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)
“I don’t need a therapist. I just need Karolina.”
“Then go get her. I know you’re not going to give up, so stop whining and fix things with your girl.”
I pause for a long moment, bracing myself to endure the difficult conversation that’s to come.
He’s right. I’m not giving up. Not ever.
“Thanks, Ghost.”
“Don’t thank me. Just pay me. I’m going to call the clean-up crew. Get out of the house while they handle it. You don’t want them to see your face. They’re discreet, but everyone can be bought for the right price.”
“You’ll get your money.”
I’ll pay anything to get myself out of this clusterfuck and back into Karolina’s arms.
She’s priceless, more valuable that all the blood money I’ve ever earned.
It’s a good thing I have plenty of it. I’ll always be able to take care of her.
Always.
3
KAROLINA
Ihuddle on my sofa and press a hand to my chest, as though that will alleviate the ache. The sense of utter loneliness is crushing.
Before I opened myself up to Rand, I managed to pretend I wasn’t lonely. My illicit relationship with Bones was enough to distract me from the gaping hole in my heart.
I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever cared about.
My parents.
My first love… Brandon’s ruined face flashes through my mind, and my stomach churns.
Even creepy Rich died because he got too close to me. I didn’t like him, but his proximity was enough to seal his fate; my stalker slashed his throat.
The blank eyes of the dead man plague my thoughts.
Rand killed him.
Bones killed him.
To save me.
But I suspect if I’d been strong enough, I would’ve done it myself.
I’ve murdered before. Some primal part of me will do anything to survive.
I shudder and curl into a tight ball.
I have no one to turn to, no one to talk to. There’s no way to purge the tumultuous emotions that ravage my psyche.
I glance at my phone where it rests on the coffee table.
The closest person I have to a friend is Amala, and she barely knows me. How could I even begin to tell her about my dead stalker? How could I tell her about my kinky affair with my online masked man? And the fact that I slept with our professor?
The only person I’ve been able to trust has been Rand. I didn’t even fully trust him when I knew him as Bones.
A stupid, weak part of me longs for his company. I want him to hold me and promise me that I’m not alone anymore.
We share so many clandestine secrets now: my depraved sexual predilections; my forbidden affair with him, my professor; and the fact that there’s a dead stalker in his house.
As though I’ve summoned him with my traitorous longing, a soft knock taps on my door.
I know it’s him.
I unlock my arms from around my knees where they’re pressed to my chest and trudge the short distance across my lounge.
When the door swings open, his dark eyes flare with something like relief, but his perfectly chiseled features are still drawn tight with anxiety.
“Karolina.” He rumbles my name.
My real name.
The sound of it makes my heart twist.
Not alone.
I shake my head slightly to clear it. I’m nowhere near ready to throw myself into his arms.
“You owe me an explanation.” I try to sound terse, but my voice is strained.
“That’s why I’m here. Can I come in? Please.”
I take a step back, giving him plenty of space to enter without brushing his body against mine. The slightest physical contact might break my resolve.
His eyes flick over me, noting my pebbled skin. I’m chilled down to my bones, despite the ambient temperature.
“I’ll make some tea,” he asserts. “You’re cold.”
I scoff. “As if you even like tea. You’re not British. That accent was fake.”
He winces. “Coffee, then.”
I shake my head again. “Explain. Now.”
His expression hardens to the stern mask that makes something distinctly feminine swoon inside me. I straighten my spine and resist it.
“Sit,” he commands, his tone dropping to that deep register that has me obeying before I can think better of it.
I drop down onto my sofa, relieved to allow my weak knees to give way. I’m still shaken after my stalker’s attack. I could’ve died only half an hour ago.
And that was mere hours after the man almost drowned me.
Not to mention the spike of pure horror when I realized Rand is actually Bones.
I’ve experienced so many adrenaline dumps today that it’s a wonder I’ve been able to stand at all.
Rand picks up the blanket that’s draped over the back of my sofa and arranges it around my shoulders. I shiver despite the reassuring warmth that enfolds me.
The urge to lean into his touch is unnerving.
My body stiffens, and I manage to keep a foot of space between us when he settles down beside me.
I take a moment to study his hands. They don’t so much as tremble in the aftermath of the violent scene at his house.