Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 132649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
What a nightmare.
Strengthening her resolve, Iris allowed her shoulders to drop and in a quick move taught to her by her younger brother, feinted to the left and—when he reacted by instinctively moving in that direction—ducked under his arm and into the kitchen. Once safely inside, she immediately darted behind the kitchen counter in an effort to put a barrier between them.
His back stiffened and he clenched his fists before turning to face her, murder in his eyes.
“Just one night. I’ll sleep on the floor. I promise not to make a sound. Just call Mr. Quinn, he’ll clear this up.”
“You’re trespassing and if you don’t get out of my house right fucking now I will have you arrested.”
“Oh, please do,” she invited with an insouciance she didn’t feel. Truthfully, the thought of being arrested and locked into a small space made her hair stand on end. But she wouldn’t let him see that. “At least then I’d have a ride out of here and a place to sleep tonight.”
He stared at her for an interminable moment and nodded decisively. He dragged his phone out of his front jeans pocket and swiped at the screen before he tapped a few times and then lifted the device to his ear.
“Although,” she said, and his arm halted halfway up to his ear. “If you do call the police and someone recognizes you, how long before your private and cozy little hidey-hole is inundated by the public and press?”
“What the hell do you call this, if not an invasion of my privacy?”
“I’m one person, here to conduct an interview on your and Mr. Quinn’s terms. You have all the control. You lose that the second you lose your anonymity.”
His lips tightened and she felt a little thrill of victory when his thumb viciously jabbed at the call end button. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and nodded.
“Fine… follow me.”
Go, me! Iris’s inner voice cheered, as she meekly followed the big man out of the dark kitchen. He led her down a long, poorly lit hallway, into a darkened room, toward a closed door. Once there, he stood aside and held out a hand inviting her to open the door.
“You can stay there.”
“Thank you so much, I promise I won’t be a bother,” she said, her giddy relief evident in her voice. “In the morning, perhaps you’d be willing to revisit the idea of an interview, especially after you have a look at my correspondence with Mr. Quinn, which will clear up this misunderstanding.”
She pulled the door inward, still earnestly speaking to him over her shoulder as she walked through it. “And if you agree to…”
She stopped talking as she registered the cold air on her skin. A hand on her back shoved her roughly all the way through the door. It took her brain a second to absorb what was happening and, by the time she understood that she was outside again, the door had been shut and the lock engaged.
She appeared to have been led through a side door into a dark garden. She took a second to get her bearings—she had to be on the side of the house somewhere. She wasn’t entirely sure how to get out of this space. There seemed to be a high hedge surrounding the patch of grass and trees, but there was no shelter from the elements. She’d been better off on the back porch, which had some cover and a swinging love seat.
But that… that creature was there. And Iris wasn’t sure she wanted to venture back there again. There had to be another way into the house. Returning to the car without even the meager light of her phone was not an option, and she wasn’t entirely confident of how to get back to the vehicle anyway. It was sleep outside in the cold and wind and, possibly, rain, with a wild animal on the loose, or do some actual breaking and entering.
Trystan Abbott had changed his mind about calling the police earlier, after she’d mentioned the possible loss of privacy if he did so. His reaction had revealed more to her than he’d likely intended to. He didn’t want anyone to know he was here. And he wouldn’t call the police because of that.
Which meant he wasn’t likely to have her arrested for making her way back inside. And if she was wrong about that, then Iris only hoped that the police would be more reasonable than the elusive celebrity. They’d likely believe her story once she provided them with the correspondence between her and Hunter Quinn. It was irrefutable evidence of her right to be here.
Iris thumped at the door in frustration.
“At least turn on the outdoor lights!” she yelled, more irritated than scared right now.
Seriously, what a dick. To think, she’d once been a fan of this arrogant arsehole. Not anymore. How excited she’d been when Hunter Quinn had agreed to allow her exclusive access to his most prized client. What an idiot she’d been.