Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“Here’s some water for that dry throat.” The top of my bed starts to rise, and when I’m somewhat sitting up, I blink my eyes open and scowl at the brightness of the fluorescent lights, but there’s a straw in front of my lips, so I lean in and take a pull of the cool water.
That feels good.
“I want Gideon.” I glance around the room. “Where am I?”
“The White House, of course,” the nurse says. “I’ll be right back.”
Why am I in Washington?
And where is my man? Where’s Willow?
Don’t panic. They’re probably around here somewhere. Grabbing food, or getting some fresh air.
I’m taking a deep breath, trying to calm down, when my father walks into the room and offers me an encouraging smile.
“Hi there, pumpkin,” he says. “I’m so damn glad you’re awake.”
“What’s going on?” I ask him as he sits on the bed, by my hip, and takes my hand in his. “Why am I here?”
“Do you remember the attack?”
The attack?
And then it comes back to me. We were at dinner, at the pub, and those men grabbed me.
“Oh, God, is Gideon okay? Did they hurt him?”
I sit up straight, panic shooting through me.
“Whoa, Lena, calm down.”
“Is. He. Okay?”
Dad nods and kisses me on the forehead. “He’s okay. No one was seriously hurt but you. Well, and the ones who tried to take you. I can’t tell you more than that right now. I don’t want you to stress yourself. You have a head injury, sweetheart, and you need to rest.”
I feel tears track down my cheeks.
“Dad, is it all over?”
“Yes, baby. That I can tell you. You’re home now, and you can get back to your life.”
I swallow hard.
Back to my life.
“My life is at that ranch, Dad.”
He shakes his head once, and then I hear my mom’s voice.
“Your life is here,” she says and crosses over to kiss my head. “I’m so glad you’re awake. You worried me.”
“Where is Gideon?” I ask her.
“I assume he’s in Montana,” she replies simply, as if my world isn’t falling apart. “And you’re where you belong.”
“Mom—”
“No.” Her voice is sharp now, and I shut my mouth because I know there’s no talking to her when she’s like this. “Get some rest. We’ll move you upstairs out of the infirmary later today.”
“I’d like to go home.”
I need to go to the ranch.
“You can move into your apartment in a few days, once you’re well on your way to recovery.”
“Has Chelsea been in to see me?”
Mom and Dad share a glance, but they don’t answer me, and that pisses me off.
“We’ll be back,” Mom says. “I have a press conference.”
They both walk out, and I’m left with no answers.
“I need my phone,” I say to the nurse, who’s walked back in to check my vitals.
“It’s right here,” she replies, setting the device on the bed next to me. “You really should nap.”
“I’ve been asleep for days,” I remind her. “I think I’m fine.”
Picking up the phone, I go right to my contacts, but they’re gone.
I have literally no contacts.
“I was told that it’s a new phone,” she says with a wink.
Why do I need a new phone? And where’s my old one?
I’m feeling sleepy again, and that frustrates me, but I let the nurse lay me back, and I close my eyes.
It’s been two weeks since I woke up.
I’m back in my apartment, and I hate it.
Not that I’m not in a great part of town, in a beautiful building. I have a new security detail, and no one will tell me where Richie is. No one will give me Gideon’s number, and when I tried to google it, I got an immediate call from my mother telling me to stop.
What the fuck? They’re monitoring my internet use?
Mom has been much more attentive since I’ve been back. Every minute of her day is always scheduled to the second, but she finds time to call or text me, just to check in. I know that what happened in Montana scared her, and I understand that, but why are they keeping me from Gideon?
And why isn’t he burning the world to the ground to get to me?
None of this makes sense.
Not to mention, I haven’t heard even one peep out of anyone. And it reminds me how fucking isolated I am in my life. I don’t want Chelsea back in my orbit. She’s toxic as fuck, and I’m so much better off without her.
But I miss Willow and Ryker. And oh my God, every bit of me aches for Gideon.
He’s my person.
Is it because I fucked up again? It was my fault that we went to that dinner. Willow and I talked him into it. I just wanted to celebrate my man’s birthday, and it all fell apart in the worst way. I just had to have it, he caved and gave it to me, and it blew up in our faces.