Pretty Girl

I move quickly. It’s easy as I know every inch of my land. I don’t make a sound when I spot him at seventy paces in front of me. I watch as he trips over a log and stumbles. He curses before getting back to his feet.

I circle and move in behind him. I lock my arm around his neck, pulling him hard into me and taking him by surprise. He gasps for air and fights me.

“Think you can come on my land, try and take what’s mine?” I snarl into his ear. He’s starting to black out. He keeps fighting me, and I only squeeze even harder until his body goes limp. I let him go with a push, watching him hit his head on a log before rolling.

“Fucking Kale Cane.” I pull the goggles off. This is going to be a shitshow. Why the hell couldn’t it have been some random asshole? This is going to be all over the news. They are going to hound my girl. I have a feeling he went on one of those fake dates the agency set up for them and he wanted more, but she wasn’t having it. A man used to women throwing themselves at him and mine told him no. I bet that pissed him off.

Kale jerks, coming awake. I flip on the lights strapped to my vest, then I tie his hands before rolling him over onto his back. His head’s bleeding. He tries to open his eyes, but the lights shine bright on him.

“What happened?” he mumbles. I watch as shock finally hits him, then panic. “I came to check on Mila. I was worried about her,” he rushes to say. He’s seeing the shit he’s stepped into and is looking to explain himself.

I ignore him and reach for the bag he dropped. “That’s mine. Don’t touch my shit. That’s my property,” he yells when he sees what I’m doing. When I open the bag, rages fills me. I know what this is. It’s a fucking rape and kidnap kit. I can’t stop myself from lunging for him. I want to kill him. I punch him over and over again, not caring that he can’t fight back.

My pretty girl’s face flashes in my mind and I have to throw myself off of him so that I don’t kill him. I can’t go to prison. Not that I wouldn’t to protect her, but I know she needs me. It would rip her apart if something happened to me, and I won’t do that to her.

I stare at him, listening to him cry but don’t feel one trace of guilt. That kit isn’t new. This man is a predator and this isn’t his first time. Of that I’m sure. I pull myself from the ground and pull out my phone to see a million texts from Sam telling me not to kill him.

Not going to kill him, but he’s going to hurt. I bring the heel of my boot down on his dick. He screams.

“I’m sorry,” he pleads. “I j-just…” He stumbles over his words. “Mila, she’s different. She—” Before he can finish I hit him again, knowing this time I broke his jaw.

“Don’t ever say her name again,” I warn him. I’m not sure if he hears me because he passes out cold.

Chapter Thirteen

Mila

I stand out on the deck sipping on the glass of fresh orange juice Jax made me this morning. Thank god that man knows his way around the kitchen or we’d starve to death. He more than knows how to cook and loves doing it for me. Heck, he often likes to feed me himself with me sitting in his lap. I’m pretty sure I’ve gained five pounds since I met the man, and I don’t care. I haven’t told Jax yet, but I don’t want to go back to modeling. Even if he traveled with me, it’s not something I want anymore. This is what I want. Waking up like this every morning.

I stare out onto the hills feeling like I’m home for the first time in my life. Jax’s home is even more wonderful than I could have imagined. It’s perfect—made for a big family and looks like it was plucked out of a magazine. It’s not fancy where you are worried you might break or mess something up but cozy and warm.

He spent all yesterday showing me around and he said we’ve only seen a fraction of the land. I swear this place is heaven. It’s its own little world that I never want to leave.

I don’t even have to look to know he’s come up behind me. Not that he makes a sound. I can feel him. It’s crazy, but I can. Just like I knew the moment he slipped out of bed in the middle of the night last night and the moment he’d slipped back in.