Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 52178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
I know he cares, and for that reason, I’m not letting this go.
We arrive at the campground, and it’s still bustling with people packing up.
I know who to go looking for when it comes to Marek, and that’s Fred.
I find him giving out orders under the main tent.
His eyes widen when he notices me, and I know he’s not expecting me here. With a low growl, he walks over, and before he can so much as speak a single word, I demand, “Where is he?”
“I’m not telling you that,” Fred responds, his voice clipped. “He gave me orders, and I’m not breaking those orders. Leave.”
“I’m not leaving,” I say, leaning in close, “until you tell me where he is.”
“You forget, little girl, that I can make you leave. What’s it going to be?”
“I have photos,” Bonnie says, stepping up beside. “Incriminating ones, that I can publish and send to every newspaper in this god-damned country. Marek will be forced to leave again. So, you either tell her where he is, or I’ll release another article.”
“Nobody will believe a single fucking word,” Fred growls.
“Are you willing to bet on that?” Bonnie challenges. “Because the photos I have, would flip his world upside down. It’ll make that first article look like child’s play. I promise you; it will destroy him.”
Fred leans down, getting in her face. “Do you have any idea who you’re messing with?”
“Do you?”
They hold glares, and then Fred steps back. “I don’t have time for this shit. You’re his problem, he can deal with you. He flies out tonight, he’s in the city staying at a hotel until then.”
My eyes widen, and I look at Bonnie with a huge smile. “Damn you’re good!”
Bonnie grins. “I know.”
Fred gives us the name of the hotel, and we warn him that if he tells Marek I’m coming, that we’ll blow his world up. Shaking his head and muttering to himself, he turns away and Bonnie and I head back to her car.
“You don’t need to drive me. The city is a solid five-hour drive. I can make my way there,” I tell her.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind coming?”
I smile. “No, I need to do this myself.”
She nods, her grin big. “Give him hell, honey.”
Oh.
I will.
16
Marek isn’t at the hotel, but the lady at the front desk told me that he had just left, and she could leave a message. I tell her not to worry and hurry out the front doors. It’s raining outside, I mean torrential bloody rain, and so I do a quick glance around. If he just left, at this time of night, it would mean he’s going to a bar. Peering around, I notice one over the road. It’s bustling, even with the rain, and I decide to check there first.
Making my way over the street, I’m soaked by the time I arrive at the bar, but nobody gives it a second glance. That’s probably because everyone is partially drenched, and it’s not stopping them from having a great time. I take in each table, looking for Marek, and when my eyes settle on a man sitting right at the back, facing out toward the street on a stool at an outside table, I pause.
I would know that long, dark hair anywhere.
That straight back.
Those broad shoulders.
Taking a deep breath, I walk over and stop behind him.
I’ve thought about all the things I wanted to say, but the thing that comes out of my mouth is far from what I had planned.
“You didn’t think you could escape that easily. Did you, Master?”
He stiffens, and I won’t lie, I relish in his reaction.
Turning, he faces me with a hard expression.
“What the fuck...”
I don’t let him finish.
“Fred had no choice, don’t take it out on him. I made him tell me where you were. If you think it was going to be so easy to get up and leave, you were mistaken. You upended my entire life, Marek, and you don’t get to run now.”
His eyes flash, and I can see in his expression that he’s drunk.
Oh, he’s drunk as hell.
Part of me wants to believe that’s because he’s hurting, but I know it’s probably so far from the truth.
Pushing out of his chair, he walks past me without another word, and heads out onto the street.
Oh, hell no.
Not this time, buddy.
I follow him, the freezing rain coming as a shock to my slowly drying skin. I press my lips together and follow him across the street, and when he stops at the front door of the hotel, he spins on me. “Go home, Ellie.”
“No,” I say, simply. “I’m not leaving, not after everything.”
“I don’t want you here,” He grinds out. “Why can’t you get that through your fucking head?”
“Yes, you do,” I say, crossing my arms, refusing to let his words hurt me. “I know you do because you’re running for a reason. You can’t handle the way I make you feel, and it’s easier for you to disappear than to face it.”