Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“Hey?”
She didn’t notice.
“Felicia?”
Her attention snapped to me and it dawned then that this was the first time she’d left that hellhole in two years. She probably wasn’t used to a moving car. She probably wasn’t used to the people everywhere in the busy airport. She was also likely deathly afraid she’d wake up back in that prison finding out that getting outta there was just a dream. She was probably afraid of me, too, afraid that I was just another abuser in a long line of people who’d mistreated her in the past two years.
“It’s okay. You okay?” I touched her face and she leaned into my palm, closed her eyes, and slowly nodded. She seemed a bit wobbly so I got her to a chair and sat beside her, holding her hand in mine and rhythmically stroking it.
“Want something to drink?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I’m okay. I have a bit of motion sickness, I think. From the car ride, and from…” she stopped.
“All the excitement?” I offered.
She nodded again.
I gave her hand a squeeze, “Stay here. I’ll deal with things at the counter and then we’ll get to the first-class lounge. Eighteen hours we are not sitting like sardines in coach.”
I gave her a smile and then went to the counter.
The flight was long. It was gonna be long no matter what but this was extra-long because she was not good company. She was trying to be an angel, to behave exactly the right way, but she was like a frog in a blender. She was emotional and she was trying to hide it but failing, miserably. Jiggling with nervous energy, trembling, being jumpy, clearly overwhelmed at the sights and sounds all around us. I wasn’t breaking any news to her until we were home. It didn’t feel safe.
Rafe Ruiz had included a sedative for her in with the travel documents but I’d flushed it. Maybe I should’ve given it to her.
We watched movies, we slept. At one point she settled down and slept and her head nodded and drifted to my shoulder and I got a pang of something, something fiercely protective. I let her stay there. I played chess on my iPad and then when she woke up, I offered it to her so she could play games on it while I slept a bit.
When we finally arrived, I led her to my SUV, which I’d had dropped off for us. I had no idea what she’d be like when I’d made all my travel plans so I’d done it that way on purpose, trying to keep a low profile, even though I was really too zonked to be driving.
“My place isn’t fancy,” I told her almost apologetically as we got into the elevator from the underground garage, mostly to break that awkward elevator silence, the silence I’d been experiencing for the better part of three days with her, only now it was worse, it was ominous, it was like her fear was palpable.
“My brother bought it ten years ago, his first place, but when he moved to a big house, I took it over. It’s close to my office,” I shrugged.
I knew she’d been told I was wealthy and powerful, that I came from an important and influential family. I also knew that the resort was luxurious. The place had been five stars, lavish. My place was nice, but it wasn’t exactly luxurious. It was a typical two-bedroom condo in a nice building. She smiled without reaction with her mouth, not her whole face.
“I’ll get you up and settled and then get our things tomorrow.”
I didn’t want to bring anything into the apartment in case it was bugged.
I noticed her chest was heaving, she was almost panting. She was looking like she wanted out of her skin. I sent a quick text to my brother to say I was home. The elevator stopped on the tenth floor and when the door opened, I waved her ahead. My condo was at the end of the hall. As I walked down the hall, her following, I sent a text to Zack to ask if the apartment had been swept today. After unlocking the door, I motioned ahead and she walked in ahead of me and stood frozen in her tracks just three feet inside the door.
I stepped in, stepped around her, disarmed the alarm, and then dropped my keys on the table by the door. I looked in front of me at the view she was taking in.
It was an open concept condo. Big marble island in between the kitchen and living area with pub style chairs with leather backs, stainless steel appliances, brown and cream marble counters with cream kitchen cabinets. Large family room with two brown leather sofas facing each other and a glass coffee table between them with an 80” TV over a white brick fireplace. The walls were a chocolate brown with cream trim. The floors were dark hardwood. The apartment had no dining room table. The living area was big enough it could be a combo but I usually ate at the island and didn’t have a lot of company so there’d been no need. It had a large master bedroom and a good-sized second bedroom that I used as a den. I had a decent-sized terrace with doors from the living area and from the master bedroom that led to it. It had a good view of downtown. The den had a desk, my Bowflex, a few arcade games I’d claimed when Tommy sold his place, and a futon in it for the odd time someone crashed here.