Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Just for reasons.” I land on the top step, and when he doesn’t say anything more, I reach for the joint in my back pocket, placing it between my lips. “What did you need from me?”
“Come inside.” He steps aside for me, showing one of his guards standing near the grand staircase. “We can talk in here.”
Something changed. The animosity was hovering in the air, and I was sure that one of them was going to say that they had discovered me. This was it. I knew the risk, but I took it anyway. He no longer touched me.
They no longer teased.
Everything. Had. Changed.
Sparrow
The air was cold. Painfully cold. It snapped icicles over my spine that had me standing upright. I didn’t move. Shivering in the corner of the yacht, I remained in the same position with a blanket wrapped around my body and a hot chocolate clutched in my hands. I wanted to think that I knew my father and that he would always protect me, but the truth was, I didn’t. No one knew Alister Dixon, not even my mother.
I rocked side to side as the boat rode the ocean. I hadn’t said a word. Not one since the blindfold went over my head, but I knew we were on my dad’s boat. One of them. The wind whispered through my hair, and I leaned my head up slightly to look at the moon sitting brightly among the stars. Footsteps brought me back forward, and I glared at the man I’d never trust again.
“I know you hate me.”
I didn’t answer, and he took another step down onto the first level.
“You need to understand that whatever you’re feeling right now, it doesn’t matter. None of it matters. Would you like to know why?” I didn’t bother looking at him, turning back out to the dark ocean and bright blue light that beamed from beneath the hull. “Because who you are today will not be who you’re going to be tomorrow.” The engine slowed as I felt the sudden rock intensify. We pulled up to a jetty. A man stood in darker clothing, reaching for the rope and pulling the boat in against it.
My father placed his hand on my shoulder. “This is where I leave you.”
“What?” I asked, blinking back tears. Anger tore through me when I realized how much I hated him. I hated everything to do with my father. “Why?” I shot up from the chair, the blanket falling around my feet. Even shirtless, with the cool wind of winter brushing over my skin, I couldn’t fucking see straight. I wanted to destroy him.
“Come on, Sparrow. We don’t have all night.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” I shook my head, desperate to run. To do anything but be at my father’s mercy.
A needle pierced my neck, and I roared forward, hands straight for my father when everything went black.
I take the metal goblet in my hand, staring at myself in the mirror. My eyes are smudged with dark liner, the hood of my robe covering my head. I stare back at my reflection before Malyk’s dancing catches my eyes. He’s always like this after getting back from London. Like a blood-crazed maniac, he loses himself for hours—days—until he’s back again. The Weeknd thrums through the speakers as he clears his nostril from the coke, a smirk on his face and a bottle in his hand. I should probably intervene, but both Dion and I know better.
I find Dion leaning back on a single chair in the corner. He raises a brow, running his finger over the top of his lip. He turns the music down and leans his arms on his thighs.
“You think they’ll figure her out?”
“I don’t know.” I leave my robe open at the front, my chest bare.
None of us keep to uniform, and we don’t fucking have to. Swooping up my discarded glass of whiskey, I rest against the window that overlooks below, taking a harsh sip of the amber liquid. Lights line the streets, but not bright. Dim. Almost like a gentle reminder that we could cut it off completely. I follow the bright paths between the small buildings, all leading to the ocean.
“It’s a risk we had to take, since we didn’t have any options.”
“I’m just saying.” Malyk throws his hands up, goblet in hand. “I’m not too fond of waiting for the precious little princess to reach her legal age, and also? Why the fuck should I care?”
“It’s not about the legality of it, Mal.” I try to soften my tone, but I swear to fucking God he does shit first and then asks questions later. He’s impulsive and intense with any and everything that he’s obsessed with, and it’s no secret Shiloh is definitely his new obsession. “You know why.”
“I hate to break it to you—” Malyk rolls his hands forward in a bowing gesture. “But that girl has been fucked. The rules are already broken.”