Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 176012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 880(@200wpm)___ 704(@250wpm)___ 587(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 880(@200wpm)___ 704(@250wpm)___ 587(@300wpm)
Noah moves toward me, and I start to escape, but he takes my hand. “You don’t like me,” he reminds Farrow as he holds me.
Farrow grins, eyeing Noah like he’s found a new toy. “But I love that you always do what you’re told.” He thins his gaze, target acquired. “Such a good boy.”
I try to pry my hand out of Noah’s.
“For the right people,” Noah whispers.
I stop at Noah’s taunt. I feel like I’m missing something. Is Farrow going to hurt him? I thought it was friendly banter, but I don’t like their tones.
Glancing at Farrow, I watch his smile fall, and the moment of silence stretches.
Noah laughs, beaming, and I don’t want to be here for some showdown. I’m losing time.
“Dylan!” Jared bellows into the night followed quickly by Madoc, “Quinn!”
Noah’s hold tightens, and he pulls me, running. A gust of wind sweeps through my hair and dress, and I stumble over the uneven terrain as I twist my wrist, trying to free myself. “I don’t want to go home,” I tell him in a quiet but firm voice. I tug, fighting to stop him.
But a high-pitched whistle slices through the air, and Noah and I whip around just in time to see Farrow charge him.
He flies in, Noah releases my hand to catch him, and I jump back just as Farrow takes Noah to the ground.
Noah hits hard, the cords in his arms popping out of his skin as he clenches Farrow’s shirt.
I stumble as they roll toward me, my heart in my throat. “Stop!” I whisper.
I don’t want them to hurt each other. Jesus!
But Farrow looks up at me, Noah holding him down now. “Run!” he growls.
My chest caves, and I watch him shove Noah back over, grunting as he pins him to the ground.
I know I should stop them, but I just bolt. They can take care of themselves, and so can everyone else, for that matter.
Racing through the forest, I pull the straps of my dress back up over my shoulders.
“Quinn!” someone roars, but the wind is flying through my ears too fast to tell who.
Scanning the area, I look for anything I recognize. A trail. A sign. A road maybe? If I can make it back to the car before my brothers find me, it’ll be a miracle.
I see a clearing ahead, maybe a parking lot for a trailhead. Twigs snap under my steps, and I whip my head left to right, speeding as fast as I can. Branches fly by, the night envelops me, and a man stands there…
Chills cover my skin, and I gasp.
What…?
I blink, breathing hard as I keep running.
A man. Standing still and dressed in a navy-blue suit, watching me fly by.
I look back, but the space where he stood next to the tree is now empty.
I exhale hard. What the hell was that?
I…
I slow to a jog, turning around and searching the brush around the area.
Where did he go? He was right there.
Did I recognize him? I search faces in my brain—friends of my brothers and my parents, customers, business owners in town… Dark hair, graying a little, but handsome. Tan with well-manicured stubble on his face. Around Jared and Madoc’s age, maybe a little older. He wasn’t dressed for hiking. What the hell?
I feel like I’m never going to get out of this forest.
Twisting around, I slam into a wall, and my head is still reeling so much that I don’t fight as someone lifts me off my feet. One hand under my ass and another guiding my thigh around his waist, he raises me up, his hot breath caressing my jaw as I let out a little cry.
Fireworks whistle in the night, lighting up the earth underneath us, and I look down into Lucas’s face as the reds and golds from above flicker in his eyes.
Sweat mats the hair at his temples, the vein in his neck throbs, and his chest falls hard under my hands. I try to swallow and wet my mouth, but as if he just came home from work and has been thinking about me all day, he doesn’t take his eyes off me. I gaze into his blue pools. Wasn’t there something I was running from? Something weird just happened behind me. What was it?
Quick footsteps pound the ground at my back, and Lucas doesn’t even break our gaze to see who it is.
“Into the woods,” he tells whoever it is. “Don’t watch, and make sure no one comes this way.”
Don’t watch?
I jerk my head, Noah and Farrow meeting my eyes for a moment. Then, throwing each other a scowl, they go separate ways into the woods like Lucas instructed.
Farrow knew I’d run into Lucas. And Noah might work for my brother, but he’s obviously not going to stand in Lucas’s way. I’ll remember this the next time they need me.