Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Emery rounded the counter and moved to the door, welcome on her face as she unlocked it.
Faint flurries of snow had begun to fall, and it flitted around him and stuck to the black locks of his hair.
His face was full of that casual menace that should terrify me but instead sent a gush of need streaking through my insides.
“Hey, Theo. What are you doing here?” Emery asked.
Moonlit eyes flickered to me. “Need to give something to Piper.”
She widened the door. “Perfect timing. We’re just finishing up.”
“Good.” Theo stuffed his hands in the pockets of his leather coat as that potent gaze traipsed over to me. His stare a blast of heat against the blister of cold that flooded in around him.
Memories of last night hit me like an avalanche.
All consuming.
A burn that ignited in my body.
“Let me grab my bag and coat.” The words were tremulous.
More flustered than I should let on, I fumbled into the back breakroom, sucking for a cleansing breath as soon as I was in the safety of its walls.
Taking a minute to prepare myself for whatever had brought Theo to the door.
Me.
It was me who had brought Theo to the door, and I still wasn’t sure how to handle that.
I wanted to chalk it up to the simple plan—the pact we made last night.
But I knew I was nothing but a fool clinging to that. Some piece of me was chipped away every time he came into my space.
Pushing the reservations down, I slung into my coat and tossed the strap of my purse over my shoulder, silently scolding myself to get my shit together.
I wasn’t sure that was possible with the way I itched with the need to get back out there as fast as I could.
Inhaling a staggered breath, I rushed out the door.
A peep of surprise ripped out of me when I smacked into Emery.
“Oh my gosh, Emery, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
Soft laughter rolled out of her as she reached out to steady me.
A knowing smile pulled to her pretty face, and her warm blond hair swished around her shoulders as she glanced back to check that Kane and Theo were busy chatting with each other before she turned back. She dropped her voice like what she was getting ready to share was a secret.
Like she knew I was completely spinning out.
“Theo is an incredible man, Piper.”
My throat thickened, and emotion pulled tight to her features as she lowered her voice even further. “I know what he looks like…what they all look like…” she rushed.
She gulped, and her head barely shook. “And yes, there is some validity to their appearances. But what they do? They do it to make this world a better place. They do it because they’re good, through and through, even though the rest of the world might not see it that way.”
The words were driven low and with emphasis. A quiet urging. As if she was desperate for me to understand them. Though there was something about the way she seemed to want to keep those words a secret that made me sure she wasn’t supposed to be sharing them with me.
Anxiety flash-fired through my system.
All the questions that Theo evoked bubbled up anew.
Dangerous.
All of them.
I knew it.
I knew it to my core.
If I reached out, it felt like I’d be able to sweep my fingers through the oppressive vapor that kept Theo concealed, and I’d be able to see the demons that roiled and seethed behind it.
Emery’s ambiguous words only compounded it.
What they do?
“What does that mean?” It was out before I thought better about asking it.
I shouldn’t want to know.
I should run, and here I was, trying to make this place our home.
Squeezing my hands in hers, Emery peeked back again. When she turned to me, regret and hope swam in the depths of her kind eyes. “It’s not for me to tell, but I want you to know that when I came here? I assumed every horrible thing I could pin on Kane, and I was wrong. So terribly wrong.”
Uncertainty buzzed through my veins, and I peered behind her to where Theo lingered inside the door, casually talking with Kane while he still blazed with that savagery that he still somehow directed at me.
“You get out of here,” Emery coaxed. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at Raven’s.”
A fresh round of nerves fired through me at the thought. The idea of going to Raven’s house felt far too intimate.
Far too close.
Even if I stayed here? I couldn’t let down my guard and allow them to see who I really was.
“Are you sure you don’t need my help here tomorrow?” I asked around the knot in my throat.
We’d decided my schedule would be Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, but I didn’t want to leave her in the lurch.