Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 199879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 999(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 999(@200wpm)___ 800(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Exiting the elevator, I walk down the quiet hallway and shove open the door. Wide eyes meet mine, and she starts thrashing in the straitjacket Haidyn and Kashton placed her in. She mumbles nonsense through the gag in her mouth as spit flies out from around the black rubber ball. The stretcher she’s secured to rattles as she tries to loosen the straps that tie her down to it.
“Where’s Haidyn?” I ask Kashton who is over by the counter getting everything ready for our newest addition to Carnage.
“He got a phone call. Said he had to take it,” he answers.
I turn and look over at the two-way mirror. Every time I’m in here, I think someone is watching me.
The woman thrashes around, continuing to scream as loud as she can through the gag.
“Adrenaline?” Kashton asks.
“Nah,” I say, walking over to her. I place my hands on the stretcher and look down at her. Tears and snot cover the familiar face I haven’t seen in a long time. “How’s it feel?” I ask, yanking on the jacket. “Itches, huh?”
She closes her eyes as a sob racks her petite body. My eyes drop to her shaking legs and watch her pull on the straps that hold them open. The sound of the stretcher rattling echoes in the concrete room.
“I think a good twenty-four hours should be a good starting point. Kash?” I look up at him.
He nods. “At least.”
A lot has happened in the past four years. Any time the Lords have a chance to fuck up someone’s life, they take it. One of our good friends Tyson was one of those Lords. And a few weeks ago, his misfortune was our gain.
We sit in the cathedral in the middle of nowhere. The one where the Lords come to perform their rituals. A friend needed our help tonight, and we were more than willing to do so. A woman lies hogtied on the Lord’s altar in front of us, and she said the one word I never expected to hear.
“Ashtyn,” she calls out.
I’m instantly on my feet, not even thinking about it. I haven’t heard anyone say that name in so long that there are times I think she’s dead. Buried in the graveyard behind the cathedral. Long forgotten.
Tyson steps back, and I yank the knife from his hand. Shoving her onto her back, she screams as the hog-tied position smashes her folded body underneath her. I wrap my hand around her throat and squeeze, pinning her down.
I press the knife to the side of her face. “What the fuck did you just say?” I’m shaking with fucking rage. If she’s lying…
“Ashtyn…” She tries to catch her breath. “I know where she is.”
I squeeze harder, not believing her, and she thrashes around. “Bullshit,” I spit out, pushing the tip of the knife deeper into her face, breaking the skin.
She’s turning blue, her lips white. Her body softens as her struggle lessens.
A hand touches my arm, and my eyes snap to see Tyson standing next to me. “I want her dead, but just in case she knows something useful, she’s better alive for now.”
I release her neck and remove the knife, stepping back. She rolls onto her side and gasps for breath. “If you’re lying...”
“I’m not,” she cries, choking out sobs. “I promise.”
My heart hammers in my chest. For four years, I’ve wondered where the fuck Ashtyn would be. Who she’s with. If I’d ever see her again.
Now is my chance.
The woman’s sobbing brings me back from that memory. It was just a few weeks ago. We’ve let her sit, naked and chained in her cell while Tyson was able to get the answers he deserved.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know where Ashtyn was just yet. I’ve waited so long for her. There were times I just hoped she’d come back on her own. That she’d miss me so badly she couldn’t stand to be without me. But now that the answers are so close…?
My mind is filled with the what-ifs. Is she even still alive? If so, how has she survived so long on her own? Is she with someone? Does she have children? Am I prepared to take her away from any one of those things?
Abso-fucking-lutely. I will drag her back here kicking and screaming, removing her from anything she has accomplished while away from me. I’m going to strip her naked and remind her who the fuck owns her.
“Here you go.” Kashton hands me the branding iron.
I twirl the handle around in my hand as the woman’s cries grow louder. I lower it to her leg, just hovering over her skin letting her feel the heat but not burning her just yet, and it trembles in the restraints. I make my way up her body and across the straitjacket before hovering it over her face.