Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 54899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Karolina is my entire life, but I might’ve lost her forever.
I thought I could be a good man; I wanted to be worthy of her.
She was never supposed to discover my real identity.
She was never meant to find out that I’m her stalker.
But I wasn’t the only one stalking her.
Ghosts from my past have come back to haunt me, and they’ve identified my greatest weakness: her.
I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Karolina safely with me, even if that means caging her forever
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
KAROLINA
Strong arms cage me from behind, and a cold blade nips at my throat. My assailant could open my neck and end my life with one cruel swipe of his hand.
Pure terror thrums through my veins, and my precious lifeblood pounds in my ears. The world goes fuzzy around the edges. All I can see is Rand’s face—pale and drawn tight with his own fear.
My mind spins. I don’t understand what’s happening.
One second, I was running in horror from Bones. Rand. The man who’s been lying to me with every breath for years.
Then the black-clad man grabbed me and threatened me with a knife.
He says something, his breath hot on my vulnerable artery. I think it’s Russian. I have no idea what he’s saying, but the pure menace in his gravelly tone conveys the mortal danger I’m in.
Rand’s entire body coils tight with barely leashed aggression, his dark eyes riveted on the razor-sharp knife.
He’s still naked from our explosive sex only minutes ago.
And so am I.
My attacker’s hands grasp my bare flesh, fingers pressing hard enough to imprint bruises.
The awful scene layers over visceral memories of another night when I was sexually threatened: when Carter tried to violate me in the ruined stables at our foster home.
My breaths saw in and out of my lungs, but despite the burning in my chest, my blood goes cold. I access a purely feral, animal part of my brain.
Survive.
In the years since I fled my foster home, I’ve learned how to defend myself.
My assailant could cut me open in a heartbeat, but I’m oblivious to the risk. I have to act now, or my fate is sealed. He’s already pushed me into the river in an attempt to drown me. He won’t hesitate to kill me.
I kick back and bring my heel down hard on the top of his foot. It doesn’t inflict much damage through his boot, but my simultaneous, vicious elbow to his gut causes him to grunt in pain.
The knife breaks contact with my neck for a moment.
Rand shouts my name. I drop to the floor with all my weight, and my attacker’s grip on me sags.
A primal snarl echoes off the walls, and Rand slams into my captor, driving him away from me. The back of the man’s head cracks against the plaster, stunning him.
Rand doesn’t give him a moment to gather his wits. Two massive hands bracket the man’s skull. He twists. Bones crunch.
The dead man drops to the hardwood floor. He stares at me blankly.
Carter’s lifeless eyes flash over my vision, blurring with my current reality.
Masculine hands reach for me. I shriek and scramble back.
“Karolina…” Bones’ voice is rough with anguish.
No. Not Bones.
Rand.
He’s both men. They’re both him.
“Stay away from me!” I throw up a shaky hand between us, as though that will be enough to ward off the beast of a man who’s been deceiving me all this time.
How did I not see it before? His huge, muscular body had been obvious even when completely concealed by his black clothing as Bones. Rand has the same physique.
In our intimate moments, I even fleetingly compared my stern professor to my domineering masked man in my mind.
“Don’t be afraid,” he begs.
His voice is less gravelly, but he doesn’t have an English accent.
Because it’s fake. I always thought he sounded weirdly American.
My thoughts tangle, muddled in the aftermath of the adrenaline rush. Nothing makes sense.
My gaze is inexorably drawn back to my dead stalker. His eyes are blank. Lifeless.
Just like Carter’s…
Rand’s hulking body blocks the macabre view, and his dark eyes fill my world.
“You’re safe now,” he rumbles. “He can’t touch you ever again.”
“I’m not safe,” I whisper. “I’m alone here with you.”
He reels back as though my words are a sucker punch. “I would never hurt you.”
I shake my head and scoot back farther.
“I killed him to protect you.” Rand’s—Bones’—voice is strained. “I would do anything to keep you safe, Karolina.”
“I have no idea what you’re capable of.”
His beautiful face hardens to a grim mask. “He pushed you into the river. He left you that threatening note. He tried to cut your throat just now. I won’t apologize for ending him.”
“I’m not scared of you because you killed my stalker.” I babble the truth without fully thinking through what I’m saying. “I scared because you lied to me. You’ve been lying to me all this time. I just…fucked you.” I stumble over the words, and he flinches. “I trusted you.”
“Ask me anything,” he pleads roughly. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I’m still me. And you’re my Karolina.”
“Don’t say that! I’m not yours! How can I be yours when I don’t even know who you are?”
“You’ve known me for years. Please, give me a chance to explain.”
I shake my head and push to my feet, desperate to get away from the dangerous stranger who just killed to protect me.