Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
“Play stupid all you want, Montana. I saw it in your eyes the moment you saw me. You know exactly who the fuck I am.”
My back slammed against a brick wall, and he lifted me onto my tiptoes, giving me just enough air to keep me breathing, though it was certainly a struggle.
“I’m not going to kill you,” he promised me. I relaxed a little. “But I’m going to make this hurt.”
He moved his hand from around my throat and slammed it over my mouth just as he slammed a knife into my thigh. I screamed against his hand, the pain making my vision go white for a moment. Hot tears sprang to my eyes.
“Shh,” he breathed into my ear. I whimpered, biting back a sob. The pain was excruciating. “I’m going to move my hand. Don’t you dare scream, you hear me? Or I’ll pull that knife out, take your phone, and leave you to bleed out.”
Jerkily, I nodded my head. He removed his hand and wrapped it back around my throat, but I was standing on my feet again. My body shook with the effort not to sob and crumble to the ground. My lips trembled. Hot tears slid down my cheeks.
His tongue flicked out over my left cheek, licking up a tear. I snapped my eyes to his. Then, his lips brushed mine just the tiniest bit. Tingles shot through every part of my body despite the situation I was in.
“I don’t want to kill you, Montana,” he rasped, “but you will pay, do you understand me?”
My dark eyes locked with his. Confusion swarmed my senses. He licked up another tear, his eyes never leaving mine. “I love the taste of your tears.” He released me but then grabbed me under my arms and lowered me to the ground. “Call your brother.”
With that, he strode out of the alley, not even bothering to cast one more glance at my pathetic form.
And suddenly, it all made sense.
He didn’t want to kill me. Nope, he’d done exactly as he wanted to. He had not only rattled me and left his mark on my body, but he’d also just branded his mark on my soul, leaving me confused. Because a man that truly wanted vengeance wouldn’t also show you kindness.
This was my warning not to fuck him over again.
I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket, whimpering when I had to move my leg to do so. I leaned against the wall, gasping for breath once I had my phone in my hand. Fuck, the pain was intense.
“Montana?” John asked when I called his name since he had remained silent when he answered. I hadn’t called him in months, and he hadn’t called me either. But then again, my phone number had been changed. I just assumed he would have come to see me like he always did.
But he never came. So, I never bothered to call.
“I need help,” I whispered.
“What the fuck happened?” he growled down the line. I stayed quiet. “Montana, fucking answer me.”
I licked my suddenly dry lips. “Um, Blaze happened,” I quietly told him. “I need help. I can’t get up, not without help.”
“What the fuck did he do?!” John roared down the line. I flinched at the sheer rage in his voice. “I’ll fucking kill him, Montana—”
“No!” I blurted before I could stop myself. I shook my head and drew in a deep breath. “No,” I repeated, calmer this time. “I deserved this. Just trust me on that. Please, just come get me. I’ll send you my location.”
“Send it now.” He was quiet as I sent him my location. “Jonah, put that into the GPS,” he ordered. He drew in a deep breath. “Sis, what did he do to you?”
He licked my tears. He sort of kissed me.
He made me crave more of his violence.
Instead, I just said, “He issued his warning.”
3
Montana
John and Jonah lurched around the corner and came through the gate one right after the other. John cursed at the sight of me. “Easy, sis,” he soothed as he knelt in front of me. “Just breathe. I’m going to take you to Matthew, okay?”
I nodded. I hadn’t even realized I’d been struggling to draw air into my lungs. The pain was excruciating. “Jonah, help me get her up,” John ordered. “Try not to bend your leg, sis. I don’t want to risk hitting an artery or some shit if you move your leg.”
Gritting my teeth, I linked my arms around my older brother’s neck, and he and Jonah lifted me from the ground with Jonah making sure my leg stayed straight and steady. “We’ve got to get her to the car still,” Jonah told him, his deep voice washing over me. I accidentally put pressure on my leg, and I whimpered, my breath sawing out of my lungs.