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)
For a moment, I think I must’ve fallen asleep while he was massaging my shoulders.
My head clears a bit, and a hazy memory surfaces.
The prick of a needle on my neck.
Rand holding a syringe.
The last of the fog dissipates from my mind, and I sit bolt upright.
He doesn’t fully release me, but he loosens his grip enough that I’m not helplessly trapped in his arms.
I cast a frantic gaze around the unfamiliar bedroom. I barely took the time to study my surroundings when he carried me in here, and then I threw myself at him like I needed him more than my next breath.
We’re lying on a massive four poster bed, cuddled up under the plush black duvet. The walls are painted hunter green, like a billiards room. Sturdy antique furniture in carved dark wood punctuates the space.
I look out the window, and my heart drops when I see verdant fields and woodland.
I remember that we’re not in York. We’re alone on his vast estate.
And he drugged me for some reason.
“What’s going on?” I demand, somewhat tremulously. “You drugged me.”
His face draws tight with regret, and his dark eyes flash with panic. He watches me warily.
“I have to protect you.”
As though that explains everything.
“Tell me why!” I demand. “Right now.”
A shadow flutters at his jaw. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want an apology. I want an explanation.”
I rub my shoulder where he slipped the needle in. There’s a small, hard bump beneath my fingers.
“What the fuck did you do?” My voice is shrill with rising fear.
He’s lied to me before. Have I been a fool to trust him again?
“I need to be able to find you if we’re separated.”
“What does that mean?”
His expression firms with resolve. “If anyone tries to take you from me, I’ll be able to trace your location. I won’t allow anyone to hurt you, Karolina.”
Nausea curls in my stomach. “So, what? You…put something in me to track my location?” I scrape the bump with my nails. “Take it out.”
He grasps my wrist in a loose shackle. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
My heart twists. “You’re hurting me! I trusted you!”
I scoot off the bed, and he allows the distance between us.
“I have to keep you safe,” he insists.
It’s meant to be a reassurance, but alarm bells blare at the back of my mind.
I’m trapped here with him. Isolated.
I knew he was obsessed with me, but now he’s separated me from everyone I know. Amala isn’t here. There are no tourists to help me if I scream.
The threatening stranger at the café stole my phone. I can’t call anyone to get me out of here.
No one will save me from the possessive man who’s trapped me on this remote estate.
“Take me back to York,” I insist.
Anger is so much preferable to panic.
His expression darkens. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You chose to drug me!” I burst out. “Who even has drugs like that lying around? And some sort of tracking chip? Have you planned this all along?”
My mind spins.
“How much do you know about me? Did you know about Brandon before I told you I killed him?”
He flinches, and my stomach drops.
How deep does his obsession go? How much did he learn about me when he looked me up online? He’s admitted to finding me on the UNC website. I was an idiot to accept that half-truth. He’s known one of my darkest secrets all along.
“You’re connected to that man who threatened me somehow, aren’t you?” I accuse. “He knew about Brandon, and so did you.”
“I can explain,” he says, voice rough with desperation.
“That’s what you said before. I don’t want to hear any more lies.”
His lips press to a thin line. He doesn’t say anything.
The awful truth settles around my shoulders like a leaden blanket. “Has anything you’ve told me been true?”
“Yes,” he rasps. “You know me, Karolina. Everything I’ve told you about myself has been true.”
I rake a hand through my hair. I can’t allow myself to believe him again.
I have to get the fuck away from him. This man is more dangerous than the stranger in the café, more insidious than the Russian who was stalking me.
Because he’s worked his way into my heart. Now, his betrayal is rending it asunder from the inside.
He gets to his feet, and I take a step back. “Stay away from me.”
“Don’t be afraid,” he begs.
“Of course I’m afraid of you! What part of drugging and isolating me aren’t you understanding? You want to track me like I’m some wayward pet. That’s terrifying, Rand.”
I take another step back, but I keep my eyes locked on the threat. “I’m leaving.”
His muscles flex. “I can’t let you do that.”
My fists curl at my sides. I haven’t survived this long to be victimized by the man I was falling for—falling right into this trap he set for me.