Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 53529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“Sure.” Where am I going to go, anyway? Not like I just won the Super Bowl and Disney’s calling. I took a potentially fatal drug.
Huff whips out his phone and starts recording with one hand, ready to jot with the other. “Tell me what you’re feeling?”
“Stop that.”
“I need to make a record of this for future analysis. I’ve given you exactly point-zero-five milliliters—the equivalent of a drop of water. Describe anything you feel no matter how small.”
I wait while he stares. Ten minutes, thirty, forty minutes go by.
“Huff, I don’t think it was enough.”
“Be patient,” he orders. I can tell by the veins in his arms that he’s on pins and needles. I am too, but he’s much more intense.
“Didn’t you say you transformed in a few seconds?” I ask.
“Yes, but it almost killed me.”
“So then I’m good. Stable. Give me another dose. We don’t have all night.”
“Luna, just wait a little longer.”
I know for a fact nothing’s happening. “Wait for what, Huff? For River to be gang-raped at that hospital?”
“Why the hell would you say that? You’re trying to back me into a corner and make me choose between your life and hers.”
“Sorry. That sucked of me. It’s just that I’m all nerves right now. Am I about to die of cardiac arrest? Or am I going to be the woman who’ll stand by your side until the end?”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Why did I say that? I know he loves River. It’s why I’m doing this.
Maybe this stuff is affecting me. Because the truth is, I do want more than to simply help Huff. He’s sweet and incredibly sexy, but he’s strong, too. Best of all, he doesn’t even see it. Pure humility. And to me that’s incredibly attractive: the guy who has no clue what a catch he is. A big ball of fierce man in a down-to-earth wrapper. He’s the sort of guy I’ve dreamed of my entire life. He’s not an anti-hero. He’s the perfect hero.
But I can’t force him to feel something for me, and I won’t manipulate him. If he and I are meant to be, then it has to happen on both our terms.
Right now, he loves his childhood sweetheart, and she needs help. I’m all in. For him. For her. Because it’s right.
“River’s meant to be by my side, Luna. I hope you know that.”
I nod. “I do. I didn’t mean what I said—not like you think,” I lie. “I just want to have your back so you can fight these twats. That’s all.”
“And I kinda love that about you.”
Love that about me? My heart starts beating like a rabbit on the run. Thump, thump, thump, thump! A million beats per second.
“Something’s happening,” I mutter.
He grabs for my hand—but his fingers pass through mine.
I lock eyes with him, terrified. “Huff, what’s happening?”
Huff
Right before my eyes, Luna’s fading. “No.” I try to shake her shoulders but can’t get a solid grip. “Don’t you dare. You stay right here or so fucking help me!”
Helpless, her eyes dart from my face to our hands. She’s slipping away, but to where?
“Huff? What’s…what’s happening…?” Her voice is meek and faint, riddled with desperation. I want to help her, but I don’t know how.
“Just look at me,” I say. “Think of being here. Nowhere else, Luna. Here. Me. You.”
“I’m…trying…” Her voice disintegrates with the rest of her until she’s completely gone.
“Luna! Don’t go!”
I sit staring at the spot where Luna was, unable to move. Maybe I’m here for an hour? Maybe two. What’s fucking with me most, besides the guilt of injecting her or the fact that I don’t know what happened, is that I actually miss her already.
The thought of having her by my side gave me a glimpse of the future—surrounded by people I love. I saw her and me working together. It was just a glimpse, but it gave me a taste of what could be. And then, in the blink of an eye, she’s gone. Just…gone.
“And it’s all my fault.” My gut feels like it’s weighed down by a block of ice-cold concrete. Once again, I fucked up the life of someone I care about.
I inhale deeply and clench my fists. I have to stop dragging people into my messes. I have to accept that I am, and will always be, alone in this.
It’s up to me to get River out of Clover. If it means I have to kill a bunch of people to do it, then so fucking be it. I really don’t care, but I’ll fight them all on my own.
I pull out my phone and pull up Clover’s website. Look at all the facilities. So healing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
After a quick trip to the tactical-gear section of my favorite hunting store, I review my plan one more time. I’ve memorized various rooms shown in the hospital’s online brochure. This way, I can zip to different locations inside if I need to. There’s a meditation garden, a cafeteria, a library, and a sauna room. The only problem is that I don’t know the exact layout. I only know there are one hundred and fifty rooms.