Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
“Aviana,” Alarick says, his voice calm. “We’re not goin’ to hurt you.”
“No,” I screech. “No.”
I turn and run.
I run as fast as my legs will carry me.
I move like I’m being chased, which I am.
The pounding footsteps of Cohen behind me has my heart racing harder and my legs moving at a rate I didn’t think was possible.
The sounds of Briella yelling at Alarick and Waverly calling my name can be heard, but with every frantic step, those voices get farther and farther away. I run like my life depends on it.
Cohen’s hand lashes out and grabs my shirt, and I’m being hauled back suddenly. I topple to the ground, my body tumbling across the dirt as he wrestles me like some sort of fucking nobody. His body lands on top of mine, but I don’t stop fighting. I kick, I punch, I bite, I hit him over and over again, squirming and thrashing, even though I can feel the rough dirt beneath me burrowing into my skin, slicing it open, scratching the surface. I don’t care. He’s not doing this to me. He’s not.
“Stop fuckin’ fighting me, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Don’t do this to me, I won’t let you do this to me,” I cry, thrashing my head from side to side, swinging my arms.
He manages to straddle me, and I thrust around with my hips trying to get him off, but there’s no use, he’s heavy and he’s strong.
He grabs my wrists and pins them above my head, forcing me to come to a stop, forcing me to abandon my fighting. “Let me go!” I scream, holding his eyes, mine no doubt frantic. “Please, Cohen, I didn’t do this. I swear I didn’t do this. Please don’t cuff me.”
He looks down at me, his face hard. “I have to, Aviana. You know I have to.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
My voice is pathetic and wounded.
“Because I have to protect my club.”
“What about me?”
He brings my hands over my chest and snaps the cuffs on them, officially trapping me. “I am doing this for you, too.”
“I hate you,” I hiss as he climbs off me and pulls me to my feet. “You will pay for this. Every single one of you will pay for this.”
He doesn’t say a word as he walks me back to the truck and pushes me into the back.
My heart, my wounded, damaged heart ...
It just broke for the final time.
11
THEN – COHEN
Who the fuck is her family?
I have dug and fucking dug, and the shit I’ve found out about Aviana’s family is utterly fucking terrifying. Not only are they running some serious illegal shit, they’re doing it in her name. Every single fucking thing is in her name, every house, every account, every fucking thing belongs to her and she doesn’t even know it. Those smart mother fuckers, keeping themselves clean, keeping her unsuspecting.
She has more than she could possibly imagine.
Her father is smart.
He’s also incredibly dangerous.
I’m determined to find out more, to find out why everything is in her name, to find out what kind of show they’re running and how they plan on involving her in it. If someone found out everything technically belonged to her, they could take her and everything would be theirs. It would be terrifyingly simple. Is that how her father wants it? If anything comes back on them, it’s automatically directed to her and he can start clean.
I don’t fucking know, but I’m going to find out.
I walk up my driveway, head in the clouds, and I consider all the possibilities of what they might be doing when I look up and see Aviana sitting on my front step. She’s got her head down, staring at nothing on the ground. She looks ... hurt. I pick up the pace and walk up to her, asking, “Hey, what’s happened?”
She looks up at me, and she has a sore and swollen eye. She’s got tears running down her fucking beautiful face and she looks like she’s had a hell of a day.
“Who did that to you?” I growl.
“My brother’s pathetic girlfriend,” she mutters. “We got into a fight, and they kicked me out. My own family kicked me out and let her stay in my house.”
I sit down beside her, and she turns to me. “Can you believe that?”
I shake my head. Mother fuckers, they don’t deserve someone like her. Not even fucking close. “I can’t begin to understand it, but you can stay here for the night. Let’s get that eye cleaned up.”
I stand and take her hand, pulling her to her feet. “Lucky Briella is still moping about her broken wrist—if she saw me like this she’d flip. I’ll have to tell her I’m sick so I have an excuse not to see her for a week. She already hates my family.”