Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
A low ground fog drifted around us, trapped between the tall pine trees as we raced deeper along the winding country road. There didn’t appear to be anyone chasing us.
I squinted to see past the gray and the gloom for a flare of red or blue lights and strained to listen for the sound of sirens.
There was nothing.
Pierce reached over to the center console and pressed the LCD screen. It lit up. He selected the phone number for a man named Michael with the title Head of Security listed under his name and turned the volume up.
“Boss.”
“What the fuck?” ground out Pierce. I flinched.
“There’s no excuse,” came Michael’s resigned voice over the car’s speakers.
“You’re goddamn right there’s no excuse. What the fuck happened? She could have been killed. You put her in danger.”
Shifting over as close to the passenger door as space would allow, I stared out the side window and tried to pretend I wasn’t listening to the conversation.
She could have been killed? You put her in danger? It almost sounded as if he was angrier about threats to my safety than his own.
“We secured the one guard and thought the other was out cold, so we left him in the conference room while we went to apprise the judge. He must have woken up and alerted the other guards, telling them it was a convict escape.”
Pierce took his hand off the wheel and ran it through his hair as he blew out a puff of air. “You think? I want this mess cleaned up. Now.”
“It’s done, Boss. We have the guards in our custody, and the CA and judge are working on a cover story. I told them you’d pay the usual fe—”
Pierce ended the call before he could finish.
I wrapped my arms around my middle and squeezed.
My stomach turned over. Every exit had just closed.
Sheets of rain pelted the windshield, obscuring the view. Neither of us spoke as we traveled deeper into the woods. There was only the continued rhythmic whoosh, whoosh, whoosh of the wipers.
Pierce did not slow the car down, confidently taking the steep curves at a high speed as we climbed higher and higher up the mountain. The Worthington estate sat on the edge of the sheer cliff which gave the town of Cliffs End its name.
With each turn, he took me farther from civilization. The police were probably in his pocket. Everyone was. But I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.
I pulled my lips between my teeth and tightened my arms around my middle, trying to quell the shivers racking my body.
Without saying a word, Pierce leaned forward and adjusted the heat higher. Hot air ruffled my hair as it blew from the vents. I hated that he saw my shiver. I didn’t want him to notice anything about me.
Adjusting in my seat to curl my body to the right, facing away from him, I looked down at the silver car door handle.
Keeping my eyes lowered, I glanced at Pierce. His attention was on the dangerous road conditions.
Beyond the window, a brief glimpse of the dark, churning waters of the Atlantic Ocean was only partially visible through the thick layer of evergreen trees before it disappeared. The forest closed in.
If I didn’t act soon, I would be beyond the reach of civilization. I had no way to call for help. For all my friends knew, I was ironically safe in a jail cell right now. I was completely alone…with the man who’d ruined my life and played with my emotions as if I were nothing more than an amusing toy to him.
I unclasped my arms and slowly inched my right arm along the door. My fingers were stiff and numb, barely able to close. I flexed them twice before reaching for the handle.
Pierce broke the silence. “When we get to the estate, you will talk to no one. Do you understand me?”
My jaw locked. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t nod. I didn’t dare even turn to look at him. My chest rose and fell with each unsteady breath. I could feel his focus locked on me, tracking every small movement I made.
Had he read my thoughts? Did he know of my intentions? I glanced down at my fingertips, only inches from the door handle.
Pierce placed his hand on my thigh.
I started and tried to pull away.
His fingers tightened, the tips digging into my flesh, holding me in place. The warmth of his skin permeated the flimsy silk of my skirt.
“I’m going to need a response, Madison.”
I nodded stiffly, as if the motion were foreign to me.
“Use your words, babygirl.”
I licked my lips to moisten them. “Yes,” I choked out.
I sensed rather than saw his knowing smirk. “Good girl.”
He squeezed my thigh a final time before once more gripping the steering wheel.
I stared at his hands and hated that I was jealous of that wheel. Here I was salivating over the way his powerful hands clasped the leather-bound wheel and wondering what they would look like unbuckling his black leather belt.