Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
I swallowed shakily, and my breath misted in the air. It was the weirdest sensation. The room was cold and clammy at the same time, the air sticking to my skin. Skin that was cold to the touch but pulsed with heat from underneath.
Fuck. Just as I was about to wipe a hand over my face, I saw my trembling fingers. Hands completely covered in blood.
It’s not my blood, Mom. Don’t worry. I’m only taking care of our problem. I’m sorry I couldn’t do it sooner, before he hurt you.
Jakov coughed and spat out blood.
“I don’t think you’re sorry yet,” I rasped.
I didn’t let him respond. Over and over, I punched him across his body. I wanted every square inch to hurt before he took his last breath.
I hadn’t been able to protect her.
I hadn’t kept her safe.
“Help!”
The next punch knocked out two of Jakov’s teeth.
I lost track of time and space, where the walls around me became blurry, the light flickered, and I only found stability in the rhythm of choppy breaths and forceful blows.
Was he in as much pain as he’d caused yet?
I wasn’t convinced.
“Just k-kill me!” he sobbed.
I heaved a breath, and I kicked him in his stomach. His crotch, his legs, his chest…
I stopped hearing noises, aside from my labored breaths.
He gagged too.
At some point, Bran came in, picked Luka up off the floor, and righted his chair.
One more punch to Jakov’s nose, and…I was stopped.
One hand on my side, another sliding down my arm. I shuddered violently, wondering what the fuck was happening. The touch was so comforting that I didn’t recoil from it, and then I heard a thump as the brass knuckles fell to the floor.
For some reason, it felt like my hand had its own pulse.
“It’s no longer about them, sweetheart.”
I turned toward the low murmur with a single name in my head. West. It was him in his black winter coat. He was here. He put his arms around me, and his warmth brought my mind to rest in a matter of seconds. I hadn’t even noticed the chaos until it was settling down. It was like waking up from a nightmare and then rolling over to find peace again.
Evidently, there was a lot of shit I hadn’t noticed. Like how loud my breathing was, how quickly my heart was racing, the throbbing ache in my right hand, or that a headache had enveloped my skull like a helmet.
“Cover your ears,” West whispered in my ear.
I glanced up at him and blinked. “What?”
You’re really here.
“Cover your ears.” He brought my hands to my ears, and I was way too slow on the uptake. I did as told but didn’t fucking get why.
Then he turned slightly to Jakov and Luka, and I blinked again. Was that a— Oh my God, he had a gun. He fired two quick shots that blasted through the house, and just like that, their heads fell forward and blood gushed from two forehead wounds.
I choked on a breath. My ears rang loudly. Shock pulsed through me in a thick, slow-moving lava river, only to speed up with every breath. He’d shot them? He’d killed them? West had killed them?
“No… No, no, no…” I shook my head and staggered back. “No.” No, he couldn’t have. He wouldn’t do that! No. Oh fuck, no. He couldn’t have blood on his hands. He’d regret getting back together with me. He’d grow to resent me. “No!” Panic set in and grabbed hold of my chest, and I shoved at him. “What’d’ju do that for!” I yelled. “You’re not supposed to be here at all!”
He was unyielding, and his expression was frustratingly composed. Giving me no space whatsoever, he cupped the back of my neck and pressed his forehead to mine.
“You’re only prolonging your own suffering at this point, Alfie.”
“But you can’t kill them!” I tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t have it. “You can’t be a killer—you’ll hate me!”
“I didn’t kill them, baby. I did them a fucking favor.” He fisted the hair at the back of my head to keep me in place, and he pressed a firm kiss to the corner of my mouth. “It’s over now—and I could never hate you.”
“You shot them,” I whimpered.
“I’m sure they’ll send me a thank-you note from hell.”
I sniffled and couldn’t bear it; the pressure in my chest grew so fast and painfully that my knees nearly gave out. I bent over and planted my hands on my thighs, and it became a matter of life and death to suck air into my lungs. Holy fuck, what was happening to me? My skin prickled uncomfortably, and I started seeing black spots.
Was someone sitting on my fucking chest?
I heard the shots echoing in my head, and my fucked-up brain decided now was the best time to replay the moment West had shot Jakov and Luka. I’d just seen his arm lifting a bit. He’d taken the gun from his coat pocket or something. Cool as a cucumber, two shots, pop-pop, the exploding sound, two men dead. Right there in the forehead. No hesitation, no missing, no trembling.