Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
“You promise you won’t leave me?” she said finally.
“You’re stuck with me until you tell me to get lost.”
“What about… Do you have, you know, a girlfriend?” Her eyes got wide. “I didn’t --”
I silenced her with a gentle kiss. I didn’t want to lead her on, but, oh, my God, her lips tasted so fucking sweet, I knew it wouldn’t take much for me to become addicted. All I wanted to do was cut her off before she could spiral. I knew where she went with her question. I would not let her feel bad for kissing me.
When I pulled back again, her eyes were closed and she had a dreamy expression on her face I’d kill to see every day for the rest of my life. I pressed my forehead to hers. “No, honey. I don’t have a girlfriend. I’m all yours. But we’re going to take this slow. And I’m going to protect your body, your mind, and your heart. I’m going to prove to you I’m worth taking a chance on, then you’re going to choose me without second-guessing yourself. Once you do that, we’re going to live happily ever after.”
For the first time since I’d seen her that morning, Jade smiled up at me. A real, true, genuine smile that had her face lighting up. And, my God, the woman was so beautiful I nearly fell to my knees and worshiped at her feet.
“OK. That sounds about perfect.”
Chapter Ten
Rip
I took Jade back to Haven after the overlook, walked her inside and to her room. She opened her door and turned to me with a genuine smile.
“Thank you, Rip. I couldn’t have done this without you today.”
“I’m always gonna be here for you, honey.”
She stepped into me, wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her back as tightly as I dared, needing to hold her as much as she needed the physical comfort. When she pulled back, I leaned in and kissed her forehead before she went inside and shut the door.
I made my way to the security office and dropped into the chair in front of the monitors. Since Jade had come here, I’d taken up the security station whenever I wasn’t sleeping or with Jade. After today at the courthouse, I wanted to sit here and just… watch the fucking monitors. I needed to keep watch. Over Haven. But most of all, over Jade.
I’d been sitting there maybe forty minutes, working through a cup of coffee, when my phone rang. When I saw Knight’s name on the screen, I picked up on the second ring.
“Yeah, man.”
“We’ve got a problem.” His voice was smooth as always, but I heard the edge under it. Knight didn’t lead with that kind of language unless he meant it. “Eric. He posted a video.”
I set the coffee mug down very carefully. “What kind of video?”
A pause. One beat. That was all. “Goin’ out on a limb and sayin’ it’s the video that bastard threatened to release before.”
“How long has it been up?”
“Couple hours. Maybe three. Long enough to spread. We’re already on it. I’ve been doing a sweep to try and get as many of them down as I can, but I can’t control the Net.” I could hear Knight’s frustration. He didn’t like the word impossible but knew when it applied. “Ethan knows. He’s doing lawyer shit. But Eric already had a plan in place so nothing could come back on him.” Knight paused. “There’s no way to fully contain it. Not at this point.”
My knuckles had gone white around the phone. I became aware of the pressure only when my hand started to ache. I unclenched my grip and forced myself to relax.
“Eric posted it himself?”
“From an account we can trace, yeah. Which is either stupid or intentional. And he’s not stupid.” Knight’s voice dropped. “This is a message. This is him telling her she can’t outrun him.”
I stared at the parking lot camera feed outside Haven. Nothing moved on the screen. A sodium light at the edge of the lot threw a flat yellow circle onto the asphalt and nothing else.
I thought about Jade on that overlook a couple of hours ago, her face turned up toward mine, the city spread out behind her, the way she’d smiled at me after I assured her I wasn’t going anywhere. I thought about Eric in the courtroom that morning, the way he’d settled back in his chair like a man watching something he’d already decided the outcome of. His smirk when the judge read the ruling. The smirk he’d given Jade made more sense now.
My phone pinged.
Violet: Jade needs you. Now.
“Knight.” I was already on my feet. “I’ve got to go to Jade. Thanks, brother.”
“Go,” he said. “I’ve got this end. I’ll do what I can.”
I ended the call and pocketed the phone and came out of the security office into the corridor at a jog.