Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
That’s all I dreamed about. Her small frame against mine. Her breath skipping past my skin as I lapped at her skin and thanked God that she lay right beside me, and not in that madman’s cage.
An abandoned mansion? I’m going to kill him just for that. A destroyed and neglected castle, that’s where you bring your princess? How gone are you, man? This isn’t even the Benny that I secretly respected, far back when you saved Lucy.
But now I’d read it all. He was the devil I’d named him to be. My theories proved to be correct. He’d killed my mother, tortured Dawn and Lucy, and then snatched my tesoro away from me.
I would crush him.
The image of that moment played out in my head like a perfect movie reel of the year’s best blockbuster action thriller.
I could see myself leaping through a closed window.
Why I would jump through a window, I didn’t work out in my head. But it was my fantasy so I jumped through a motherfucking window for my love! I tore away at the wooden pane and roared!
In the imagination, Benny stood in front of me. Rope bound Jasmine to a chair, just like in any other action movie where the villain had just gone too damn far, and everyone was excited to see the hero swoop in and beat his ass.
“Let her go!” I would say, but I’d understand that he’d wouldn’t be that easy.
We would have to fight it out. Man against man. Fists pounding into flesh. Guttural grunts and biting at skin. Punches that knocked teeth out and fractured arms. I craved a hit at his fucking face.
How many times had I beat at my punching bag in the gym with my trainer? How many moments did Benny’s face replace the bag and I pounded even harder than I ever had before?
I am He-Man and this motherfucker is Skeletor!
“Why are you walking like that?” Sophia flipped through a magazine as I headed to the front door of our suite.
“I’ll be back.”
“You sure will be back in that get-up.” She peered over her magazine. “The 1990s called, they want their style back.”
Through my sunglasses, I gazed down at my holey jeans, white wife beater, and leather jacket. “I’m looking like a tourist.”
“In what decade, Chase? Just because people don’t have money, doesn’t mean that they dress badly.”
“I never said that.”
“You look ridiculous. And what’s with the hat?”
“What’s wrong with the hat?” I glanced at the two guards behind her. “You both like my hat?”
They nodded.
“You look like you’re about to raid a lost ark.” Sophia flipped another page. “Or maybe you’re considering exploring a temple of doom.”
One of the guards coughed. Although I could’ve sworn he was hiding a laugh.
I cleared my throat and turned around. “I forgot something.”
“You probably forgot the rope for your last crusade.”
“Okay. I get it.” I walked off to my bedroom. “I look like Indiana Jones.”
“What? No wonder they picked you to search out the kingdom of the crystal statue.”
“It’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, not statue.”
I really dislike my mother-in-law. I can’t be the only man that dreams of killing his woman’s mom.
Twenty minutes later, I returned with jeans and an Elmo T-shirt. Part of me didn’t care what she thought. The other wondered like a lunatic.
She laughed before I could make it to the door.
I looked back at her. “What?”
She smirked and returned to the magazine. “Nothing.”
“I’m going with single dad on a trip to Europe.”
“Oh okay. Now it makes sense. I thought you were something else.” She grinned.
“What?”
“A pedophile.”
“You would know what a pedophile looks like.”
She didn’t even glance up as she laughed. “Don’t be mad at me that you’re a grown man in holey jeans with kid’s characters on your clothes, but no kids around you. Pedophile.”
I gazed down at my shirt, headed back to the bedroom, and changed.
Minutes passed and I returned only to meet with Sophia’s laughter.
“What now?” I walked by her.
“You look like a male fashion model, straight from the runway. Every woman over eighteen will notice you.”
I stared down at the pants and white button down shirt. “You’re over exaggerating.”
“You need to tone down the swag. It’s in your walk and that confident way you’re holding your face.”
Should I change again? Is she right? What am I doing?
“I should go with you,” she said.
And then it hit me. Perhaps my clothing choices were wrong, but in the end, Sophia was trying to get back into the game.
Not going to happen. Besides, I look like a fashion model in whatever I put on. I’m Chase Stone.
I could hear Jasmine laughing in my head, and wished she was there.
“Goodnight, Sophia.” I gestured for some of my guards to follow.
“Everyone will know who you are as soon as they see you,” she called back.