Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 63289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Horace spoke, “What do you think is going on?”
“Who knows?” Claire's voice brightened. “Are you still nervous, Maya? You've been quiet this whole ride.”
I ignored her, opened the door, headed out, and avoided the puddle a foot from the limo.
Ethan stepped to me and grabbed my hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
We headed off.
Claire called out for me. “Maya? What?! Uh! Where are you going and. . .? You know Ethan Vanderbilt?”
“Oh shit!” Horace yelled.
Walking forward, I glanced over my shoulder.
Tons of guards descended on Estelle. She shrieked and tried to run, but there was no escape. They tackled her before she could reach into her purse.
Sighing, I looked forward.
Ethan squeezed my hand. “Don't worry. We will get out of this.”
“I have an idea.”
“What is it?”
“I think we need to destroy the grandfather clock.”
He stopped walking. “What?”
“The clock,” I said, “it's the source of this time loop and if we destroy it, then maybe we can break the cycle.”
I waited for him to respond. He face was a mask of concentration as if he were going over it all in his head. I knew damn well that this was a long shot. If I were wrong, there could be devastating and irreversible consequences.
Then, he looked at me. “Okay. It just might work. Let's do it.”
“You really trust me?”
He answered without hesitation, “Yes.”
I stood there, stunned.
Then. . .we’re truly going to do this.
He pulled me close, kissed my forehead and declared, “Let's go break that clock.”
Hand in hand, we headed to the mansion in silence.
When we entered, music and laughter greeted us.
We bypassed it all—the brightly colored costumes and festive masks, the clinking of champagne and the melody from the orchestra.
Please let this work.
We headed down the hall.
Ethan glanced at me. “What made you come up with this idea?”
“When we shifted or. . .I don't know what else to call it, transformed back into the repeated moment, I saw tons and tons of clocks floating all around me.”
“Yes. I've seen that too.”
“And that confirmed to me the strong connection of the clock to our situation.”
“I can see that.”
“And even on the limo ride here, I swore I could hear the grandfather ticking around me.”
“Interesting.”
Minutes later, we stopped at the door.
I gazed up at him. “Are we really going to do this?”
“We are.” A fierce determination spread across his face. He grabbed the knob and turned it.
As soon as I stepped inside, my gaze went to the grandfather clock.
Did it know what we had in store for it? Was it scared?
Ethan shut the door behind us. “Luckily, every time I return, I order Jackson to put two loaded guns on my office desk and close the curtains on the window.”
I moved my gaze to his desk.
The guns rested there, cold and heavy, inviting us to take them in our hands and finally end this.
Ethan clicked the lock on the door.
I strolled over and carefully picked up the gun that he had taught me how to use, memories ago.
This must work.
I swore the bullets inside the gun, hummed and begged me to release them.
Ethan got to my side. “If this is wrong?”
“Then, we could be stuck forever with no solution in sight.”
He picked up the gun. “Exactly.”
I looked at him. “Then. . .should we not do it?”
“It doesn't matter to me.”
“What do you mean it doesn't matter?”
“I told you before, as long as I'm stuck with you, I am content.”
I shivered. “Damn, Ethan.”
He quirked his brows.
“What do I do with that?”
He gave me a wicked smile. “You told me you loved me.”
“I do.”
“Then, why else would I care about anything else?”
“Damn it.” I looked back at the clock. “I still don't want to cause you to be stuck—”
“I don't care.”
My heart boomed in my ears. I raised the gun and aimed at the grandfather clock, feeling the weight and power of the weapon in my hands “You're right then.”
“Of course I am.”
“If the worst-case scenario is that I'm stuck with you, then so be it.”
“Correct again.” He lifted his gun and pointed at the clock too. “Let me know when you're ready.”
Please, God. Let this be the final solution.
My hand shook.
I stared at the large grandfather clock.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
I sighed. “It's so beautiful.”
“It is.”
The intricate designs carved into the wood seemed to dance in the light.
The clock face twinkled and glowed with crescent moons, stars, and hourglasses, casting an otherworldly glow.
Will this end the loop?
I focused on the pendulum shaped like a sorcerer's staff, coiled and bedecked with shards of luminescent crystals.
I hesitated for a moment, my heart pounding louder in my chest, knowing that what I was about to do could have unimaginable consequences.
“Okay.” I flipped the safety switch off. “Let's do it.”
“Should we count?”
“I guess.”
“Go ahead, Maya.”
“Shit.” I trembled. “One. Two. Three.”
We fired our guns at the clock. Bullets struck the ancient object with a force that shuddered and shook the foundation around us.