Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 131926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“Don’t think like that,” I whisper. “I’m still here to bust your balls, and now all that’s left for us to do is settle the score.”
“This bastard was here all fucking night,” King grumbles, glancing up at the motionless body across the pool. “He would have been hiding out, just waiting for the right time to strike and I missed it. He would have had access to all of our homes, our families, our little fucking brothers and sisters.”
Cruz grumbles behind me. “Did you recognize their voices?”
King shakes his head, looking up over my shoulder at his friends. “Nah, it was a chick, but it’s not a voice I’ve heard before.”
“I have,” I say, swiveling on King’s lap to see them all. “At least, I think I have, I just don’t know where. When I heard it, it was like something was pulling at an old memory, but I couldn’t figure out where or when I’d heard it.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” King asks, bringing his hand up and running his knuckles over my cheek, almost as though he’s double checking that I’m actually alive and sitting here on his lap.
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know,” I murmured. “I wasn’t really sure, and I didn’t think it was important.”
“It is,” Carver grumbles, forcing my gaze to slice across to meet his. “Anyone from your past that has access to our street means trouble, but the bigger question is, how did she get in?”
Grayson scoffs. “More like who the fuck let her in,” he spits. “The gate codes aren’t available to anyone. Someone let her through that fucking gate, and I’d bet that person had something to do with the attack in the woods and helping Royston cover up your parents’ murders.”
Chills shoot down my spine as the heaviness sits between us. He has a good fucking point and I don’t like it one bit. There are seventeen houses on his street, and in one of them lies the culprit, anxiously waiting for the hitman to return and confirm that I’m dead.
I should raid every one of these houses and interrogate every last asshole I come across. “So, what do we do?” I ask. “Because I have a feeling that the ideas going through my head right now are going to be a little … frowned upon.”
Cruz shakes his head, deep in thought. “There’s really not a lot we can do,” he says. “At least, nothing that’s not going to cross the line with the heads of Dynasty. Apart from checking over the surveillance footage and getting the codes that were used on the main gate, we’ve got nothing.”
“But it was a deliberate attack on me,” I argue, my voice getting louder and my throat burning in agony. “Those old assholes can kiss my ass. They already said that they’d support me in trying to find the other person responsible for the attack in the woods. How would this be any different? They can’t argue that Royston was responsible for this too. They’ll have no choice.”
Carver raises his chin. “You’re forgetting that it’s a vote,” he reminds me. “They have every right to voice their opinion and say no.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “But I shouldn’t have an issue with that either, should I?” I ask. “I mean, you’re on my side, right?”
He clenches his jaw as his eyes harden, but without his family to force his hand, there shouldn’t be anything stopping him from supporting me on this, or anything really.
Carver leans back, his hands bracing him against the sunbed as his eyes bore into mine. “If I openly support you, and it tips the scales your way, you need to be prepared, because the people who are coming after you now are only going to get more desperate. The attacks will come harder and faster, and you’ll never be safe. Are you ready for that?”
I glance at the guys, all of them watching me closely, but after only just surviving an attack, I don’t know how ready I am to have more coming my way. “I …”
I let my words fall away as I peer back to Carver, needing to know what’s going through his mind. His eyes bore into mine for a second before he finally takes pity on me. “Despite our differences,” he starts, “you know I have your back. Every fucking time I’ve been there to make sure you live to see another day and I’m not about to change that. For some fucked up reason that I can’t begin to explain, you’re important to all of us, but in that council chamber, I can’t be who you need me to be. There’s no reason why I should openly show my support yet, and if anything, I’ll be able to gain the trust of those who don’t.”