Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“I can handle it. Whatever it is.”
He doesn’t look convinced. His frown only deepens before he heaves a sigh. “I had Romero reach out to the businesses on that block in case any of them had security cameras pointed toward the street. A few of them do, and they let him look at the footage. He was able to get a clear look at the plate on one of the cameras.”
“Did he… see the accident?” I don’t know why the thought makes my heart pound. It’s unnerving knowing there is footage of me coming close to being killed, but a twisted part of me wants to see it. Because I survived.
“No,” he murmurs, but the way he averts his eyes makes me wonder if he’s telling the truth. “That’s not the point, anyway. We found the name the vehicle is registered under.”
He stares down at our clasped hands, and something in my head clicks into place. “It wasn’t an accident, was it?”
Right away, his head snaps up, his eyes widening. “What makes you say that?”
“Because the way you’re making it sound. It’s a name you recognized, or one I would recognize. Right? And if it’s somebody I know, that means it wasn’t an accident. They deliberately hit me. It’s okay,” I insist when he grimaces. “I can handle it. Because you’re here with me. And I’m safe.”
With his free hand, he reaches out and cups my cheek. I lean into his touch. It’s my salvation. I couldn’t handle any of this without him. “You’re right. It was someone you know.”
Which tells me it could only have been one person. The only person from my life, besides his daughter, whose name he’s familiar with. Even though I want to turn away from the idea, it makes too much sense.
“Tell me,” I whisper, bracing myself.
“It was Lucas. I’m sorry. I really am.”
I close my eyes, forcing myself to accept. “Are you going to kill him?”
His grip on my hand tightens. “What makes you ask that?”
“Let’s skip the pretending.” I say it with as much affection as I can, so I don’t hurt his feelings. “I know that’s what you want to do because I know you.”
“You want to hear the truth?” I open my eyes and nod slowly, even though I dread hearing it come from his lips. “All that’s been in my head since we got the confirmation is the different ways I could extend his life as long as possible while making him wish I would take mercy and kill him quickly.”
He leans in, staring intensely. Looking into my soul, it seems. “But that wouldn’t be fair to you. You’re the person he hit, which means you get to decide.”
I can’t believe I’m hearing this. “You want me to decide if you kill him?”
“You’re the only one with the right to make that decision.”
I wish I could believe he was joking, but I know better.
A man’s life is in my hands—when he could have ended my life easily. When he has already robbed me of five years.
“There’s one more thing,” he murmurs. “From the footage, it looks like he sped up halfway down the block.”
Yes, he did. I remember now how the engine revved like he was picking up speed.
It was deliberate. Lucas deliberately hit me. He tried to kill me.
But is that worth a death sentence?
CALLUM
Come on. Make the right choice. Give me the go-ahead.
This is a big step. I wish there was a way to make her understand what it means for me to leave this in her hands.
Control is my thing. Before I met her, it was the one sure thing that would always get me off. Knowing I called the shots, that I held lives in my hand. Everything happens according to my schedule—when I’m damn good and ready.
Then along comes this girl, and everything I thought I knew about myself went out the window the moment I stopped thinking of her as a child and saw her as the woman she is. It’s times like this, sitting on the edge of the bed and waiting with bated breath for her to make up her mind, that I almost wish we’d never met.
But that would be a mistake, like cutting off my nose to spite my face.
In the end, this is for her sake. A small sacrifice on my part, so she’ll feel like she has the room to make choices for herself. I know how important that is to her. And if it means making sure she doesn’t get it into her head to run off again, it’s worth swallowing my pride and risking sparing that murderous motherfucker’s life.
He sped up. The son of a bitch sped up, probably once he saw her crossing the street. He sped up because he wanted to kill her.
My Bianca, my little bird, a woman he never knew even over the course of five years. He never learned the first thing about her, or else he would never have wasted the chance to love her.