Read Hope Restrained (Estate Series) for Free Online Page A

center of the room to sit against it. “Unfortunately
for you, I’m well taken care of in that department. I’m sorry to crush your
hopes and dreams, but I’ll decline.” He smirked at her.
    She didn’t respond, refusal a blanket across the thoughts
she couldn’t reveal. Allowing her eyes to roam over the empty walls of the room
in which she was held, Hope wouldn’t allow herself to look at his face. He was
handsome, a fact that could not be argued, but he was also the person
preventing her from returning to that other bastard’s house. They would kill
her sister, would destroy the only person she’d admired in her life and she
couldn’t allow that to happen.
    Her eyes shot back to him when he spoke.
    “Tell me your name.”
    She stared at him, her lip curling in rebellion and disgust.
“What does my name matter?”
    “It doesn’t.” With a blank expression, his words were spoken
with a matter of fact tone. “However, the identity of the person who sent you
does.”
    “And what makes you so sure I was sent by someone? Maybe I’ve
simply heard the rumors that Aaron Carmichael has become his father. Or, maybe
it’s simply time for The Estate to be destroyed along with the evil that
created it.”
    He smiled, his voice booming when he responded, “You’re an assassin.
That much is obvious!” Reaching up, he rubbed at his jaw where she’d hit him. “No
woman hits like that and hasn’t been trained.”
    A humorless laugh broke free of her throat. “Growing up in
the shadow of The Estate is enough incentive for all women to be trained. Do
you think nobody knows what goes on here? We notice the disappearance of our families,
our friends. We can smell the bodies as they’re burned.”
    He smiled. “You’ve done your homework. Congratulations.” Mockery
weighed down his last word. He paused, his eyes twinkling as they moved over
her. The timbre of his voice deepened when he calmly stated, “I can promise
you, I will discover who you are, and while I’m at it, I’ll also discover who
the fuck sent you. If you make my life easier by giving up the information now,
I’ll make sure you are no longer breathing when you become one of those burning
bodies.”
    She was amused by his threat. “You can set me on fire right
here, big guy, and end this bullshit game right now.” She winked. “I’ll never
tell you a fucking thing.”
    His chair flipped backwards when he stood, the thick wood
striking the ground loudly as it fell. Within a second he was across the room,
the tip of his nose pressed to hers. His hand squeezed her cheeks painfully
from where he’d grabbed her face to force her eyes in his direction.
    “We will find a way to make you talk — as soon as I
find out who the fuck you are.” Slamming her head back so that it hit the wall,
he turned and exited the room swiftly, leaving her chained. Her skin burned
along her face from where he’d grabbed her. The room was silent except for the
sound of rain hitting the glass ceiling of the circular room. She looked up,
her eyes taking in the darkness of the night sky. The stars were no longer visible
and the moonlight barely breached the clouds.
    When the door opened again, Hope slowly looked down and
found that the woman from the hallway had entered. She was surprised, but kept
her expression blank. The pain in her shoulder had finally gone numb, and the
blood stopped flowing due to her arms being held above her head.
    “I want to see if we can remove the bullet from your
shoulder.” Her voice was melodic, soft, but carrying a hint of strength
unexpected of a woman so small.
    Hope looked her over, noticing how she’d changed from the
red dress into black pants and a simple green shirt. Their hair was similar in
color, but, whereas Hope was tall and thin, this woman was short but curved in
every place that mattered.
    “I didn’t think you’d be much of a talker.” The woman sat
down where Xander had previously sat. “I wasn’t much of one