Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Mine didn’t. It gutted me.
One day, I’m the Bishop family disappointment. Next, I’m heir to the enemy's dynasty.
Confused and angry I’m thrust into a new life, where I’m expected to become the monster my father spent years crafting. But I don’t even know who I am, or who I want to be, and if I have to hurt, then everyone around me will too.
There’s one person who refuses to break, who refuses to deal with my crap.
Allie Porter.
My enemy. The girl raised by the mother I never had—perfect, untouchable, infuriating.
She meets my fire with her own, and it pisses me off almost as much as it pulls me in.
I want her and despise her in the same breath, which is why I keep my distance.
Until the night I save her life.
Now she’s indebted to me, and if she wants to survive she’ll do what I say.
But taming the little filly is nothing like I expected.
The closer we get, the more her truths tear through my assumptions.
She’s not the pampered princess I tried to hate— she’s a survivor. A fighter. A girl drowning in the same darkness I carry. It's then somewhere between hate and obsession, the truth becomes undeniable: I’ll burn this dynasty to ash before I let someone else claim what’s mine
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
Allie
“Suppose she just left town and decided she didn’t want to tell anyone?”
I roll my eyes at the lazy theory thrown at me by our esteemed sheriff. Go figure.
How many times do I have to repeat myself? Saintlyn James wouldn’t simply disappear, not even for an hour—let alone days. I grit my teeth against the need to bite back at this bastard.
“You know Saint. Everyone in town knows her. She wouldn’t just leave. That’s not who she is, and even if she did leave, where would she go? Her father is here. I’m here now. Her entire life is here.” He can’t actually expect me to go along with this—this lie.
I guess he does since he merely shrugs. The movement makes me drop my gaze to the badge on the front of his khaki shirt. It gleams in the overhead fluorescent light. What a load of shit. The man wearing that badge should genuinely care about every person in his jurisdiction, yet he barely stops short of yawning in my face.
“The truth is, we all think we know someone. Then they do something wild and shocking, and suddenly, everyone starts actin’ like they never knew them at all. Maybe you don’t really know Saint. Maybe none of us do. People disappear all the time. Sometimes there isn’t a reason. They just take their possessions and go.”
I would laugh at the thought of Saint doing something so out of character if his indifference didn’t make my blood boil. Men like him shouldn’t be in positions of power. Clenching my hand into a tight fist, I slam it on his desk. “I’ve told you numerous times already. She didn’t run away. Something happened to her! Can’t you see that?”
The glares of the other two officers in the room burn into my back. Sure, I’m making a scene, but I want answers, and playing nice only gets you so far. Playing nice is what Saint does. Not me.
He sighs, long and slow. “Listen, I know you care about Saint, but I can only do so much. There was no forced entry at the pastor’s house, and no apparent struggle. We have nothing to lead us to believe that she was taken anywhere or that anything malicious happened.”
I don’t understand how that’s possible. Saint wouldn’t disappear without a word, not on me. Especially me. I mean, yeah, I’ve been away at college, but we’re still best friends. Distance doesn’t change that.
“I don’t understand.” I shake my head, trying to figure out this puzzle. They watched my best friend grow up. They know Saint’s father, and that she lost her mom not all that long ago.
Are they blind? Or just avoiding the truth?
How can they not see how out of character this is for her?
It’s already been almost a week.
Six awful days since I went to Saint’s house to catch up when I got home from college, only to find her gone. The front door had been unlocked, and while Sheriff Tanner was right—it didn’t look like there had been any struggle—the baking supplies she was using were still on the counter, along with a bowl of cookie dough. It was like one second she was there and the next... gone. No text. No note. Nothing.
“I’m sure she’ll turn up.”
I narrow my eyes. “Turn up? Turn up? She’s not a missing pet. She’s a human who disappeared without a word to anyone, and y’all are acting like it’s no big deal.”
Sheriff Tanner sighs again. “That’s not true. We’re doing what we can based on the information and evidence we have.”
“I don’t understand. You’re a police officer, and someone is missing. Shouldn’t you be putting up flyers? Asking people to help look for her? Why are you sitting here doing nothing?” It feels like I’m begging him to do his damn job, and I shouldn’t have to.
Every time I think of Saint, this sick dread threatens to consume me. I should be doing more, asking more questions. I have to do more.
“We’ve asked questions and run surveillance. The best thing to do is wait and see if anyone calls to report somethin’.” Tanner’s features soften. It’s almost like he’s capable of feeling remorse, but he’s not fooling me. He doesn’t really care. He’s pretending. The way he always pretends to a person’s face when they bring him a problem he either can’t or won’t handle. “If I hear anything at all, you’ll be my first call, but making a scene won’t help.”
There’s an ache in my jaw from how hard I clench my mouth shut. Then I can’t. “No, you’re right, but I bet if I had a different last name, you’d be out there looking for her. The only thing that motivates you is money and a fucking order from a Bishop.”