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)
I release my gun from its holster, my finger resting alongside the trigger as I reach for the handle and turn, unable to get Harper’s words out of my head. What hasn’t she been telling me? What hasn’t she been honest about? What is it that she thinks she has done wrong?
Letting out a breath, I silently push the door open, using the tip of the gun to push it wider as I survey every inch of my entryway. There’s nothing out of place. No signs of forced entry, no scratches on the new door lock. To the naked eye, everything appears as it should.
Stepping into the house, I do a quick walk around the living room and into the kitchen before making my way down the hall. I glance into the bathroom and every closet on the way before checking the spare bedroom. The coast is clear, and as I finally move into the bedroom, I start to see fragments of Harper’s story come to life.
Her scrubs on the floor from where she would have walked in and stripped off on her way to the bathroom. Her towel is on the floor, and though the bed is still made, it’s clear there was a struggle on top of the blankets. But there’s no sign of anybody inside the house.
I do a double and triple check, not wanting to risk bringing Harper back in here without being absolutely positive. When I finally head back outside and approach her Honda, she unlocks and opens the door. I make my way over to her, and she looks up at me as I step into the open car door. “There’s nobody in there,” I tell her. “It’s clear.”
Her eyes are still watery as she watches me. “You’re sure?”
“Positive, doll. It’s safe.”
She slowly nods before finally giving me her hand, and I help her out of her car before locking it behind me. We walk up the path together, my hand on her lower back as I lead her back into our home. “Have you slept?” I ask, closing the door behind us.
She shakes her head. “Couldn’t,” she murmurs.
“Why didn’t you call me? I would have come straight home.”
She shrugs. “I, umm . . . My phone. I left it here after I ran out. I didn’t want to come back in until I knew he was gone.”
“You ran?” I ask, leading her over to the couch. I sit down, and she immediately climbs into my lap, straddling my thighs and curling into my chest, right where she belongs. Harper nods against my chest, and I bring my hand up, cupping the side of her face. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
She takes a shaky breath, and I give her a minute to gather her thoughts before she’s finally ready to talk. “I got home a little after five and went to our room to shower, but when I got out, he was just standing there in the doorway, waiting for me. I was only in a towel and he was blocking the door. I had nowhere to go. And then he said all this stuff about how I belong to him, and when I told him he was sick in the head, he ran at me.”
She whimpers, tears streaming down her cheeks. I wipe them away, doing what I can to soothe her. “You’re safe now, doll. I’ve got you.”
She nods again before letting out a shaky breath. “He . . . He was coming from the door, and I had nowhere to go, so I tried to break through the window but he got to me first and then threw me down on the bed, and when I tried to get away, he pulled me by the ankle and pinned me under his body.”
“Doll,” I breathe, brushing my fingers through her hair, every last piece of my soul crumbling.
“He didn’t rape me,” she tells me, as if sensing my fears. “But he did touch me.”
“How do you mean?”
“He forced my legs apart and then pushed his fingers inside me while saying that my pussy belongs to him, but then he moved, and I was able to kick him. I got him right in the balls, and he dropped to the ground, which is when I was able to run, and I just took off and grabbed my keys, completely naked. I’ve been sitting down the street, waiting for him to leave ever since.”
I pull her in tight against me, my arms wrapping around her petite body and holding her against my chest, terrified to let her go. “Fuck, doll. I’m sorry,” I tell her. “None of this should have ever happened. If I had just caught him already . . . fuck. I’ve let you down. I should have done better. I should have worked harder to find him.”