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)
“Don’t blame Saint.”
I whip around. “He’s a Lord. He’s part of the problem.” Fuck him and what he thinks about my opinion of Saint.
He rounds the island, and I take a step back as he advances on me, but my ass hits the counter, stopping my escape. “Listen, Ash. Whatever you think you know, I promise it’s not the truth, and whatever you saw is a very small fraction of what the Lords are capable of. This…” He holds his hands out wide, gesturing to my house. “Is what the Lords want the world to see. Money and power are what they want us to think they will give us. But the dirty truth is Carnage.”
“What about it?” I ask nervously. I'm getting a sickening feeling after what I saw earlier this evening there. My father never talks about what goes on at Carnage, and my mother never asks. Either she knows or she doesn’t care.
“Carnage is a prison. It’s where the Lords send their own that do them wrong. We, the Spade brothers, are the ones that run the Lords’ hell.”
“Saint—"
He steps into me, cutting me off, and I tilt my head back to look him in the eyes. My stomach tightens at the look in his. “Saint is the only one who can protect you. He’s the only one who cares about you.”
I flinch at his harsh words.
“So whatever you saw, or whatever he did, just know any other Lord could do the same to you. Saint will be the only one to ensure it doesn’t happen.” Placing his hands on my upper arms, I stiffen. “I’m going to go away for a little while.”
“What? Where are you going?” I rush out.
“It’s better that you don’t know.”
“Adam…”
“Go home,” he snaps. Letting go of me, he steps back.
“I am home.”
“No. To Mom and Dad’s. Do not stay here alone. I had a key, but the next person who comes over might not. I’ve called Saint, Haidyn, and Kashton. All of their phones are off.” I swallow nervously as he runs a hand through his hair. “I’m not going back to Carnage, so I don’t know what’s going on…”
“Do you think he’s okay?” I can’t help but worry, and my pulse races at the thought that they might be doing the same thing to him that he did to that woman.
“Saint can hold his own, but you need to get the fuck out of here. Go stay with Mom. Saint will call you when he’s able to.” He goes to exit the house.
“What about you?” I ask, hating how worried I am for him. We’ve never been close, but that doesn’t mean I want him killed. The Lords preach brotherhood, but they’re as shady as they come. They’re raised to fight for the smallest amount of money and power. You can’t just undo that once you’re initiated. If they feel threatened, they attack. And no law or rule states that they can’t get “rid” of their own. If they think you deserve it, then they allow it.
“I’ll come back for you and Mom once I find what I’m looking for.” With that, he turns and exits my house, leaving a chill down my spine.
I run upstairs, grab a few things along with my cell, and throw it all in a bag. Then I’m hurrying to my car in the garage and rushing to my parents' house, wondering if my father knows I was at Carnage tonight. If he does, what will he do to me? Would my mother stop him from trying to kill me? No. She wouldn’t step in and jeopardize her life for me. Even Adam knows that. He said Saint is the only one I can trust.
I don’t want to believe him, but that little voice in my mind screams that he’s right. Saint has never hurt me. Not in the way I saw him hurt that woman. Does that mean he’s incapable of hurting me? No. It just means I haven’t pushed him that far yet.
Pulling up to my parents' house, I get out, grab my bag, and enter the house. It’s almost four in the morning, so I quietly make my way up to my room. I’ll let my mother know I’m here in the morning. But when I go to open the door, I hear her voice in the foyer below.
“Don’t come back here.”
Pausing, I stare at my door, trying to listen over the sound of the blood rushing in my ears.
“I’ve tried calling you.” A male’s voice growls.
“I was ignoring you for a reason,” she snaps. Then she adds in a softer voice, “You know you can’t come here.”
The sound of the front door opens, and just when I think I can walk into my room, I hear the man say, “Why is Ashtyn’s car here? I thought we were alone.”