Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“The baby,” I tell him, knowing he will understand. “She didn’t make it.”
Knight lets out a breath before finally nodding, a moment of heaviness and mutual pain sitting between us. He presses his hand to my head and guides me down into the back seat of the patrol car. “Watch your head, doll.”
Then, as I settle into the back of the cop car and stare up at him, feeling more lost than ever before, he simply sighs. “Don’t say a word until my lawyer gets there.”
And with that, the patrol car pulls away, taking my dignity along with it.
34
KNIGHT
Standing at the entrance of the holding cells, I look in at Harper as she sits next to one of our frequent flyers, Big Bertha, telling her whole life story and giving explicit details on how she ended up here, and why she isn’t cut out for a life of being someone’s prison bitch.
Storming into Elias’s home to find her racing through the living room with a gun trained on her back was the most terrifying scene I’ve ever walked into. Elias isn’t a great shot, but had we been even a second too late, that next bullet would have lined up perfectly with the back of her skull.
I don’t think she realizes how close she came to death today.
Fury ripples through my body. I’ve left her here for three hours, and if I had my way, I’d leave her for a few more. Despite knowing it’s not comfortable on the other side of those metal bars, at least I know she’s safe. Big Bertha isn’t going to touch her. If anything, she’ll be the first to protect her. Hell, I’m starting to wonder if Bertha gets herself thrown in here on purpose, simply for the hope of finding a little damsel she can claim. But she’s off track here, because this particular damsel is already mine, and unfortunately, she’s not the kind who wants somebody to swoop in and save her. She’s the kind to steal a handgun and walk straight into the lion’s den.
Fucking stupid. I can’t begin to wrap my head around why she thought it’d be a good idea to walk into that house. She wasn’t just asking for trouble; she was asking for a life sentence. But luckily for her, Elias has had a change of heart. He’s no longer pressing charges and has claimed it was nothing more than a private family issue.
In other words, he’s paid someone off to make this go away.
Letting out a sigh, I push off the edge of the wall and start making my way over to the entrance of the jail cell before shoving the key into the lock and giving it a twist.
“Ohhh, looks like we’ve got a toy to play with,” Big Bertha murmurs.
“Hey, that toy is my boyfriend,” Harper says, getting to her feet and making her way over to me. “If anyone gets to play with him, it’s going to be me.”
Bertha puts her hands up in surrender as I pull the heavy cell door open. “Have at it,” Bertha mutters. “But he don’t look like the type who wants to play. He looks pissed.”
“Got that right,” I say, my stare focused heavily on Harper, and the longer I watch her, the more she seems to shrink on the spot.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, still standing inside the cell.
“It’s time to talk.”
“Ooop, nope,” she says, reaching for the cell door and trying to pull it closed between us. “I’ll take my chances in here.”
I put my hand up and stop the cell door from closing before shoving it right back again, the anger pulsing through my veins making me far too short with her, but I can’t fucking help it. She broke into Elias’s home and baited him. What the hell was she thinking?
“Out. Now.”
“Damn,” Bertha mutters. “Check out the temper on this one. Be careful, Harper-Rayn. One push and he might snap.”
Harper presses her lips into a hard line, clearly not liking Bertha’s comments. After all, if anyone is going to give me a hard time, then she prefers that it come directly from her, and with that, she steps right out of the cell and directly into my arms, resting her head against my chest.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs as I reach around her and lock the cell once again. “I know it was stupid and reckless, but I had to try. I couldn’t just let him get away with it.”
My hand rests against her lower back, and I begin pulling her away. “Come on, doll. We’ve got some things to discuss.”
Her head lifts from my chest, and she glances up at me, her eyes filled with uncertainty. “How bad is it? Am I going to prison?”
“No, doll. I’m taking you home.”
“Home?” she asks as we step out into the corridor, giving us just a fraction of privacy as she puts on the brakes and pulls me up short, staring up at me with confusion clouding those beautiful green eyes. “What the hell are you talking about? I did exactly what he said I did, and there’s security footage. I’m fucked. I broke in and shot him point-blank in his own home. Sure, some other shit happened after that, but I’m guilty. The only place I should be going is to the courthouse.”