Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
He killed him. He took his blade and slaughtered him like cattle. And what’s more, Zade doesn’t even seem fazed about it.
Turning around, Zade locks his cold stare directly on mine and strides toward me, Sawyer and Dalton right on his heels. He stops before me and I gape up at him, my knees failing me as I fall back against Easton. Something sparkles in his eyes, and in an instant he moves past me, starting his trek back up the old stone steps. “Come on,” he throws over his shoulder. “We’re leaving.”
With that, Easton gives me a nudge in the back of my ribs, propelling me forward. I quickly follow, knowing damn well I have no other choice. As we leave the gruesome sight behind, I realize without a doubt that Zade knew I was there the whole damn time. He knew I was watching and still killed that man right in front of my eyes.
Zade DeVil truly is a monster. A cold, callous murderer. And yet despite all of that, I can’t help but want to know him.
Chapter 21
OAKLEY
My hands shake as I sit between Easton and Sawyer in the back of Zade’s Escalade, Easton’s knee pressed up against mine. Zade watches me through the rearview mirror, and despite not once looking up to meet his rattling stare, I can feel it like lasers on my skin.
What the hell have I allowed myself to be involved in? These people, this organization, it’s too much.
The Escalade pulls to a stop, and for the first time since getting in the car, my gaze lifts to the window, and I’m surprised to find us back at the college apartment complex. I could have sworn after catching me at the Empire compound, I’d be back in that cement prison. My brows furrow, but I don’t dare question him on it. If I get to be at home in my own bed, with privacy, then I’ll take it. It beats being Zade’s prisoner.
I’ll never be able to understand Zade or the decisions he makes. There’s no rhyme or reason to this—at least not one I can see. Though something tells me he has a reason for every last thing he does.
We get out of the Escalade and hover, unsure if Zade would actually allow me to go if I started walking. Easton stands beside me and Zade nods to him. “Go with her. Sweep her apartment and then meet me back in mine. We’ve got some shit to deal with.”
Easton nods and I don’t hesitate, taking off at a brisk pace to get back to my apartment. Dalton watches the way his friend falls in beside me as his arm brushes against mine.
My gaze falls to the ground, so confused by all of this. Dalton is giving me mixed signals. He’s so hard, so demanding and forceful, but at other times, I’ll catch him watching me, teasing me, wanting to be near me. I don’t get it, but it doesn’t matter. He betrayed my trust. He destroyed any chance of something growing between us, whether it was friendship or something else.
They’ve all been dishonest. Dalton set me up to be kidnapped and Sawyer stood before me, insinuating that he’d take me by force. Now that I know him a little better, I realize that’s not who he is. Sawyer is sweet and kind-hearted, and while he’s just as cruel and callous on the outside as the rest of them, there’s something softer hidden beneath. But there’s no denying that back in the concrete prison, his words were terrifying.
Easton Cross is the only one who seems to have been honest with me. He was real from the start, and while something warns me to run from him, I’m drawn to him as well. Down in that dungeon with the blood spurting from the doorman, Easton’s arms around me somehow made everything alright. I know he’d never hurt me, and something has me wanting to cling to him. But that doesn’t mean I should trust him.
Zade, on the other hand, has done just about everything humanly possible to ensure I despise him. Kidnapping, holding me hostage, and my all-time favorite, his hand locking around my throat and squeezing the life out of me. I could see it in his eyes. If I had pushed him just a little more, he would have not thought twice about killing me.
All I know is Zade DeVil is a different breed. He’s unpredictable and wild, and that scares the shit out of me.
Easton and I walk side by side and he holds the door open for me as we make our way into the hallway of our apartment complex. My arms are crossed over my chest, concealing the fact that my hands haven’t stopped shaking since watching Zade slaughter that man.