Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
My mind deduced what had happened. Sofia wasn’t in the house, and I knew she wouldn’t disobey me and leave, wouldn’t ignore my phone calls. Someone had taken her from my fortress, stolen her right out from under me.
There was only one person who could do that.
Maddox.
With flared nostrils and white knuckles, I broke down in the middle of my bedroom. My fingers fisted my hair, and my ribs vibrated with every beat of my heart. My wife had been taken from me, and I had no idea where to find her. It was the most excruciating feeling in the world, to lose the thing you loved most. I had been devastated when Damien was taken…but this was a whole new level of bleakness.
Fuck.
Sweat poured down my forehead and burned my eyes. I had to combat my panic because I needed to focus with everything I had. I had to get Sofia back, no matter the cost, no matter the amount of blood and tears.
My phone started to ring.
I looked at it, hoping to see Sofia’s name.
No. It was Maddox.
The timing told me everything I needed to know. My worst nightmare had come to pass. I didn’t fix Damien’s mistake quickly enough, and now my wife was gone, subjected to unspeakable cruelty.
It was my job to protect her.
I failed.
I wanted to ignore the call, but that wasn’t an option. My wife’s life hung in the balance, and I couldn’t afford to provoke him. He probably had spies watching the place, and he was notified the second I stepped inside my home. He wanted to see me suffer, wanted me to know he had me by the balls. This was punishment for my disobedience, which meant there might not be anything I could do to get Sofia back.
He might’ve already killed her.
I hissed between my teeth and almost collapsed to the floor.
If she died, I’d die too.
I took the call and put the phone to my ear.
He overtook the conversation, as always. “I warned you, Hades.”
I kept the speaker away from my mouth so he couldn’t hear the emotion in my breathing.
“You gave me your word—you broke it.”
Sweat coated my neck and dripped down my temples. I wasn’t warm when I came home, but I was so terrified now that my bodily functions had gone haywire.
“You never deserved her.”
I wanted to be strong and incorruptible, but I didn’t have room for pride. I would beg, plead, do anything to save her. “It was Damien, not me. I can’t control what he does. Leave my wife out of this.” I steadied my voice as much as possible, but I couldn’t keep the pain muffled.
“That wasn’t the deal, and you know it.”
“What do you want, Maddox?” I hoped there was something he wanted. Even me, anything I could use to trade for her.
“Nothing.”
My heart plummeted into my stomach.
“I got what I wanted.”
I lost all control and screamed into the phone. “Let her go, asshole! She’s innocent. Has nothing to do with this. I’m the one you want.”
“I don’t know… She is beautiful.”
I was going to hurl right in the middle of my room. “Give her back to me, or I will come after you. I will cut you apart, piece by piece, and keep you alive long enough to watch the pile grow. I will come at you with everything I have, and I won’t stop until everything you care about is gone.”
His sinister smile was loud in his voice. “I hope so, Hades. You know me—I like action.”
“Asshole…”
He hung up.
Motherfucker hung up.
Once the line went dead, that was when I noticed the tears falling down my cheeks. I thought they were beads of sweat. But, no—they were drops of heartache.