Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 73515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Most people would’ve been shocked by my accusation, but the only reaction I got from him was a muscle jumping in his jaw. “What do you suspect Barrington did to your neighbor?”
“I think he was pressuring her into either selling drugs or pimping herself. I’ve heard that he goes after vulnerable girls who don't have anyone to speak up for them.” My grip on my travel mug tightened as I thought about how excited Stacey had been when Paul first started paying attention to her. “He pretends to be into them—asking them out on dates, taking them to nice restaurants, sending flowers. Whatever it takes until he’s got the girl convinced that he only wants the best for them, and that’s when he goes in for the kill.”
The guy took a step toward me, and I backed up again. Although I was spilling my guts to him, he was still a stranger, and I was acutely aware of my vulnerability after Stacey’s disappearance. He held completely still as my doorknob pushed against the middle of my back. “You seem certain that Barrington is responsible for the girl’s disappearing act.”
“It’s not an act,” I hissed. “Getting her degree was too important to Stacey for her to risk messing up her grades. She’s here on scholarship, and the school will pull her funding if her average falls below a three point four. Before she met Paul, Stacey hadn’t missed a single class in three semesters. She even went when she was sick. There’s no way she wouldn’t have let her professors know if she was going to be gone, and I know she didn’t reach out to any of them because I asked.”
Dimples appeared in his cheeks when he frowned, making him even more attractive. “And you already went to the cops with your suspicions?”
“Yup.” I let the P at the end pop, and his eyes darkened when his gaze dropped to my lips. I barely resisted the urge to wet them with my tongue before I added, “And the police didn’t want to hear any of it since Stacey is an adult. Pretty much all they did was pull up her record. They told me she had a history of running away from foster homes when she was younger so she probably did the same now. Without any proof that something actually happened to her, they filed a missing person’s report and promptly put it at the bottom of the pile. I don’t think they even bothered to check the nearest hospitals since I’d already called around.”
“Hmm.”
I was about to ask him what the noncommittal sound meant when one of the alarms I’d set on my phone went off, alerting me that I needed to be in my class in an hour. I’d set up a few of them in case I overslept or got so wrapped up in my studying that I lost track of time and ended up missing my exam. Pulling my phone out of the pocket on the side of my yoga pants, I muttered, “Crap.”
The mystery man straightened and seemed more alert when he asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, but I need to get going or else I’m the one who’s going to need to worry about failing. One of my professors apparently has something against vacations because she scheduled a big exam for this morning when our brains are already looking ahead to break next week,” I explained as I shoved my cell phone back into my pocket.
“Good luck,” he murmured, turning away from me. As he slipped through the door that led to the stairs—and I watched his butt the entire way—I made a mental note to tell Grace’s dad about the mystery man. Jonah had become a billionaire by owning the best security company in the world. So I went to him for help when it had become clear the cops weren’t going to do anything about Stacey’s situation.
2
Merrick
I exited the dorm and walked at a measured pace to the parking lot. Fading into the background and not drawing attention to myself had been ingrained in me years ago. It came naturally now. Even though I wanted to hurry back to my hotel so I could do some research, my instincts kicked in and kept me from kicking up my pace.
When I reached the rented, nondescript, dark sedan, I slipped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Calling on all of my patience, I drove off campus to my makeshift base of operations.
Once I was back in my room and sitting at the desk with two open laptops and a tablet, I started digging.
This wasn’t unusual for me. Thorough research kept me alive.
However, it wasn’t my target that had my attention this time.
Instead, my mind was consumed with pale green eyes, soft honey-colored hair, a body with curves in all the right places, and freckles. The freckles were killing me. I wanted to wipe away every trace of makeup she used to hide the ones on her gorgeous face, then search for more all over her body.