Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 120472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 482(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 482(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Roman leans in and grips my chin between his strong fingers, making it impossible to pull away. “You’re not going anywhere,” he growls, relentless with his tight grip. “You shot my brother and shit like that will not go unpunished. Make no mistake, Shayne, you will die by my hand, but not like this. I want to feel your screams shattering my eardrums as your life slowly slips away.”
“I didn’t do it,” I cry for what feels like the millionth time. “That hooded bitch shot him. She told me to run, she wanted me gone and I told her no. I wanted to stay with him. I would never hurt him like that. Why can’t you believe me?”
Roman scoffs and looks back toward the three men slowly moving in, finally releasing my chin. “My castle is a fucking fortress, Shayne. No one gets in or out without me knowing. I knew you were fucking stupid, but I didn’t take you for a liar.”
Fury pulses through my veins, the very thought of being labeled a liar grating on my every nerve. I’m a lot of things, but not that. “I’m not lying,” I spit through a clenched jaw, pushing up off the cool grass to protect myself better when I should be trying to get away. “After everything you’ve put me through, do you honestly think I’d do something like this? You’re wasting your time coming after me when you should be trying to find her. You’ve had me locked up, for fuck’s sake. If I did this, then where the hell did this car come from? Where would I have gotten the gun? Your stupidity is allowing her to get away.”
Roman laughs, watching me like some kind of pathetic injured animal hobbling along, one who he plans to shoot just to put it out of its misery. He stands, keeping his disgusted leer on me as he checks over his gun. We hear the discreet sounds of the three gunmen creeping in closer and Roman slowly turns, more than ready to destroy them, his bullet wound barely even a thought on his mind.
He glances back at me, the silent warning sharp in his eyes, and just like that, he’s gone, slipping into the darkness like a deadly shadow intent on raising the fucking dead … or at least, adding a few men to their exclusive club by giving them a non-refundable eternal membership.
Silence fills the property as my head spins, the blood loss starting to fuck with my vision … or maybe that was from hitting my head during the crash. I’m almost certain I’ve torn open old stitches, but what does that matter when I’m about to get sliced and diced? I might as well help the process along.
The silence gets louder, and with each passing second, the nerves turn into dead weights in the pit of my stomach, the lingering smell of gasoline making it that much worse. With a whispered groan, I roll myself to my knees and creep out from behind the wreckage, desperate to see what’s going on. Roman never told me who these guys were, but if I had to take a guess, I’d say these are his father’s men. Nobody else would be foolish enough to come here and take a shot at Roman like this. Though, I’m quickly starting to realize that the men in this fucked-up world don’t often come equipped with brains.
Everyone thinks they’re better than the next, stronger, wiser, fiercer. They’re all fools, assuming they have Giovanni’s protection, though nothing compares to Roman, Marcus, and Levi. Being one of Giovanni’s men is the same as painting a target right in the center of your forehead and parading around in front of a bunch of psychopaths, daring them to take a shot.
I catch sight of Roman slipping in behind the shadow of the bushes, his body barely visible in the darkness. His back is to me, but I don’t doubt that he’s somehow still watching, still waiting for me to make a stupid move just to give him another excuse to end my life.
He takes another step and disappears out of sight, leaving me to watch after him, my heart thundering erratically. My stomach twists with nerves as my body grows heavier by the second. Tonight has been a fucking mess, but I’m not about to call it quits yet.
The hooded woman set off a series of events that not even she would have been able to foresee. Despite her bullshit escape plan, I think she was actually trying to protect me, or at least trying to get me away from the brothers, but maybe she just wants me out of her way. She reminded me a lot of Ariana, wanting to take claim over the three men in this world who could never be claimed.