Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
We’re all the sum of all our beginnings, I think. Mine took me on a wicked ride for reasons I do not yet comprehend. The car halts and the doors open. Micah steps into the hallway and holds the door for me.
I join him in the narrow passage waiting on me, just wide enough for me and Micah to travel side-by-side.
The path we travel is long, stretching a mile at my estimation, and I wonder what is above us. A high-rise? An extension of the warehouse we’d entered? We cut left at a fork and pass a good ten doors before we cut left again and enter a private hallway that ends at a sealed, high-tech door of some sort. I glance up at Micah. “My prison?”
He reaches behind me and presses his hand to a panel, effectively caging me between him and the door as it buzzes open. I don’t enter. I rotate and face Micah, my hand somehow landing on his chest. “What is this place?” I demand, yanking my palm away, but not before I feel the heat of his body and the charge of his heart.
“My quarters,” he says, those blue eyes piercing mine. “The only way anyone gets in here is when I invite them. Consider yourself invited.”
I swallow hard, the idea of an invitation to this man’s private quarters stirring a confusing mix of emotions. I cannot deny that I’m attracted to him, but I’m worried I’m offering trust too easily. “I don’t think me staying with you will sit well with some of the others. I think I need my own room.”
“If you mean Celine, I warned you about being challenged. You’re safer here with me, Ember,” he says. “This is me protecting you, not undressing you, and for the record, I don’t undress women who don’t want me to undress them.”
There’s a hint of heat in his voice, a natural intimacy between us that tugs us closer without ever moving, and I caution myself to slow down. My situation is vulnerable, even if I do not intend to be myself. And a small part of me fears being captive without ever knowing it’s happening. Isn’t that the story of my life? “Is every door here secured in such a manner?” I ask.
“No,” he says. “Leaders and Crystal Seers are the biggest assets and targets, both internally and externally, which requires an extra level of protection. Let’s go inside.”
I turn and enter yet another hallway, but this one is short. A few steps in and I enter a rather spacious living room of brown leathers and fine wood, while an open kitchen complete with an island is to my right. I have no idea how any of this furniture got here unless it was magic.
Micah joins me in the living room, and the small room is suddenly smaller, the intimacy between us swelling and blossoming while the rush of power he brings with him somehow throws fuel on the flame. I wonder what “power” translates to exactly. I wonder what it will for me. “We’ll stay at this location long enough to rest and ensure Jeremy isn’t an imminent threat,” he says, perching on the arm of the couch, which places us at eye level. “Then we’ll head to my primary headquarters, which is equipped with the best resources. And we’ll need the best if we’re going to figure out exactly what Jeremy is up to. For now, though, let’s talk about Oliver.”
“What about him?” I ask cautiously, a ball of concern in the center of my chest. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. Let’s keep him that way. Is he going to try to hunt you down?”
“Damn it,” I whisper, worried that’s exactly what he’ll try and do. “I think he’ll try to find me. And now I’m worried.”
“We’ll distract him until you can call him, if you think you can make him stand down. If you can’t, silence and magic are the better options.”
“I’ll make him stand down,” I say, but I know in my heart I’m going to hurt him when I push him away, no matter what my reason. “If you could put a pretty girl in his path he can fall in love with, that would be amazing,” I add, only half joking. “Got any magic that can make that happen?”
“He’s in love with you,” he concludes.
“We’re just really good friends, but maybe. Probably. I need him to be safe. When can I call him?”
“Let me have my team monitor him and see if it’s necessary. If you say one wrong thing, it could set him off, and I don’t want him on Jeremy’s radar.”
“No. God, no. And that makes me think of someone else. There’s a private investigator, too. I have him looking for Jeremy.”
“Hulk. I know. I gave him a wad of money and sent him to Alaska to find Jeremy. I told him I was the brother of one of the victims.”