Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
I felt my blood boil at the thought of another man hunting her… touching her… claiming her.
“What did the man do?” I somehow asked between clenched teeth.
I stood up, my fists balled. I needed to call Braken and demand a hit on the asshole who did this to her.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I ran as fast as I could to really get away. No game this time. I then climbed some rocks and fell. Next thing I knew, I was here. But nothing happened… sexually.” She looked up at me, her lip trembling. “You were right. I was in over my head. I’m sorry for not listening to you, for putting myself in danger. I know that I can be impulsive, that I don’t always think things through, but I promise you, I won’t do that again. I’ll listen to you from now on. But I was doing it because…”
I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to scold her, punish her, lock her away so no one could ever come near her again, and to tell her that she was damn right she wouldn’t be doing The Hunt again. That I wouldn’t let anything like this happen to her again. But another part of me understood that she was just scared, that she had made a mistake and was apologizing for it. So instead, I pulled her closer to me, holding her tight as I whispered into her ear, “You don’t have to apologize, Storee. You’re safe now, and that’s all that matters.”
I sat down beside her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, trying to soothe her as we waited for the doctor to arrive.
“I found the camera on my porch,” she said softly. “It was you, right? Watching?”
I hesitated for a moment before nodding my head. “Yes,” I admitted, “I was keeping an eye on you.” I wasn’t going to apologize but I wasn’t going to lie either.
“Has it always been there? Have you been watching me ever since—”
“Your father died,” I cut in. “I had to make sure you’d stay safe. Security.”
“I’m not mad,” she said. “Or at least not anymore. But I was going to teach you a lesson about spying.” She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “It sounds stupid now, but I thought you would see me turn on the red light. I thought you’d come and stop me. I thought…” She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
“I should have been there,” I said, feeling the fury rage inside of me. “I didn’t see. I wasn’t watching. Fuck. Fuck—”
“It’s not your fault,” she interrupted. “I was playing a stupid game, and it backfired.”
I hugged her tighter, feeling a surge of possessiveness and protectiveness wash over me. I couldn’t let her go, not after what she had been through. I had to keep her with me, safe and sound. Locked up if I had to. Anything to never lose her.
“No more tears,” I said, lifting her chin up so that she could look me in the eye. “It’s over. You’re safe.”
She nodded, tears still streaming down her face. “I wasn’t breaking my promise in the way you think. I only turned on the red light to get your attention.”
I wiped her tears away with my thumb, then leaned in to kiss her forehead. “You got it. You most certainly have my attention now.”
The door opened, and a young doctor walked in, her eyes quickly scanning the room before settling on Storee. The doctor approached with a clipboard in her hand, a sympathetic smile on her face.
“Hello, Storee. I’m Dr. Williams. How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m okay,” Storee said, her voice still trembling.
Dr. Williams nodded, flipping through the pages on her clipboard. “Well, your CT scan came back clear, so that’s good news. But it looks like you’ve had quite the night. I want you to take it easy for the next few days, okay?”
Storee nodded, and the doctor scribbled something down on her clipboard before turning to me.
“Are you her father?” she asked.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should continue the lie, but then decided against it. “No, I’m her… friend. Her close friend,” I said.
The doctor gave me a knowing look but didn’t say anything as she stood to leave the room. “Make sure she stays awake for the next couple of hours and keep an eye on her. If her symptoms get worse, bring her back in immediately.”
I thanked the doctor and helped Storee off the examination table, carrying her out of the clinic and toward my car. I cradled her against my chest, wondering if I’d ever be able to put her down now that I had her in my arms. She protested, but no way was I going to allow her to walk out of the clinic without any shoes on.