“Well… Good luck with your studying. Don’t stay up too late. If you’re late, I’ll lea?—”
“Leave without me tomorrow. I know the drill,” she said, granting me another small smile.
I felt awkward standing there, so I moved to turn around and get out.
“But Emerson? I wasn’t done talking.”
Her words stopped me, and I gave her my full attention again. Her eyes were on mine.
“Letmedetermine what I deserve. Letmechoose whose love I’m worthy of, okay?”
My heart stopped in my chest. And for once in my life, I had no answer. My mind was blank.
So I nodded again and quickly made my escape, her light chuckle at my reaction trailing after me.
And I replayed her words in my head all night.
Chapter 17
Emerson
“The bodyguards are in place. They've been ordered to stay at a distance and remain discreet,” Jax said through the speaker. “They will send you updates through our app every time she makes a move.”
“Perfect,” I replied, breathing hard as I raised the intensity on the treadmill, pushing my legs faster. It was the only thing I could do to distract myself while Pearl was at school.
I drove her there and tried to convince her to let me go with her, but she refused. So, to keep my sanity, and since I wanted to give her space, I decided to start Jax’s contract a little early.
“This is the first shift. You’ll have another one on rotation once these men are off. Since this was a rush order, we didn't have time for a meeting, but I'll schedule something with you this week.”
“That sounds good, I appreciate this. I owe you one.”
Jax was good at her job. I'd been lucky to meet her at the club, and while at first I thought she was just another annoyance, she turned out to be pretty useful.
“I'll hold you to that and just add it to your bill,” she said with a cheeky laugh. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to get to, but I am just a message away if you need me.”
She hung up, the abruptness pulling a smile from me.
The app had already been updated in the last few minutes, and according to the group chat, Pearl was on her way to her second class of the day.
So far, nothing suspicious.
Having them there made me feel the tiniest bit better, but I still wished it were me instead.
I raised the intensity even more, focusing on channeling all my anger into my running. I imagined my dad. Him showing up and me being ready for him. He might think he was going to get one over on me, but I'd been preparing for this day longer than he knew.
There were so many times growing up that I wanted to be like him. Stronger. Especially when he beat me. I wanted to make him regret it.
Maybe now, I would actually get the chance.
When my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, I finally set the treadmill to cooldown mode while I focused on what I wanted to do to that bastard.
He thought I had just been sitting on my hands, but he had another thing coming. He might have caught me off guard by being out already, but I had a plan.
Having more money than I would ever need came in handy.
But first, I had a girl to impress.
Let me determine what I deserve. Let me choose whose love I’m worthy of, okay?
