Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“I don’t.”
He holds up his hand, showing me his glimmering fingertip.
“You’re gross,” I say, but I don’t mean it. There’s something about my wetness on his hand that turns me on even more.
“Sure I am, Evie,” he says sarcastically.
“Just… go, okay? Just leave me alone. Let me go or go. Those are your choices.”
“I’m doing this—”
“For my safety? Change the record.”
He steps aside, gesturing to the trapdoor. “Don’t make me carry you again.”
This time, I walk down the stairs myself. Not because I want to do what he says, but because I know if he touches me again, I might lose it.
Back in the living room, I sit on the couch, squeezing my legs together as my core pulses.
I’m not the most experienced person with sex, but this chemistry can’t be normal, can it? It’s like I’m hungry for him. His attention. His power. His truths. But just because my body is playing messed-up games, it doesn’t mean my heart is suddenly invested in this virtual stranger.
He closes the trapdoor, leaving me alone again. I take a few minutes to calm myself down – or try to – and then go through the bag he left.
Cat food. Litter tray. Fresh produce for the refrigerator…
And a cellphone, with a single text on it.
Dom: This is a jail broken cellphone which can only text and call this number. If you need to contact me, use this.
“Maybe this is my way out,” I muse, as Meatball watches me. “Maybe I can use his desire against him.”
Meatball purrs doubtfully.
“I don’t want him. I just… slipped. That’s all.”
Meatball tilts his head as if to say, You’re not kidding anybody.
“Fine, maybe there’s some physical… something there, Meatball. But that’s all it is–if it’s even that. And that doesn’t mean I’m going to spill my deep. dark secrets.”
Shame clings to me as my memories flood with Mason, with the Vultures and their demands and the life they tried to force on me.
CHAPTER 5
DOM
Rafe and I sit on the back porch that overlooks my large garden. It’s been several hours since the standoff in Echo Park. Rafe sips from his glass of whiskey. He’s a tall man with a sinewy strength, his black hair combed back, and the sides shaved short, a flashy gold watch on his wrist.
“I’ve managed to stop the cops from turning this into a missing-persons case,” Rafe says.
“How?”
“I assured them that Evie Davis was safe and explained to them they didn’t need to know the details. I know you want to distance yourself from this life, but it has its uses.”
“Hmm.”
He laughs gruffly. “I know you’d rather eat a bullet than admit that.”
“Just because I left it behind, don’t think I assume I’m better than you. I committed several crimes today. Assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment. She’s in the panic room right now. Alive, safe, but not exactly here because she wants to be.”
“What does she want?”
For a moment, I think about what happened: the slickness of her body, the connection. Then I focus on the present. “To drop her in Glendale with no cash and no plan. To go it alone against The Vultures. God knows what would’ve happened to her if I wasn’t there. Have you got any more information about what work she was doing with them?”
“No, just whispers through the grapevine that she was affiliated with them and they’ve been hunting her since she ran.”
“That prick brought out the old me. I wanted to kill him.”
“The location wasn’t ideal. I’m glad you didn’t.”
“Me too,” I admit reluctantly. “Any sign of this Mason asshole?”
“The Vultures’ hideout is mysteriously empty.”
“They might know who I am. Mason said ‘Mr. Russo’ with emphasis. Maybe they’ve learned their lesson and they’re going to back off.”
“Or maybe they’re hiding and waiting for their chance,” Rafe muses.
“Find them for me, Rafe. I can’t let her go until I know she’s safe.”
I look at the horizon. The sky is bleeding red as dusk approaches. I feel Rafe looking at me like he used to, back when we were close friends, before I chose my path and he stuck to his.
“And here I was thinking you left the life behind,” Rafe says with a smirk.
“Don’t make a joke out of this. I went on the straight and narrow. I haven’t committed a crime in years, until today, until those pricks forced me to.”
I rarely even think about the mafia, about Father, about any of it.
After a pause, Rafe says, “Are you sure you want to let her go, even after we handle this?”
“I’ve never kidnapped anyone. I’m not some psycho.”
“No shit. But I’ve never seen you like this before. And following her? What made you do that?”
“I was scared for her. She mentioned The Vultures.”
That’s not what I told Evie when I was touching her in the garage. I told her it was because I wanted her. Maybe that’s closer to the truth.