Page 165 of Exposed

Goldie

ForgetBrax and Micah and their bossyorders.

I’m getting out of this van.

I hitch my dress and kick off my heels. I have to wrestle with the rusty handle to wrench the door open. When I do, the hot, humid summer air assaults me like a slap in the face. But escaping the walls of the van can only be described as a relief.

I take a much-needed breath.

My feet burn on the hot pavement as the sun nips at my exposed skin, but I don’t care. It reminds me I’m alive.

That King is alive.

Police swarm the area as I run toward The Pink to search for King.

“Goldie!”

I stop and turn to see Micah and Brax running toward me.

“Where is he?” I cry.

Micah puts his tatted arm around me to pull me back. “You were supposed to stay in the van.”

“Where is he?” I repeat. “He found a gun and got out of the office.”

“The bomb squad is here,” Brax says. “They won’t let us in.”

I turn back to The Pink. The historic mansion that’s half mine. But I don’t care about the building or my inheritance.

I only want the man inside.

I’m desperate for him.

I pull myself out of Micah’s hold and move.

I only get five steps when it happens.

One moment I’m running to The Pink…

… and the next I’m stopped by a wall of heat.

I scream.

But instead of landing on pavement, I’m in arms that I’m not familiar with, cradled in a way that feels foreign.

I only thought the heat of the sun was hot.

It’s nothing compared to the explosion licking the bright blue sky.

It happened.

It really happened.

I fight and struggle, but the hold on me is too tight.

I’m bound.

“Fuck.” The man who tackled me to the ground growls in pain.

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