Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
I dug in my pocket for the keys, not paying attention to the garage around me. It was only when I got to my car and attempted to put the key in the lock that I realized how quiet it seemed. Normally, other people were leaving and I would hear voices echoing across the garage, but tonight, I was early so it was deserted. And the light closest to my car was burned out, which was odd since the VIP section was always taken care of. You needed a special pass to get on to this floor of the parkade, and only Aldo, Roman, and a few other people had access to this section.
A shiver went through me. I had stopped being nervous in the garage, but suddenly, everything in me kicked into high gear and my anxiety hit me. I closed my hand around my cell phone and gripped my keys tightly. Unexpectedly, I was pushed from behind, and I fell to my knees with a cry of pain when the cement dug into my bare skin.
Rough hands grabbed my neck, squeezing. I was dragged to my feet and spun around, then slammed into the hard wall behind me. I struggled to fight against the hands pinning me to the concrete, but my attacker had his fingers wrapped around my biceps in a hard, painful grip.
I lifted my eyes and met the malevolent gaze of Ernest Morton. He was close enough I could smell the alcohol on his breath and his unwashed skin. But it was the cold, calculated look on his face that frightened me. His mouth was twisted in satisfaction, his eyes dark and foreboding.
“Got ya,” was all he said. It was enough. I knew, without a doubt, I wasn’t going to be leaving this garage alive. Tears sprang to my eyes, fear coursing through my veins, my heartbeat galloping in my chest.
He grinned. “Not so tough without your bodyguards, are you?” He leaned closer. “You got me banned from my hunting ground, bitch. You have to pay for that.”
I struggled against him, attempting to kick and push him away. But he held me too tightly to the wall, angling his body away to stop my attempts to hit him. Then he pressed an arm to my neck, leaning on it, cutting off my breath.
“I wanted to take you somewhere and have fun, but I don’t have time. Shame.” He pressed harder, and I began to fight in earnest. I managed to kick him, and he cursed, his hold on my neck loosening. I kicked again and broke free, managing to get a scream out before he grabbed me, throwing me to the cement. My head hit the ground with a loud crack, and everything dimmed around me. He rolled me over, straddling me, pushing me down. My back protested at the weight of him, the feeling of the concrete tearing at my skin. He wrapped his hands around my neck and began to tighten them. Between his weight on top of me and the pressure on my neck, all my air was cut off. He sat on my arms, pinning them down, and I had no way to fight him. No way to save myself. I struggled against the pain and the darkness, filled with sadness and horror. Aldo’s face flashed behind my eyes, and I regretted my anger the last time I’d seen him. The words I had flung at him. I kept my eyes shut, wanting to see his face, and not the face of the man killing me, as I died.
Except I heard a roar. Like a freight train, growing louder, and my eyes flew open in time to see Morton’s head lift up in shock. There was a blur and his head snapped back, and he fell away from me onto the concrete.
There were voices, yelling, talking, and a man bent over me. Aldo stared down at me in abject horror. “Baby,” he whispered. “Oh God, Vi.”
All I could do was stare.
Aldo kept speaking to me. He never took his eyes off my face. Bending, he lifted me into his arms, cursing as I whimpered in pain.
“I need a car. Now!”
A voice I recognized spoke. “It’s waiting. So is Sims. I’ll take care of this.”
“He’s mine to finish,” Aldo growled.
“I know.”
Aldo began to move, the motion making me groan as fire rushed over my back and arms. “I’m sorry. I have to get you to a doctor,” he said, his voice faint in my ears.
“Please,” I whimpered. “Help.”
“I have you, Vi. I promise.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Didn’t mean…”
It was too much effort to finish, but he pressed a kiss to my temple. “I know, baby. I know.”
Then I was out.
ALDO
Nothing prepared me for the terror of rounding the corner and seeing that asshole on top of Vi, strangling her. I let out a roar, all the anger and frustration of weeks coming out.