Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Wilder sighed heavily and winced. He literally winced as he walked in this direction. Sliding his gun back into his holster at his hip. The closer he got, the heavier the weight on my chest seemed to grow. I didn’t know what it was he knew, but I could feel it as if it were a physical thing.
“You have two minutes,” Huck said, then turned and left through the door behind us.
My hands were fisted at my sides as I tried to calm the monster clawing inside me. Trying to take over. It wanted to break something. There was an unhinged craziness just under my skin. I’d never experienced this before, and I didn’t know how to contain it. What had triggered it.
Wilder stopped, his eyes locked on me.
“WHAT?” I shouted, unable to contain the rage building.
“It’s Rumor,” he said.
Her name seemed to be the trigger that my inner beast had been listening for. It roared to life as I reached for my best friend and grabbed his shirt.
“What about Rumor?” I seethed, seeing literal red as I stared at him.
“She’s missing.”
The boulder that slammed into my chest took my breath.
No. I shook my head, dropping the hold I had on him, sucking in air. “NO!”
“Two minutes are up,” Gage Presley drawled behind me.
I spun around, ready to take on everyone who stood in my way with my bare hands until I found her. She wasn’t gone.
His gun was pointed at me. “She isn’t your job. You only know because Wilder fought your case. That you should be told. Boss wants you with Scotlin. Go take care of her.”
“LIKE FUCK,” I roared, turning to stalk in the opposite direction.
I had to find her. How was she gone? Who could have gotten to her? I hadn’t been there. I should have fucking been there! Goddamn Blaise fucking Hughes!
The sound of the gun was muffled with a silencer just before the sharp burn of stabbing pain tore through me.
“Goddammit, Gage!” Huck’s voice shouted behind me.
I hissed, trying to manage the pain as my vision blurred.
“You weren’t supposed to fucking shoot him.”
• Twenty-Three •
That normally only happens when the Mafia takes someone.
Rumor
Sebastian was enjoying the celebration inside, and I hated to tell him I’d had all of tonight I could take. The cameras loved Scotlin May, and I’d been forced to see her with King so many times that I felt like my heart was slowly shattering. I knew King had said this was a job, and I kept telling myself that, but it was hard to watch nonetheless.
In the back of my head, I was being tortured with the thought that he could fall for her. He would see how good they looked together. They belonged together. Sure, they had a scarred past, but they’d been kids. What if the woman she had become was someone he could love? If he was going to fall in love with me, wouldn’t he have by now?
I didn’t want this baby—our baby—to be a shackle for him. I wanted him to choose me because he loved me. I’d already been married to a man who didn’t love me. I knew how horribly wrong that could go. As much as I loved King, I wasn’t willing to do it again.
Closing my eyes, I tried to block out the images of them together and just breathe. The evening air was cool, but I didn’t mind it. Perhaps it could chill the fears running through my head. Giving me some kind of relief from it all.
It didn’t help. Nothing was making this easier. Not even being outside. Peace and quiet might not have been the answer after all. I wasn’t sure there was an answer. When King returned Monday, I’d know. I would be able to see it in his face. If he was done with me, then I’d be able to tell.
But how would I survive it?
The cloth that covered my mouth startled me, and it took me a second to react. Strong arms wrapped around my body as I shook my head, the little his hold allowed me to. I struggled to get air, shaking my head and trying to scream.
“Easy,” a familiar voice said near my ear. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
I blinked, continuing to fight as panic began to build inside me. What was he doing? Did he want to smother me? Why? He just met me. I had barely spoken to him inside. My body started to feel heavy, and I struggled as things got slower, and darkness began to sink in around me. I was being taken under.
My arms fell limply at my sides, and I heard him whisper, “It’s all gonna be okay,” before the world went black.
A sharp, thudding pain in my head greeted me as I blinked, then closed my eyes again. My mouth felt as if I’d eaten cotton, and swallowing was almost impossible. I gagged slightly, then moaned from the ache it’d caused behind my eyes.