Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 106292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
And it all started with Dalton fucking Eros and his ginormous pierced cock. I shouldn’t have fallen for it, but the second he ordered me onto my knees and told me he was my god, I was putty in his wicked hands.
I think his betrayal hurts the most. It’s not as though I was expecting anything to come from our strange little infatuation, but at least the others never pretended to be anything they weren’t. He deceived me, allowed me to think he was there to protect me. Fuck him and his huge cock.
Hell, fuck them all. Sawyer and Easton too. All four of them deceived me in the worst way and offered me protection for the sole purpose of saving me for Zade to slaughter me himself. I suppose this is what I get for being such a whore for good dick.
“You’re thinking too much,” a voice across the basement says.
A shiver sails down my spine, still unable to believe he’s really here. I lift my head from my hands and meet my father’s haunted stare, hating every bit of this. I used to dream of being reunited with my father, back when I stood awkwardly to the side at the daddy-daughter dances in school. But this isn’t what I had in mind. I pictured him coming back to me unscathed, loving me and spoiling me as he always had, but this . . . I never wanted this. To learn he’s been down here this whole time suffering has my heart shattering into a million pieces.
I can’t lie though, if I have to be down in these cells, then I’m glad I have someone on my side. There’s not a lot of people in this world I can trust, but my father . . . All he ever wanted was what’s best for me.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mutter, unsure why I’m giving him such an attitude when I should be trying to figure out how the hell to get us both out of here. “I wasn’t aware there was much else for me to do down here.”
My father scoffs. “Twelve years later and you’re still a brat.” His voice is gruff, but I hear a distinct happiness in his tone, something he’s surely missed over the years. “Trust me, O, I wasted years fuming about the people who put me in here. It does you no good. Think about the good times, the people you love. Otherwise, you’re left with nothing but a cold bitterness, and it makes for a very lonely life.”
Letting out a sigh, I scramble across my cell, pressing my body against the bars to be as close to my father as possible. I grip the cold metal as a soft tear tracks down my dirty face and drops to my collarbone. “I can’t let it go,” I tell him. “They’re not even the ones who put me in here, but what they did . . . what they want with me . . . I’m never going to be free from them. They’ll hunt me down and they won’t stop until I’m dead.”
My father creeps closer, moving right up against the bars, his weathered blue eyes staring into mine. “Since the day you were born, you’ve had a target on your back. Your days are numbered here, Oakley, just as mine are,” he tells me. “As long as my blood runs through your veins, you’ll never be free.”
I grip the bars tighter, my chest sinking under the weight of undeniable hopelessness. “But I didn’t ask for this,” I cry. “I don’t understand. It’s not like I’m breaking down doors and demanding to rule over this shit and challenging anyone for power. I just . . . I don’t want anything to do with it.”
“I know,” my father says. “I gave everything I had to try and shield you from the dark side of this world, but Empire has a way of punishing those who do not embrace their values.”
I scoff. “Don’t try to sugarcoat it. Empire punishes those who are a threat to their bullshit.”
My father shakes his head, and there’s a slight hesitation flashing in his eyes. “While this is true, there is so much more depth to Empire than you could ever understand, my sweet girl. Yes, we are callous and cruel at the best of times, but there are reasons for everything we do.”
“We?” I question, disgust pulsing through my veins. “After everything, after they took you away from me and let you rot down here in this cell for twelve years, after offering me up on a silver fucking platter for Zade DeVil’s twisted ritual, you still consider yourself one of them?”
“I . . . what do you mean Zade’s ritual?” he questions, his whole body stiffening as his piercing eyes seem to hold me captive. “The leadership ritual?”