Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“You owned me,” I tell her. “Every second of my attention. My desire. My commitment. My obsession. You owned every single moment, Sunshine.”
She kisses my chest. “I know.”
CHAPTER 29
ELARA
Ilie in Rhett’s arms, listening to the sound of him breathing softly in his sleep. When we came together, everything disappeared… everything. The past, the future, tomorrow, what I have to do.
It all melted into nothingness in the heat of his eyes. He looked at me like obsession doesn’t even come close. And with him, that’s what I wanted. On my terms. With my boundaries.
I like the feeling of his heartbeat against my cheek. I like knowing that he’s made sure this place is extra safe, and that if anybody even dared to crash through that door, he’d fight them off with a vengeance.
I love being with him. But that doesn’t mean I can start making plans for the future. Tomorrow is going to be a big—
The vibration of my phone cuts through my thoughts. I reach the bedside table quickly, thinking it could be Mira.
The number is unknown. My stomach clenches.
Is it him?
“Hello?”
“Elle?” Mira whispers.
“Mira?” I snap. “Why are you calling from an unknown number?”
There’s motion on the other end of the line. Then his voice.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
My spine stiffens. I sit up in bed, looking down at Rhett, at the peaceful, sleepy smile on his face.
“Don’t say anything,” he goes on. “I need you to listen to me and listen good. You’re not going to wake Rhett. Or to tell him I’ve called. Because if you do, I’ll kill her.”
I want to scream and yell so badly at the unfairness of the situation, but I can’t. Somehow, I keep my voice level. “How did you even…”
“I’m a very, very clever person,” he snaps. “That’s what people never understand about me. They think my… imperfections mean I’m not capable. But I am. I’m very capable of turning my attention to this little bitch if that’s what it takes.”
“How did you get her?” I whisper as I quietly stand and go into the en-suite, closing the door behind me.
“I take what I want,” he snaps. “You should know that. What I want right now is for you to be a good girl and get to us without Rhett.”
“I already told you, Lucian. I want you. I’m ready to meet you.”
“Call this insurance, then,” he snarls.
“Please let me talk to her.”
“We’re at your place,” he says. “Get here within the hour or I’ll do every interesting thing I ever wanted to do to you… but with her.”
He hangs up before I can say another word. My head is cloudy, my heart is pounding.
Should I wake Rhett?
But if I do that, then he could hurt Mira. If he hurts Mira—
Another vibration. This time, it’s a message.
It’s a photo of Mira tied up on the kitchen floor, wrists and ankles bound behind her back like an animal ready for slaughter.
Unknown: Don’t push your fucking luck.
I sneak back into the bedroom, wanting to scream, to panic. But I know my only option now is to stay calm and do what I can. In the bedroom, I get dressed so, so quietly, stopping any time Rhett moves in his sleep.
Once I’m dressed, I take his keys from the kitchen counter and go out to his truck. I watched him type in the code for the security system, so I’m able to bypass the gate.
Then I’m driving, forty-four minutes left, that text burned into my mind so brutally I’m struggling to stay sane.
Hatred surges at the edges of my consciousness, trying to steal my focus.
I can’t believe I let Mira stay at a stranger’s house.
God help me, I believed Rhett when he said that she would be safe with Marshall and his family. Now my sister is in danger, and it’s all my fault for leaving her.
I press my foot to the pedal, squeezing the steering wheel hard, my heart a drumbeat trying to close my throat.
I reach for my phone. Maybe Lucian has sent me another text, but I haven’t…
Oh, fuck.
I was in such a rush that I left my phone behind. What sort of sister am I to do something like that? What if he needs to call me in the meantime to change the location?
But I can’t turn back now. There won’t be enough time.
CHAPTER 30
RHETT
It feels good to smooth my hand across the sheets, knowing Elle is right next to me, warm and beautiful. When my hand finds an empty bed, I sit up, my heart in overdrive.
“Elle?” I call.
But my home feels empty. When she was here, it was like the air was different somehow, an atmosphere that changed everything. Now, it’s hollow.
I stand, head tilted, listening for the sound of footsteps or intruders. Taking my gun from the nightstand, I search the house. Elle’s cellphone is on the en-suite cabinet, as if she left it there by mistake.