Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 153544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 768(@200wpm)___ 614(@250wpm)___ 512(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 768(@200wpm)___ 614(@250wpm)___ 512(@300wpm)
I’m so glad I decided to stop and hide here for now. Hearing all the eliminations, I doubt there are many of the participants left. So I’d rather take it slower than rush into it and end up losing.
And seriously, I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere with this wanker tirelessly on my tail. Shouldn’t he be hunting the others instead of focusing on one?
The most important part is that he’s gone now. I watch his back disappear behind the trees and narrow my eyes. I’m ninety percent sure it’s Killian, especially due to the mask’s color, but he couldn’t have known I’d be here or specifically pick me as a target, right?
I shudder at the thought of what he’ll do if he finds out I’ve come to his club’s initiation.
He told me to be good and I definitely didn’t listen. If my past interactions with him are of any indication, this will end badly.
A sudden chill goes through me and I rub a hand against the side of my shorts while the other holds the branch for dear life.
Forget it. I’m simply not going to think about Killian right now.
I wait for a few minutes, until my feet and hands start to ache, then when I’m sure he’s most definitely gone, I slowly climb down. It’s easy to climb trees. All you have to do is make sure you have a strong foothold and that you’re holding a solid branch.
Once I’m halfway there, I peek down to measure the distance and shriek when I find a neon red mask staring up at me with a chilling calm.
Shit.
Shit.
The arsehole must’ve been waiting for me to come out from my hiding spot. I didn’t trick him into thinking I went in the opposite direction. He knew where I was the entire time and he’s the one who tricked me into showing myself.
I make a snap decision and climb up. It doesn’t matter if I stay at the top of this tree for a whole night as long as I stay away from the crazy bastard.
I’m not a meter up when something hits the branch I’m holding on to. The bat.
He threw it at the branch, causing it to snap in two. My foot slips and I grab the void in my attempts to catch another branch. The fall happens in slow motion and I feel every hit of air against my skin and the horrifying speed I’m sinking with.
I screw my eyes shut for the fall. I’m definitely going to break a bone or two—
However, instead of the ground I expect to greet me, my entire body is enveloped by a strong grip. The cocoon I’m caught in sways a little from the thud of my fall but remains sturdy.
Cold air hits my face, and I realize it’s because my mask has been removed.
“So it is you. I had a feeling when I saw your little white panties through your shorts but couldn’t be sure.” His voice darkens to a chilling edge. “I thought I told you to be good and stay put tonight.”
I slowly open my eyes to find myself completely wrapped in Killian’s arms. The neon red mask with a stitched smile makes him appear frightening, manic even.
His muscles tighten around me until it’s almost suffocating, and I hate how glad I am for him catching me. Or how warm it feels in his embrace. It shouldn’t be like this.
Not when he’s the most ice-cold person I know.
“What the hell were you thinking when you broke the branch?” I breathe harshly, still under the spine-curling sensation of falling. “I could’ve dropped on the rock.”
“Which you didn’t, because I caught you. Now, tell me, Glyndon. What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I got an invitation.”
He remains silent, but I can see him narrow his eyes through the mask. “Bullshit.”
“I really did. You can find it in my phone that your creepy bunnies confiscated. Seriously, why did it have to be bunnies? They’re supposed to be cute, and you guys ruined their image by making them grotesque.”
“You’re the one who’s cute when you’re nervous. Can’t stop talking, huh?”
“Shut up and let me down.”
“No can do. How else are you going to pay for defying me if I release you?”
“Why…would I pay for anything?”
“Try again and in a less spooked tone, because your nervousness turns me on.”
“You’re sick.”
“And you’re a broken record.” He shoves his face against the side of my throat so he’s literally breathing down my neck, his hot breaths triggering my hitched breaths. “Why are you here, Glyndon?”
“I told you, I got an invitation,” I try to speak normally, but my voice comes out lower than usual.
“Do you attend every dangerous event you get invited to?”
“I just…got curious.” There’s no way I’ll tell him about Devlin when he could be in on the conspiracy with the rest of the club about his death.