Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
But it’s an open door I’ve never explored, and there’s no way in hell I can resist it.
I creep over, paying attention in case Saro or one of his cronies shows up. I don’t feel like getting yelled at tonight, not after spewing my face off. I look out at a dumpster and some indistinct graffiti sprayed on the wall, probably Saro’s gang tag or something equally stupid. I poke my head out, just wanting to get a feel for what’s going on—
And stare at two men, their backs to me, both of them holding guns as Saro cowers on the ground in front of them.
I freeze. Cold terror fills my bones.
The look on Saro’s face is horrifying.
His eyes are wide and his mouth is trembling and he looks like he wants to start crying. I’ve never seen anyone look so pathetic and scared before in my life and it shatters my heart and sends icicles clawing down my spine.
I need to run. I need to run.
But voices hit me, and I stay where I am.
“…we’re finishing what you started. You understand that, cousin?”
“Please, Arsen,” Saro croaks, tears running down his face. “I didn’t mean anything. The family was at war and I thought—”
“You thought you’d steal what’s rightfully mine.”
I can’t move. I can’t breathe.
That name.
That voice.
His wide shoulders and lean, muscular physique. The way he holds himself like he’s about to spring into motion.
That night comes back to me. His hands on my body, his tongue in my mouth, his dick between my legs. His smirk as he tugged me closer against him and bent down to whisper in my ear. “I’m not done with you yet, my thief.”
“It’s not like that. I just wanted something for myself.”
“Shut the fuck up, Saro,” the other man says. “You and your idiots killed two of our guys and muscled onto our territory. You know what has to happen.”
“We can make a deal. Please, I’ll join you against Uncle Garen.”
Arsen’s chuckle is low and deadly. It sends a knot of pure, frozen fear into my guts. I think I might throw up again, except I don’t know how to make myself move.
“And trust a traitor? Sorry, cousin. I don’t think so.”
Saro lets out a low, pathetic moan—and then he looks at me.
Maybe I made a noise. I can’t even say. I’m barely in control of my body. My knees are shaking and my cheeks are numb. But Saro looks straight into my eyes and his face brightens, almost like he thinks there’s a chance he can get out of this—
A gunshot hammers into his skull and his head explodes into a pink mist. The stone wall behind him gets splattered with gore.
Whatever he thought, whatever he felt, it’s gone now.
Arsen’s gun smokes as I back away. One step. Another step.
Then he turns. His eyes fall on mine. There’s a blackness in his gaze, a void of emotion. He just killed a man in cold blood and there’s no feeling, no reaction at all. Only mild surprise at seeing me there.
“Who the fuck is that?” the other guy asks.
I turn and run.
My legs start working. I speed into the club, going as fast as I can. Arsen saw me. He saw me. He knows. He knows. I witnessed a murder. I saw my one-night stand kill someone. He knows!
My brain’s screaming with gibbering cosmic horror as I shove my way through the crowd. I think Enrico calls after me but I can’t even respond right now. I have to get out, I have to get away.
Saro’s dead. His corpse is in the alley right now.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” I say as I burst out the front door and spring away from the club. I run and run and run, speeding past people, ignoring anyone that calls out. I go and go and go, lungs burning and legs heavy, until I spot a bus nearby. I don’t even know where it’s taking me. I get on, swipe my card, and collapse onto the seat.
I ride the bus for a while, huddled in on myself, until I feel safe enough to cry.
Chapter 6
Lena
Ihave no other choice.
After riding the bus for a couple of hours, I head home.
I thought it through. There’s no way Arsen doesn’t know who I am. We locked eyes, and he’s absolutely sure I witnessed that murder. He’ll come find me, and if I’m not around when he does, then he might take it out on my family.
I can’t risk it. My mom’s sick, my dad’s barely hanging on physically, and my brother’s a freaking dumbass. Vadim will get himself killed trying to protect our parents.
There’s only one way to help them.
“You’re home early,” Mom says from the living room. Dad’s sleeping on the easy chair beside her while she reads on her Kindle. She pushes her glasses up, frowning at me.