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)
“You could say that,” I tell him as Izzy makes her way back in while Diesel tracks her every step. “It was Elias.”
“Wait . . . wait.” Jonah takes a second, and I can all but hear the gears turning inside his head, trying to process what I just said. “Elias, as in Mom’s husband?”
“Do we know anyone else by that name?”
“Holy fucking shit.”
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” I say as Izzy grabs a bunch more pins and captures them between her lips before dropping back to her knees and picking up exactly where she left off on the skirt, clearly having recovered from her earlier embarrassment. “But it doesn’t just stop there. Knight found a basement in their home filled with pictures of me since I was a kid. There was a bed down there with chains and a little bathroom, even cages lining the wall. Knight wouldn’t show me the pictures, but he said it was bad. One of the most fucked-up things he’s ever seen.”
“Tell me you’re lying.”
“Trust me,” I say before sucking in a sharp breath as Izzy accidentally sticks me with a pin again. “I really wish I was.”
“Holy fuck, so what now? Mom’s leaving him, right?”
“Wow. You’re full of jokes today,” I laugh. “Save some for everyone else.”
“You’re kidding? She’s staying?”
I let out a heavy breath, unsure just how much I want to share with Jonah, but he’s family, so I decide to just give it to him straight and let him work out his own game plan from here on out. “Look, there’s a lot you don’t know. A lot has been going down.”
“Like what?” he tells me, a stern warning in his tone suggesting he’s not happy that I’ve kept something from him.
“With Elias, it didn’t just stop at him stabbing me in the parking garage. I’ve had a few . . . unfortunate encounters with him over these past few months,” I tell him, my whole body trembling at the idea of having to explain all of this, but when Izzy glances up and reaches for my hand, giving it a firm squeeze, I suddenly don’t feel quite so afraid.
“Harper?”
“He’s been stalking me, Jonah. He hid in the back of my car after my shift, and when I got in the car, he suffocated me until I passed out. Then, after figuring out that I was living with Knight, he left a black rose on my doorstep, which escalated into him breaking into our home. He threw me down on the bed and assaulted me, and—”
“The fuck did you just say?”
“I—”
“He assaulted you?” Jonah demands. “Tell me you mean he fucking beat you and nothing else.”
“Shit, Jonah. I wish he fucking beat me. That would have been easier for my therapist to unpack.”
“FUCK!” I go silent, giving Jonah a moment to process, and while everything that has happened has been awful, I feel as though I’ve barely even scratched the surface of how terrible this has gotten. “So that’s it, right? He gets arrested, and it’s all over.”
“Oh, sweet, naive Jonah. This is a psychopathic billionaire with a God complex we’re talking about. It’s not that easy. He’s obsessed with the hunt, and he won’t stop until he’s got exactly what he wants, and unfortunately for me, I’m not entirely sure what that means,” I tell him. “Knight’s got a twenty-four-seven protection detail glued to my ass, but that didn’t stop Elias from coming at me again. He’s relentless. He showed up at the morgue, hid in a body bag until it was quiet, and then killed Dr. McKullan before killing one of Knight’s men, Anders. It’s just . . . It’s been a lot.”
“Holy . . . I don’t even know what to say, Harper. I can’t imagine . . . fuck. Would it be better if you came and stayed with me for a while?”
“And bring this shit to your doorstep, to the home you share with your wife and your girls? Hell no,” I say. “Thanks for the offer, but I can’t do that to you. I won’t. Elias has endless resources at his disposal, so my best option is to stay locked down like Fort Knox with Knight’s team.”
“Yeah, I get it, and as much as I want to help you, I think you’re right. You’re safest with Knight.”
I nod, despite knowing he can’t see me, but that heaviness quickly morphs into frustration as I move on to the next part of my recap. “You know Mom’s not leaving him, right? Even after the arrest warrant for the double homicide was filed.”
“The fuck? Is she dumb?”
“No, just stubborn,” I tell him. “I told her everything, and she accused me of lying, despite the surveillance footage from the morgue showing the whole thing. Basically, it all comes down to money. She’d rather remain married to him, knowing what he’s capable of, in order to maintain her lifestyle. She said she’d worked too hard to get there. Though Knight thinks she’ll be out on her ass soon.”