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)
“So wrongful imprisonment then?”
He tilted his head back and forth for a minute, like he was weighing his options. “Let’s call it being a captivated guest with no exit strategy.”
My stare clashed with his as my lips thinned. I tried to rise, but he stopped me mid-motion with his palms on the tops of my thighs.
It was a simple gesture, one I could have easily broken free of, and yet I instinctively knew escape was impossible. His hands were tanned and scarred around the knuckles—the kind of scars you only got from bare-knuckle fighting.
I inhaled deeply, trying to rally my courage. “You have to let me go. I have to help Madison.”
“You can’t help her.”
The air left my lungs. Tears blurred my vision. “She’s dead then?”
He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. He was always touching me. Small caresses and grazes, as if I were a prized possession he was admiring. “No, she’s fine.”
“How do you know?”
He shrugged. “Pierce isn’t the only one with contacts inside the police force. There were no fatalities reported by the police or any of the nearby hospitals after the shootout in the parking lot.”
“She could still be injured. I have to go to her.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“She’s with that monster!”
“She’s safer with him.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because Pierce isn’t the one she needs to be afraid of.”
“He’s the one who started this nightmare! He’s the one who had her thrown in prison on bogus murder charges.”
Greyson rose and returned to the small bar off to the side of the conservatory.
The beating rain on the glass panels high above us was the only thing to break the silence. He poured himself another drink. He turned, took a sip, then set the glass down, keeping his dark eyes on me.
Finally he spoke. “Pierce was doing what was necessary to draw his brother out. He had to disrupt his plans.”
I stood and confronted him. “What are you talking about?”
Greyson nodded. “He had to appear to be angry and to seek revenge against Madison. He had to play his part.”
I shook my head then turned away from him, searching through the thick foliage for the door while tossing over my shoulder, “You’re fucking crazy. I’m leaving.”
Greyson caught my wrist and turned me around to face him, pulling my body flush with his.
My hands rested on his chest. The beat of his heart was strong and rapid beneath my palms. “You’re not going anywhere. After that stunt you pulled with Madison’s attorney in the middle of the courthouse, you’ll be on his radar now. It’s no longer safe for you either.”
My lip lifted in a sneer. “I can handle Pierce Worthington.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth. “It’s not Pierce you need to be worried about. It’s his brother.”
I stared at him. “You’re not making sense! Jameson is dead.”
Greyson slowly shook his head. “No, my little bird. He’s not, yet.”
CHAPTER 19
MADISON
Hot pain raced up my arm to stab my shoulder.
The violent swing of the car door wrenched my body to the side as it opened.
The edge of the asphalt road and scraggly, overgrown grass raced by in a blur of muted colors, inches from my face.
Pierce’s alarmed cry reached me as if through a long tunnel.
The car swerved sharply to the right.
Centrifugal force swung the car door back toward me, almost closing it, but it was too little too late.
The back tires skidded on the wet road from the sudden maneuver, causing the whole car to fishtail.
As the car slid to the left, the door was flung open wide again.
With my stiff fingers still gripping the handle, it threw me from the passenger seat just as the car pitched right again. My bare legs scraped against the wet grass as I was dragged for several feet before letting go. My body rolled down the small embankment. Sharp twigs and jagged rocks dug into my skin, tearing my clothes until I came to a stop in the rain-soaked ditch.
Stunned, I lay on my back for several seconds and stared up at the gray sky. Cold rain filled my eyes, sharp against my exposed skin.
A sickening screech of tires brought me to my senses. Wincing, I flipped onto my front and raised my head in time to see Pierce’s car veer off the road, straight into a tree. A tremor raced over the wet ground at the moment of impact. The front end looked like a metal jigsaw puzzle someone had just dumped out of a box, and wispy white steam rose from under the crumpled hood.
I closed my eyes, the crash that killed Jameson washing over me—smoke and gasoline and the coppery taste of blood.
Holy shit.
I just killed another Worthington!
I’d wished for Pierce’s death in various creative ways while locked up for a crime I hadn’t committed. That didn’t mean I truly wanted the man dead.