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)
My father tasked Tristan with my care, and now he’s going to make sure not one hair is harmed on my head. It’s not really about me, and I’m facing that realization now.
Even my dad wasn’t this over the top with his protection. People didn’t know who I was. If anything, living with Tristan might put me on people’s radar.
If he truly cared for me, he’d want to be around me more. Instead, I swear he actively avoids me, but I’m sure a lot of it is in my head. That’s what happens when you spend too much time alone. Your mind wanders, and it’s never anywhere good.
There is a light in the darkness, though. My escape plan has given me a flicker of hope that I won’t be stuck here for all eternity pining for a man who doesn’t want me. I wish I could be here when Tristan comes home that day. I should see if I can get access to the cameras. Then again, his reaction might cut deeper than I want to know.
Chapter Three
TRISTAN
My temples throb as I read over the file my head security officer sent over to me. It has a lot of details but not everything. I know Lily has been speaking with someone. I’m not sure who it is yet, but I’ll find out soon enough.
She hasn’t been using her phone to really message people. That means she’s using other apps to hide it from me. There has to be a reason. I want to know who it is. They got it traced down to a house. Well, an estate, to be precise. The property is massive and belongs to a deceased older lady.
The company I originally hired is having a challenging time figuring out who it could be inside there. It can’t be the ghost of a dead woman, and I don’t see it being the butler. Those are the only two names really connected to the house in the past ten years. That’s when the head of the company requested to go out there and find out for himself. I’d told him no and left it at that.
I have someone else in mind for this job. I want this to be done correctly without a trace of anyone having been sniffing around, and maybe, if it’s bad, I can add on the killing of the person. That’s right up Killian’s alley.
Killian is a loner. He prefers to work alone even when doing government assignments. There were times that wasn’t possible, and we worked on those together. He will slip in and out, no one the wiser.
He’s offensive, and I’ve seen those who work with him against the wall. That can show you who a person is. I trust in his handling of this.
I reach out to my contact in the government to get information on how to contact him right now. They don’t ask why, which I knew would be the case. Lily’s name won’t be uttered to them ever. I might work with the government, but it doesn’t mean I fully trust them.
I smile when I make the call knowing it’s going to piss him off. Killian is a lone wolf, you could say, and I rather enjoy pissing him off. We all get our kicks somewhere. God knows I’m not getting my rocks off anywhere.
My mind goes straight to Lily, and my jaw tightens just thinking about her in that room upstairs. The image hits low and hard, a pulse of heat I don’t want to acknowledge. I shift in my chair, refusing to let my hand drift anywhere near the problem. I don’t even handle it myself. This is my form of self-punishment for lusting after a girl I shouldn’t be. I catch myself staring at her closed door, tracking her footsteps overhead, and force my eyes back to my screen. The tension lives in my shoulders and my temples. I don’t sleep well. I tell myself I deserve every minute of it.
It takes a few calls before Killian finally answers the phone. I made sure my name came up when I placed it.
“Fucking hell, man, I’m in the middle of a job,” he snaps out at me.
“I’ve got a job for you,” I tell him.
“I don’t need a job,” he fires right back. I knew he would. This is going to take a little work.
“Got any change?” I hear someone say on the other end of the line. Killian barks a no at them.
“Fuck you, then,” I hear the man say next, knowing I’m about to hear a crunch, and I’m not wrong. He laid a random man out. Killian is a grumpy bastard.
“Are you listening to me?” I ask dryly.
“Spit it out.” Killian cuts right to the chase. I can hear him bite into food and then spit it out.