Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
I merely grumble and stare.
I’ve seen Luca only a handful of times when he’s come to my cell for a certain occasion. Never as evil as his father to actually set me loose on someone, but definitely fucked up in the head. I could tell that much from the small number of conversations he’s had with me.
“What did you make him do?” he asks his father. “Threaten or kill?”
“Neither. Where’s that fucker’s head?” my owner growls at me.
I throw a tiny package onto his desk, the contents of which bleed all over his papers.
My owner holds up the bloodied finger. “This. This is what you bring me?”
“Blom’s location is unknown,” I reply.
He smashes the finger down on his desk. “I don’t care if it’s unknown! That’s what you’re supposed to find out!”
“Yikes,” Luca mutters, rolling his eyes. “You know, I don’t think I’m interested in finding out more about this ‘arrangement’ you’ve got going here, Dad,” he says, making quotation marks with his fingers. “I have work to do. Talk to you later.”
He casually strolls out the door, but not before turning to me and whispering, “Violence tastes the best, don’t you think?” He winks and saunters off out the door.
The son is as crazy as his father.
If not crazier.
My owner quickly moves from behind his desk to slam the door shut.
“Blom’s messages stopped after he moved hideouts,” I say.
“I don’t fucking care!” He’s shouting so loudly a vein in his eye pops. “I told you to find him for me and bring me his head, and you failed again!”
“Yes, sir,” I reply, not even flinching when he comes up and spits in my face.
His teeth grind together as he speaks. “What kind of dog are you if you can’t even do a simple fetch?”
I don’t respond. I know what I am to him. I’ve always known. But it doesn’t make it any less painful to hear.
My fist tightens as I attempt to control my rage while he circles around me.
Because I know what’s about to happen.
What he’ll sentence me to.
“Back to your cage, dog,” he says. “I will get my men to do your job. Maybe they can teach you something.”
Back to my cage.
My hole.
Back to die another day. Slowly but surely.
All because I couldn’t make the impossible happen.
A guard comes up from behind me and puts his hand around my neck. My eyes instantly land on the red marks on his finger. Bite marks.
Aurora?
He unlocks the collar from around my neck, releasing me from my shackle, and hands the key back to my owner.
Just as he always does.
The guard pokes at my back with a gun, but one simple growl has him cowering behind me. I walk out of my own free will, back to my cage. Again.
But I know … someday … my time will come.
And when it does, I will rip this house and these people to shreds.
CHAPTER 12
Aurora
The second the door at the top of the stairs opens again, I hide in the darkest corner I can find.
Loud, booming steps are audible, followed by smaller ones that I recognize as belonging to Raymond.
I really don’t want to see that asshole again. But I’m more concerned about what’s coming down the stairs in front of him.
A beast … with hands covered in blood.
I gulp as Raymond brings him to the cage and opens the door. Raymond throws me a glare as he pushes Beast back inside and shuts the door behind him.
“Have fun with him instead,” he sneers at me before returning upstairs.
We’re left alone in the dark, but not without a small inkling of light emanating from the top of the stairs. Someone left a light on. Why?
I dare not ask the question out loud.
Especially not with that beastly man staring at me.
And now, with the light on, I can really see all the ridges of his big, flexing muscles, all six of his bulging abs, his giant pecs, and the thick slabs of muscle on his legs and arms. All exquisitely trained to perfection as a predator would.
Maybe Lex was right. Maybe this man does want to devour me whole.
Beast tilts his head, and this minute movement causes my heart rate to shoot up into the sky. Because I know, deep down, I won’t be able to fight him off if he does.
But Lex needs me to get my father, right?
If I’m dead, I’m not useful.
Then again, he did say there was a price to pay for not helping him.
I shiver in place.
I wonder where Beast got the bloodied hands. What he had to do. If he did it willingly.
This man is used just like me, but his captivity goes far beyond this cell. The violent things they make him do aren’t remotely close to humane. Yet he wasn’t dragged back into this cell. He walked in, almost out of his own free will.