Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 108119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
“Hilarious.”
He pulled out two knives and shoved one directly into the shoulder with the bullet “El says hi by the way.”
I screamed in pain.
El was his wife.
El, I liked.
It was Dante I was having a hard time with.
He twisted the knife at the same time he ran the tip of the blade along my right arm, digging up flesh as he carved. “I was Picasso in another life.”
Blood drenched my shirt.
Pain swallowed me whole as dark dots started to fill my vision.
And then.
The nightmares came.
They came full force.
And there was nothing I could do to stop them.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Alice
My clothes were soaked with blood.
My teeth where chattering from shock.
And all I wanted to do was run back into the room of nightmares and hold him close.
Chase pulled off his shirt and handed it to me. “Put this on, yours looks like you survived an animal sacrifice only to get lost at a vampire fair.”
How could he joke at a time like this?
“I prefer my shirt to yours,” I spat.
He grinned. “You know I could have broken your jaw.”
It’s like he read my mind. I shifted on my feet. “Regretting that you didn’t?”
He very gently reached forward and cupped my face. “Andrei is a proud man, he’s also an idiot when it comes to punishing himself, and since I know exactly what that’s like, I did him a favor the way he did me a favor.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He warned her away from me. He did exactly what I would have done in his position. She didn’t listen. And his presence alone made me want to act. It takes an act of God for most of us to accept love — and Andrei needed exactly that.”
Next to me, Nixon cleared his throat. “He’s not comparing himself to God, because that would be idiotic. What he’s saying is we could have been harder on him.”
“He could die.” I said it slowly so they would understand.
Nixon winked. “He won’t die. He’ll be pissed, and he’ll probably need a lot of blood but we have Nikolai here. He’ll stay the night.”
“If he’s staying, I’m staying too.” Without thinking, I relented, and peeled off my shirt and put on Chase’s.
Chase jerked his attention to the wall while Nixon looked down, grinning, Nikolai turned completely around while Ax examined his nails.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “But Chase was right, I was gross.”
“At least it’s lucky blood,” Chase said loud enough for the other family to laugh and shake their heads, just as Nikolai walked over and started assessing the damage to my skin. Before I knew what was happening I was bandaged up and watching as the guys continued to act like nothing was wrong.
How was this normal?
It wasn’t.
And yet… it was.
“Can we watch him through one of the private rooms?” I asked no one in general as the door once again opened.
I heard nothing.
No screaming.
Just silence.
I preferred his screaming and cursing.
“Little slugger just tuckered right out.” Tex laughed while Dante was wiping his knives on his shirt like it was the best day of his life.
Phoenix just rolled his eyes while Sergio crooked his finger to me.
I walked over.
“Security card for the place.” He put a black card in my hands. “I figured you’d want to stay, shower, get some rest. Then you can watch him sleep. But know that if you go in that room without permission you will die.”
Great.
“Okay.” I took the card as all the guys watched me, maybe waiting to see if I was going to burst into tears or start yelling.
With a sigh, I confessed. “I was locked in a room for one year without going outside, my brother was an asshole, and Andrei literally referred to me as a number for three straight days and chopped off my brother’s tongue and gave it to me like you would give a girl flowers. I’m not going to have a breakdown.”
“Well…” Nixon chuckled. “When she puts it that way.”
“A tongue.” Dante nodded. “Huh, no wonder he never got any action.”
I could see a few of the men glance up at him with knowing smirks.
And it was Phoenix’s turn to shrug and say. “Figured you guys probably already knew he wasn’t a manwhore like he made himself out to be.”
“Not a manwhore and also not a virgin anymore,” I snapped and then wanted to crawl underneath a dark surface and put my hands over my eyes.
My face was hot as each of the guys grinned at me like they had some ammo they could use against him.
And then the strangest thing happened.
The Capo, the man I’d been told to fear more than God, lifted his hand for a high five.
I hit it.
Just as he whispered, “Way ta get your man, tiger.”
The moment firmly sealed my place among the monsters.
As bodies of the men were collected, the floor cleaned.