Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Once I have all of that and have dug into each aspect of the case, then I’ll move into his life following the incident. The court case. Why didn’t he defend himself? Why remain silent when he could have fought his way free? I want to find the humanity within him. I want to know what drove him to such extremes, or if he has any regrets from that night. Then once I break through that hard exterior, I can delve into what his life in prison looks like. How has he adjusted to life in solitude? Is he safe? What’s his state of mind? All of that good stuff. And then it’s up to editing to make it shiny and bright.
My questions and notes are laid out on the table, and after spending the last few years studying this man, I think I know exactly how to approach him. Only it’s not going to be easy. If he decides I’m untrustworthy, the interview will go to hell, but if he thinks I might be worth something, then I’m in with a chance to make this the greatest comeback story ever written. Assuming there’s actually something to be uncovered. But if anyone is going to get it out of him, it’ll be me.
I’ve never met anybody I couldn’t crack, and Stone Blackthorne is no exception.
4
ARIA
Nerves rattle me as I pace the small conference room where we’re waiting for the guards to arrive with Stone. The sound of the doors buzzing and clanging makes me sick to my stomach.
The minutes seem to drag on, and as the heavy banging of the doors seems to get closer, my whole body trembles. Then I hear the distinct sound of chains right outside the conference room door.
I take shaky breaths and hover just behind my chair, gripping the backrest to mask the way my hands violently shake.
The door opens, and guards flood the room, their bodies masking my view of the man behind them. Despite being unable to see him, I can already sense a change in the air. It’s as though all the oxygen drains from the room, leaving nothing but pure fear.
My heart booms in my chest, the blood pulsing so rapidly through my body that I feel it in my ears. Silence falls over the room, and even Andy and Doug seem to be holding their breath as Stone’s chains rattle with every movement.
Step by step, he’s led right to me until finally the guards shift their formation, stepping out of the way as though showcasing the terrifying man behind them, and fuck, terrifying doesn’t even begin to cover it.
The temperature in the room seems to drop as I stare up at this man.
Stone stands at least six-seven, his massive, corded muscles threatening to tear right through his orange jumpsuit. The guards release his chains, leaving only the cuffs around his wrists.
You could hear a pin drop as my gaze sails up his massive frame, taking in the impressive width of his chest and the tattoos up his strong arms that lead right around the circumference of his thick neck. They were there before, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I have studied every image available of these tattoos, but something is so different. In the pictures from seven years ago, he was big, but he wasn’t like this.
The man standing before me is a goddamn mammoth.
A lump forms in my throat, making it hard to breathe as I continue my assessment, my stare raking over him, leading up to his stubble-covered jaw. Everything about him is precise. His chiseled jaw could cut diamonds while his dark hair is kept short and manageable, as though he couldn’t give a shit about looking after it.
I feel his stare locked on me, and as tension fills the room, terror pulses through my veins. I’m not prepared to meet his eyes, but I also didn’t come here to bitch out at the very last moment. There’s only so much prep a woman can do leading up to an interview like this, but nothing could ever prepare someone for standing in the presence of a man like this.
Swallowing over my nerves, I allow my stare to lift the rest of the way, my gaze instantly colliding with Stone’s dark eyes, and the brutal judgment and hatred I see reflected knocks the air right out of my lungs.
I suck in a needy gasp as my knees almost give out beneath me. Nobody has ever looked at me the way Stone Blackthorne is looking at me right now.
This man despises me, but more than that, I feel it in my blood. He doesn’t just despise me; he wants to kill me with his meaty hands, tear the skin right off my body, and feel the life fade out of me.