Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 72074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“I can’t find Olivia anywhere,” he says, and I stop the car in front of my house. I lean over and open the glove box, taking out the gun I have in there. Making sure the safety is off, I listen to Derek talk. “I am going over the feed from before, but I haven’t found her yet.”
“Call Jacob. Tell him someone is on my property, and I’m going in loaded.” Grabbing the handle, I’m pulling the door open when he says the next sentence, and I almost roar out.
“He’s upstairs in the bedroom on the left,” Derek says. “He’s loaded with a Glock.”
I leap up the steps of the front porch and enter the house as quietly as I can. Walking over to the stairs, I look up to see if the coast is clear. I walk up the first step and then turn to put my back to the wall as I climb the stairs with my gun in my hand locked and ready. My eyes never leaving the entrance to the media room, my eyes on the hallway, and then I hear him talking. “I’ve been watching you,” he says. Now I know it’s the guy who Jacob found on my property a couple of weeks ago. He’s been lurking around but hasn’t been caught. We haven’t gotten anything on him, and trust me, we’ve been looking. My heart speeds up so fast as I try not to make any noise. Hoping like fuck the floors don’t creak while I walk on them. I make it to the top of the stairs and tiptoe down the hall when I hear him say her name. “Hello, Olivia.” A drop of sweat runs down my back, and I make it to the doorway. He stands there with his back to me, wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt. His black hair pulled back, his right arm outstretched as he points a gun at Olivia, and I make the mistake of looking at her. Tears are running down her beautiful face, her lips tremble, and her whole body shakes with fear.
A black rage rushes through me. I’m going to make him pay, I think to myself, so I get into position, holding up my arms and making sure I aim. “Put down the gun,” I say so calm even I wouldn’t be scared of me. He turns around ever so slowly, and I know it’s going to be either him or me.
It happens in slow motion. He turns around, his right arm outstretched, and when he faces me, I see the sneer on his face. Before I even realize it, shots are fired, and one of us goes down.
Chapter Three
Olivia
It happens in slow motion. The man with the gun pointed at my face sneers when he hears Casey’s voice, and I want to yell for Casey to run away and let it be. But the words are stuck in my throat, and when the man turns around, I get one more glance of Casey. I think to myself he has to be the most beautiful man I’ve ever met, and I am thankful for having my time with him. Our eyes meet for one second before the sound of gunfire fills the room. Suddenly, all I feel is pain in my head, and I fade to black. I want to open my eyes and make sure Casey is okay, but the heaviness in them keeps them closed. My whole body feels so heavy I can’t even lift my arm.
Casey sounds like he’s right beside me as I float away. “Olivia!” He yells my name, and then I hear more noise, almost like a stampede of people coming up the stairs while I fade off. I think back to how this all started.
Watching the red elevator numbers go up one floor at a time, I felt my heart pounding in my chest. The brown box in my hand got heavier and heavier as the numbers got higher and higher. You can do this, I told myself, cheering myself on. It’s going to be fine. You need to just dump the box and go.
The elevator pinged, and it took me back to two weeks ago when I walked down this exact brown plush rug toward Dominic’s penthouse.
I tightened the strap on the trench coat that I was wearing over garters and a bra. My brand new Louboutins sank into the rug and pinched my feet as I licked my lips. Dominic had been gone all week, and he had just gotten back into town. He said he had a business meeting all night long with Chinese investors, but there I was, going to sneak into his penthouse and surprise him when he got back.
My key slid into the lock, and I pushed open the door, expecting the penthouse to be pitch black and quiet. Except it wasn’t. The lights were on, and the whole open-floor concept was bright. From the doorway, I saw the empty living room, and the five open bottles of champagne on the kitchen island with five glasses. I walked to the counter, then heard the soft music coming from the bedroom. I knew I shouldn’t go down there. I knew in my head it wasn’t a good idea. Fuck, my brain was even telling me to turn around and walk out, pretending I didn’t see anything, but my feet, those bitches had a mind of their own. I was halfway down the hall when I heard moaning, and my stomach flipped, nausea suddenly running through me. “So good.” I heard a soft moan, and I knew that I was going to be heartbroken. Standing in the doorway of the master suite, I finally saw with my own eyes what my fiancé was up to. And if my feet didn’t feel like they were glued to the floor, I would have stumbled back at the sight. Dominic had four women on the bed that we shared, the bed I slept in half the time.