Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
She’s breathing hard, and I put my hands on her shoulders to try and calm her. “Sky, listen, I wasn’t thinking. You want the truth? I saw what he posted, and it went all through me. It wasn’t professional what I did, but in that moment, I had to let him know that you weren’t here alone, that you had me by your side.”
She holds her hand up. “By my side? You didn’t just show him you were by my side. You claimed me, you asked me to be your girlfriend!” She blows out a breath, and her voice is strained. “I don’t know if you realize it or not, but fans love this kind of stuff. My viewership just exploded.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” I’m quick to jump in. Dang, something good has to come from my choices.
“Good?” she asks. “Yeah, sure, until you break up with me and people lose their minds, blaming me. There are already people commenting that there’s no way I’m pretty enough for you. Some of these people are brutal.”
I shrug. “First of all, that’s ridiculous. You’re beautiful. And second of all, we just won’t break up.”
She stares wide-eyed at me. She goes to her tiptoes, lifts her hand, and touches my forehead. “I’m sorry, did you hit your head or something? We’re not even together.”
I’m going crazy. That’s all I can think because to me, we’re together. Yeah, I haven’t seen her since she was a kid. Yeah, I took one look at her in a video on my phone and thought, mine. I’m so royally fucked right now.
I release my hold on her and back up. “Look, my job is to protect you, and that’s what I’m going to do. And that’s in all things. I’ll protect you, your reputation, all of it.”
Her phone rings, and her eyes widen as she looks at the caller ID. “It’s my sister-in-law, Aria.”
She answers it, and I wish I could hear the other side of the conversation because it’s obvious Skyler is freaked out.
“Shit” is all she says.
I hold out my hand. “Here, let me talk to her.”
Skyler must be freaked out because she just hands over her phone without argument. “Hey, Aria. This is Zach. Is everything okay?”
Instantly, she asks, “Yeah, are you packing?”
“Excuse me?” I ask her.
She huffs in frustration. “Do you have a gun?”
“Yes. Do I need it?”
I’m not sure if we’re talking in code or what, but I’m on high alert.
“No!” she screeches. “Miller and Penn are on their way over there. They’re pissed, and I really don’t want you to shoot my husband or my brother-in-law.”
I blow out a breath. “They saw the streaming?”
She laughs. “Oh, they saw it, and they’re not happy.”
“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”
I’m about to hand the phone back to Sky when Aria demands, “Don’t hurt her, Zach. If anyone can, it’s you.” She blows out a breath. “And if you do, you won’t have to worry about the Brody brothers because I’ll get to you first.”
I look into Sky’s big blue eyes. I’m not sure if she can hear Aria or not, but there’s a vulnerability on her face that makes me want to reassure her. “Aria, the last thing I’ll do is hurt Sky. I promise you, she’s safe with me.”
Sky’s eyes get even bigger, and she looks at me as if she’s trying to figure me out. I hand the phone back to her, and she walks from the room to finish the conversation.
I should probably be nervous. Miller and Penn are two guys I don’t want to mess with. Heck, you don’t want to get on the bad side of any of the Brody brothers. But I’m not bothered by this. I’m looking at it as two of the many obstacles I’m going to have to overcome to earn Sky’s trust.
I keep waiting for Sky to come back to the living room, but I don’t see her until there’s a heavy knock at the door. She meets me there, and I stand in front of her. “I’ll get it.”
She points at the door behind me. “We know it’s my brothers. Maybe you should go do something while I talk to them.”
I shake my head. What kind of men has she been with that would just walk away and let her deal with a problem? Just the thought has me scowling. “Let me take care of this, Sky.”
She seems shocked. “You want to deal with my brothers?”
I nod. “I think it’s best.”
She laughs. “Okay, have at it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She steps to the side, and after looking out the peephole to make sure it’s her brothers on the other side, I undo the lock and open the door.
Miller doesn’t hesitate when he sees me. He pushes me backwards into the house, up against the wall of the entryway. I don’t react. I don’t blame him, really. Her brothers have always been protective of Sky, so I expect nothing less.