Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 114260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
I shake my head because I can’t think about this right now. I have to stay focused right here and now on what I’m doing and where I am. I look around me but pretend to be distraught. I go to wipe fake tears from my eyes when I realize they aren’t fake at all.
It takes courage to tell the truth when you fear the outcome.
It takes courage to forgive someone and stay despite wanting to leave.
Cain is courageous.
And so am I.
I take one more step toward the tall willows that line the walkways when I hear a boom that rattles my teeth. I turn around sharply to see what caused the noise.
Cain’s car.
People around us scream, running past the fire that erupts like the fire of a dragon. I push through the people swarming past me and run straight toward the fire.
“Cain!” I scream, my voice drowning in the sounds of screams around us and the blast of fire and broken glass. “Cain!”
I see him, slumped over in the passenger seat, Joe sprawled out on the pavement.
It would take two of me to drag a man the size of Cain away from anything. It looks like Joe is semi-awake, as he stumbles away from the billowing flames. I tug uselessly on one of Cain’s arms, but I can’t move him an inch.
“Wake up,” I sob, yanking on him with all my might. “I can’t carry you, Cain. Wake up!”
Even with the thrill of fear and adrenaline consuming me, I can’t move him at all. I sob freely, yanking at him. It’s then that I realize he isn’t going to wake up.
I have to get him out, or he doesn’t survive.
A huge, hulking, beast of a man watches in the shadow of the video arcade, screaming into his cell phone. “Salem Willows! Come quick, it’s gonna fucking blow!”
“Get over here and help me!” I scream. The guy stares at me, petrified. Why the fuck do people freeze in emergencies? Instinctively, I grab my gun from its holster and cock it and I am fully prepared to shoot. “Get the fuck over here and help or I’ll shoot you!” I scream.
He runs to me and grabs Cain by the arm, just as Skylar reaches us. I’m shoving my gun back in the holster when strong arms grab me from behind. I half-expect police to apprehend me and react by instinct when I see it’s someone I’ve never seen before. I deck his jaw, and his head snaps back.
The second he releases me, I grab my gun again. I have to help Cain, but this guy’s fucking attacking me. He lunges for me. I duck and slide my fingers in place around my gun, satisfied by the heft of it in my palm. “Get anywhere near me again, and I’ll fucking shoot you.”
“Not if I kill you first,” he growls. He spits on the ground beside me, his face contorted with fury, then throws himself bodily at me. I pull the trigger.
I never miss.
He falls to the ground with a thud. I don’t take time to check him. I don’t bother.
The shot I took is deadly…just like every. other. damn. time.
His body lays still in my peripheral vision as I turn back to Cain. He’s been pulled to the curb. I sag in relief.
Someone at the arcade’s shown up with a fire extinguisher. Sirens wail nearby.
The world spins around me, and my ears begin to ring. I slump to the ground.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Cain
“Tell me again.”
I’m sitting propped up in my bed, and Violet’s laying with me, her head on my chest. She doesn’t know it yet, but the door’s locked up here. I kept my guards here just in case, and I’ve commanded the deadbolts be drawn downstairs.
Everyone thinks I’m taking extra precautionary measures now because we’ve been attacked by the Castellanos. I’m not. I don’t fucking fear the Castellanos.
I want Violet to stay here, with me.
Right now, she’s lying on me as if she’s exhausted and I’m her pillow, and I’m not ready for this to end. I’m not ready for the inevitable that happens next.
“Armand came around the corner, pulled out his phone, and I swear he was calling the Castellanos when they blew up our car.”
“I heard it, and didn’t know what it was at first. What a terrible sound.”
I nod. “That’s all I remember. Joe doesn’t remember much more than that, but Henri’s footage is pretty clear. A Castellano blew up the car, likely as a distraction. They saw me get in with Joe. When you came to rescue me, that was their chance. They came to get you.”
She nods. “And dude, that was the wrong time to try to kidnap me. He’d have been better off trying when I was asleep or something.”
I growl low, making her laugh. “I love it when you go all alpha on me.”