Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 47758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. Before she got a chance to say a word, a scream filled the air.
The bedroom door was thrown open and men filled the room. Tulip panicked.
Within seconds, she was grabbed roughly. Her arms were pushed to her sides and she watched as Rick Denton entered the room. Three men had controlled Landon, shoving him to the ground.
“Get the fuck off me, you piece of shit,” Jade said, screaming.
“I’m not going to deny this, Landon. I’m proud of you, and this is clever, but you should’ve come home.”
“You let them go,” Landon said.
“Let your woman and the Castillo daughter go? Not a chance,” Rick said. “You left me no choice here, son.”
“Stop it,” Tulip said. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Rick stood up and stepped toward her. “Don’t worry, Tulip, you and Landon will never be parted again.”
She felt the prick of the needle. “I’ll kill you one day.”
“Not today.”
Everything went black, a-fucking-gain.
Chapter Ten
The tranquilizer always made Landon feel woozy.
He’d been taken back home and he’d recognized the basement anywhere. In the cages, Tulip and Jade were there as well.
“How the fuck did they get past our traps?” Jade said. “We know how to take care of ourselves, Landon.”
“They were better. Rick knows how to deal with shit. I’m sorry,” he said. He’d failed these two women and it was all his fault. “They won’t hurt you.”
“No, they’re going to send me back to my family, Landon. You know what that means.”
“I’ll talk with them. I’ll negotiate. You know I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said.
“You can’t stop them. You and I both know that. We’re fucked. I’m fucked.” Jade sobbed.
“Look, they haven’t sent you back to your parents, at least not yet. Don’t give up hope.”
“It’s kind of hard not to. They can kill me whenever they want,” Jade said. “Landon, you promised.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Son, you’re not in any position to make deals,” Rick said as he entered the basement and walked down the steps. He switched the light on.
Tulip was still in the bedsheet. There was no heating down here. Rick didn’t have a warm bone in his body, so he wouldn’t care if she got sick. He’d done this on purpose to have him at his mercy, and he fucking hated him for it.
Gritting his teeth, he watched his uncle, who looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. “What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Rick laughed. “I want to go back to a year ago when you’d come to me rather than fucking kill your father. I can deal with a lot of shit, Landon. This is bigger than you think.”
“I don’t give a fuck. He had to die. The deals he was doing, even you know it was fucked up for a Denton to even consider aligning himself with any other family.” Landon spat the words out.
“You and I both agree on something. I’ll give you that, but it doesn’t change what happened.” Rick dragged a chair across the basement.
Landon looked toward his woman and saw her lips were blue. “She’ll die if you don’t get her somewhere warm.”
“Well, that’s all up to you, isn’t it, Landon?” Rick said. “I have to say I was surprised to see the Castillo girl alive and well, and what’s more, a part of your little group.”
“Have you told her family?”
“No. I know I’m going to need some information first on what the fuck is going on. I’m not an idiot and I don’t make deals, not without all the answers. She’s your fiancée, Landon. Tell me what deal you made with her.”
“No, you get them into the warmth before I make any deals with you.”
He expected the blow to the face and took it. Jade cried out. “You leave him alone. We didn’t need your help.”
“You think it wouldn’t have taken people long to figure out where you were?” Rick asked. “It didn’t take me long and I’m family. Your family, Jade, would have made an example out of you and Landon. You can’t go off thinking you’re the shit when you don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“Why does it matter to you, Rick? This isn’t your family anymore. You’ve got Mandy back at home. Why not leave this shit behind and go back to her?”
He got another two blows. One to his face, the other to his stomach. He couldn’t fight back, but Rick had trained him to take a beating.
“I’m getting tired of you saying my wife’s name.”
“Mandy, Mandy, Mandy.” He laughed as Rick’s eye twitched.
“Okay, fine, you want to play that game?” Rick got up and walked over to the cage where Tulip was.
“What are you doing? Let her go.”
Tulip screamed as Rick grabbed her hair and pulled her out of the cage. He threw her down to the ground and lifted her head up.