Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“I hope you don’t think a few security guards and some metal gate will stop me from getting what I want.” He taps the gate with his hand. “I’ll find a way around it. Now that I know she’s here I won’t have far to go when I’m ready to take her.”
“If you step foot on my property you will regret it immensely.”
“Are you threatening me, Pup?”
“It’s not a threat.” I grit out. “If you don’t believe me, do it and see what happens.”
He only grins, his smile slightly unhinged. He has to be at least twenty years older than Elyse. All the things she told me about this fucker come rushing back to my mind, giving me even more fuel to end his pathetic life.
I might hurt Elyse with my words, but everything I do is to protect her. This fucker doesn’t want to protect her. He wants to hurt her, and I will end his life before I let that happen again.
Leaning down, I tug the knife from my ankle sheath. Expertly, I roll it over my palm and flip it so the blade points toward Yanov. “Are you sure you don’t want to fuck around and find out? It would save me some time.”
He shakes his head. “Sorry, I can’t play your little kid games right now. I'm under orders at the moment, but don’t worry. The day will come soon enough when I’ll return to take her from you. Maybe I’ll let you stay alive long enough to watch it happen.”
“The day will never come fuckface. I might look naive, but I’m a lot harder to kill than you think. If you want Elyse, it will come at a cost, and I don’t know that you’re willing to die for her.”
That only earns me another shrug, then he peels back one side of his coat to flash the gun I knew he was already hiding there, but it's not the gun I latch onto. No, it’s the shiny surface of a badge glinting on his belt.
Well, that complicates things. “You don’t know a damn thing about me, but you will, soon. In the meantime, make sure you take good care of my girl, and let her know I’ll be coming for her soon.”
It's a shocking development, yes, but it also fills me with a different kind of anger. Ely told me what happened, but she didn't give me this one very important detail.
That he’s a fucking cop.
“I warned you what will happen if you step on my property, so when you show up here again, don’t be shocked, because police badge or not, I’ll end your life and deal with the consequences later.”
“I guess we'll see what happens, won’t we?” He slowly backs away from the gate, and I track his movements.
“We certainly fucking will.” I try to play it off like I don’t give a fuck what he says, but keeping the mask of indifference in place is difficult as fuck when I want to murder him with a glare alone. I stand there watching him disappear down the driveway. I want to make sure he’s gone before I go back inside the house.
Dealing with this fucker is my top priority.
My phone vibrates with an incoming text, and this time, when I pull it out and open the message, it’s the group chat I share with my best friends. I haven’t been active in the group for weeks now, and I know it’s my own fault for pulling away from them. Guilt flares deep in my chest. I haven’t shared anything with them about my grandfather, Elyse. What my future plans are. I know I could go to them, but they each have their own shit going on, and I don’t want to burden them, nor do I want Bel to find out how bad everything has gotten.
Still, I read through the messages, smirking, wondering when things became so fucking hard. Life. School. Work. To be a kid again. Mmm, then again, my childhood wasn’t any better really. I’m dragging my feet by the time I march back up the driveway, my vision hazy. Fuck, I guess I didn’t realize how exhausted I was. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, the mix of alcohol and lack of sleep are in full effect.
I blink, but the world moves in and out of focus. I make it through the door, the ground beneath my feet shifting. It takes substantial effort to keep my eyes open, but somehow, I manage to fight off the exhaustion just long enough to get inside.
I stumble through the first door I find, the world spinning around me. I recognize the room as my grandfather’s office, and I slump down onto the long leather couch. I’m hit with a wave of nostalgia. A reminder of the numerous nights I fell asleep on this very couch while my grandfather and or my uncle worked. Even with the memory of what happened in this room, it still feels like home. I let my eyes drift closed, and I’m assaulted by her. Even in my dreams, I can’t escape her sassy mouth and piercing blue eyes.