Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 123212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
I press my lips into a tight line and kick his feet off the coffee table, knowing that even though Mom is inside the Carrington mansion right now, she’ll somehow know that someone has their feet on her table.
“Honestly,” I start, taking the ridiculous crown off my head and looking down at it. “Not great. Every time I close my eyes, I remember the feeling of not being able to stand properly and calling out for help. I was so scared, Eli. I’ve never felt anything like it. He just grabbed me and I was defenseless.” Tears start welling in my eyes but I try not to break. “He took me upstairs and tore my dress and …”
“Shhhhh,” he soothes, shuffling over on the couch and pulling me into his chest. “Don’t tell me the details. I don’t want you reliving it.”
The tears finally fall and I squish my face into his chest as his arms protectively wrap around me, holding me tight. “How am I ever supposed to forget?”
I feel him shake his head, lost deep in thought. “I don’t know, babe. I wish I had a proper answer for you. I’d do anything to be able to take that pain away for you, but someday, somehow, you’re going to wake up and realize that you survived. He does not control you, he does not own you, and he sure as hell did not ruin you. You, Oceania Munroe, are a fucking queen. You’re beautiful and if I wasn’t so in love with being a whore, I know I would have fought Nic tooth and nail until you were mine. Jude may have left you with a scar, but a scar is a story that is only ever going to make you stronger.”
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
“I know,” he tells me, rubbing his hand up and down my arm. “But it will.”
Silence falls around us and as he holds me, I find the little torn pieces of my heart and soul being sewn back together. I still have a massive mountain to climb before I’m going to feel like myself again, but at least it’s a start. Besides, right now, I should be thinking of Charles and figuring out how the hell he ended up with a silver dagger protruding out of his chest. I should be spending time with Colton, making sure he’s alright. I should be … fuck, there’s a million other things I should be doing right now, yet I can’t seem to find the will to peel myself off this couch and start making a difference.
Instead, Eli and I just sit. Ten minutes pass and it quickly turns into an hour and by the time I’m falling asleep on his lap, the bottle of tequila is almost gone. We’re both so lost inside our own heads that reality completely slips away.
A text message comes through on my phone and I glance down and find myself smiling.
Nic - Have you seen E? The fucker disappeared.
“Uh-oh,” I tease, showing the text to Eli and watching his face drop while reading over it. I chuckle to myself and start hashing out my reply.
Ocean - Nope. Last I heard he was syphilis free and hooking up with some stripper called Harlow.
Nic - Tell him to get his fucking ass out on the street and start searching for this motherfucker before I leave him there for the West Side Wolves.
Eli’s eyes bug out of his head and I look up at him, knowing Nic only brings out the rival gang threat when he is about ready to crack. “I think you better go. He sounds serious.”
“Nic is always serious when it comes to you,” he says with a heavy sigh. “But you’re right. I should go. He only uses Wolves against us when shit is about to go south.”
Ocean - He’s coming. Don’t be mad. I really needed the company.
A yawn tears from my body and Eli looks down at me before scooping me up off the couch and walking me through to my bedroom. “Sleep it off,” he tells me, slipping me in between the sheets and resting my head against the pillow.
My eyes instantly grow heavier and as he leans down and presses a kiss to my temple, warmth spreads through me. “I’m going to find this fucker,” he promises me. “I swear, Ocean. We won’t stop until this is right.”
I nod and watch as he gives me a tight smile before slinking away. As I hear the door of the pool house closing, I allow unconsciousness to claim me, taking me to a place where the pain no longer exists.
Chapter 2
The bed dips beside me and my eyes spring open in fear. “Woah, woah, woah. Wifey, it’s just me,” Milo says, his tone low and soothing, instantly making my heart ease its rapid beat.