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)
I move with him as he takes a closer look at Oakley’s bed, realizing something isn’t right. Her bed is empty. I can also feel the panic firing through his veins. His body straightens, and just as he’s about to bail, my arms snap out.
One curls around his forehead, gripping his hair and yanking his head back in a death grip while the other shoots to the base of his throat, my blade resting against his skin. The need to interrogate him is strong, but with his gun firmly clutched in his hand, I’m not taking any chances. Just because I’ve got the advantage, doesn’t mean he can’t free himself of this.
There are other ways for me to get the answers I’m looking for, and this isn’t it.
Cross steps out of the shadows, and without even a hint of hesitation, I let my blade fly free, slitting his throat as effortlessly as carving a Thanksgiving turkey.
The hitman falls to the ground, and the familiar gurgling of blood is like music to my ears. I meet Cross’s stare, and just like that, he nods before pulling out his phone and ordering the clean-up crew. He steps around the body, and as he moves out of the room, I realize just how far I would go for this.
Nobody is going to stand in my way. Not The Circle, not the members of Empire, and definitely not Oakley Quinn.
Come the night of the sixtieth moon, I will carve her beating heart out of her chest, and her sweet screams of agony will be the greatest reward I’ll ever receive.
Chapter 10
OAKLEY
A soft metal thud sounds through the cell, and my eyes fly open, my heart racing like never before. I was asleep. How fucking stupid could I have been to allow myself to fall asleep? Fuck.
Fear overwhelms me, and I quickly glance around the cell, my eyes snapping from side to side.
Dalton is gone, his cuff dangling against the wall. How could that be? What have they done to him?
The heavy door begins to open as fear paralyzes me, and instead of trying to fight back, I close my eyes, pretending to sleep as I listen to every last sound around me. I hear two people walk in, and despite my closed eyes, I can feel their intense stares locked on my face. “Fuck, is she still sleeping?” Dalton’s voice murmurs through the cell.
An irritated scoff sounds through the cement prison, and I try to figure out who it belongs to. “For your own sake, you better hope she is,” the voice responds. Maybe Sawyer? I don’t know. I haven’t been around them enough to recognize their voices. All I know is that it’s definitely not Zade. “Otherwise, you’re fucked.”
“Tell me about it.”
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
A body drops to the ground across the prison, and my curiosity gets the best of me. Peering through my eyelashes—trying to remain as still as possible—I find Dalton as free as a bird, a filthy smirk pasted across his face as he reaches for his cuff and locks himself back into it.
He curses with his movements, and Sawyer crouches down, quickly glancing toward me before determining that I’m still asleep. “This is so fucked up, man,” he says, reaching out and scuffing up his hair, making him look more disheveled than he is. “But just say the word and I’ll happily break another rib. I know how you get off on that shit.”
Dalton chuckles, testing his wrist on the cuffs, making sure it’s not too tight. “Fuck off, bro. You’ve been pulling your punches all day. Your sister could hit me harder than that. You’re just lucky I know how to make it look convincing.”
“Keep running your mouth like that, and I’ll happily beat you over and over again. You forget, Dalt, you’ve been my best friend since we were kids. I know when something really fucks you up, and right now, that rib is fucking killing you.”
Best fucking friend? What in the fresh hell is going on here?
He’s one of them. This is all a fucking game to him. He got me alone, fucked me, and gained my trust just long enough to screw me over. This must have been all part of their twisted plan since the beginning. He kept separate from them, was lingering outside the apartment complex when I walked home after my first shift, then last night he got that text and immediately said it was time to go.
I’m such a fucking idiot.
Dalton played a part in this. He set it up, made it possible for his friends to capture me, and now, he’s sitting here beside me, acting as though his world is about to implode, making promises to get me out of here.
Who the hell is this guy? He told me he didn’t know them, barely even knew their names, but he was lying. He knows exactly who they are, and he played me like a fool, allowing me to walk right into this trap.