Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“You’re not going anywhere.” She shoulder-checks me when I try to walk around her, making me stumble. There are a few passing cars now and then, and a woman across the street pauses in the middle of getting into her car, eyeing us with curiosity. She must decide to mind her business because she wastes no time getting behind the wheel and closing the door.
“Just let me pass, please.” I sigh. “I didn’t do anything to you, and I would rather pretend you don’t exist, if you don’t mind.”
“See, that’s your big mistake, even bigger than thinking you belong with Colt.”
Because in the end, that’s what this is all about. “I think Colt knows what’s best for him. If that’s your problem, maybe you need to get in his face instead of mine. But I’m sure you’re afraid to do that,” I conclude.
“Why would I be afraid of him?” She lifts her chin defiantly, her eyes cold. “Especially when I know what he’s done.”
“You’ve lost me again. You really need to stop being so deluded. It’s sad,” I whisper. It’s the truth, too. I’m sad for her. “I’m sorry, there are no answers. I really am, but I’m not the person who can give them to you.”
“Bullshit.”
“Whatever you say.”
“We’re going to find out what happened to Bradley.”
“We?” I ask, and for the first time, real fear slithers down my spine like a snake. I didn’t think about Bradley. The way he disappeared around the time of the explosion. The body, the grave. Why didn’t I think about that until now? How could I have missed it?
When Deborah’s mouth twitches into a knowing smile and a look of satisfaction comes over her face, I know this is it. She has seen through me. I’ve just gotten to the heart of why Nix won’t come back. It must be Bradley in his grave. And now she’ll know all of her accusations were correct because I’ve never been very good at hiding my thoughts.
It’s only when I hear someone step up behind me that I realize I was worried about the wrong thing. Hot breath fans out across the back of my neck, making me flinch, but I don’t have time to run. It’s already too late.
That same hot breath hits my ear in time with a cloth covering my nose and mouth, a cloth cupped inside a large hand that clamps down hard. “This is for my brother,” a man whispers, and I know it must be Dennis holding me in place.
I’m forced to breathe in whatever is on the cloth.
Dennis holds me up as my body begins to slump, and Deborah opens her car’s back door in the moments before the world goes dark.
They’re going to hurt me, and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.
15
NIX
Now I know what real torture feels like. Before today, I only thought I understood. Keeping myself away from the world, living in the shadows, holding myself back. It’s been hell, and I thought it couldn’t get any worse.
Now I know better.
My pulse is pounding and sweat rolls down the back of my neck as I follow the car Leni is in. I don’t know how I managed to sit there silent and still when my instincts screamed at me to stop them. I could’ve hit the horn, so they knew someone was watching. I even saw myself hitting the gas, aiming directly for the car they stood next to once I spotted Dennis approaching Leni from behind. Why didn’t I stop them?
Because they, of all people, can’t know I’m still alive. It’s bad enough Colt knows—it was stupid to think Leni would be able to keep my visit a secret. I told myself she could because it meant getting what I wanted, and now I have to be more careful than ever.
But showing myself to Dennis would’ve been the biggest mistake of all. Especially out in public, on the street.
Meaning all I can do now is follow them. The sun is setting, and traffic is getting thinner the further we drive away from the center of town. I have to hang back half a block, sometimes more, to make sure they don’t get suspicious. Deborah might be a dumb bitch, but she’s sneaky. She’ll be keeping watch, making sure nobody noticed what they did.
I only hope Leni is unconscious, the way she looked when they shoved her into the back of the car. I don’t want her to know this is happening. If she’s ever going to be afraid, I want her to be afraid of me, of what I can do to her, not of these pathetic assholes. What do they think they’re doing? What’s the point of this? Fuck, if I could only ask. Not that it would make a difference even if I could.