives in my lungs now. Lily. Her smell still lingers in the air. The scent wraps around me, familiar and infuriating, proof that she belongs in this space even when she’s trying to escape it.
“Walk,” I tell Teddy, pushing her forward.
She stumbles, catching herself on the back of my sofa. “You can’t just—”
“I can.” I cross to the windows, looking down at the street. “I did.”
I pull out my phone and hit call.
“You’re playing a deadly game, Tristan,” Killian says when he answers.