Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 642(@250wpm)___ 535(@300wpm)
Everyone stares as we roll through, and I’m suddenly reminded of whose car I’m riding as passenger in, and that he’s no longer the son of the EKC, he is the EKC. Everything goes through him, he makes the changes, calls the shots, and has the very power to start the damn purge if he wanted, since he has the trigger for every single King affiliate at his fingertips, and they very much are based all over the world. Some you wouldn’t even know.
Your boss. Your boss’s boss. Your neighbor. You never know who they are and whether they’re connected and what their job may be under the belly of their life.
My thumb beats against my thigh when he pulls us up near the front of the sign, near Halen’s car. I’ve noticed that she’s the one who is always racing.
He doesn’t cut the engine, but his next words stop me. “Good luck finding someone who will touch you now, Madness, since you rolled in as the Devil’s lap puppy.” My blood spikes, swelling the muscles in my throat.
“Oh really?” My head tilts. “You forget who you’re playing with, Priest.” I didn’t realize he had slid the ribbon off my thigh until he turns me around with a gentle twist at the shoulder. The graze of his fingers against my head when he pulls the knot steals my breath, and that simmering rage that bubbled to the surface moments ago liquidates between my thighs.
He takes me by the chin, turning me back around to face him. “You and I both know that you can’t play that game.”
I lean over the middle compartment of the car, lifting my hand to the side of his neck, where his tattoo ends. I recognize now, up this close, but I don’t want to say anything unless I’m wrong.
“But maybe I want to try.”
He smiles, but it’s not one I want to be on the receiving end of. “Go on then.” It deepens before the corner lifts slightly. “Try me. See what happens, but…”
My heart thrashes against my chest.
“I don’t share, Madness, despite what you may think because of Vaden. So if anyone so much as touches this—”He buries his hand in my hair. It’s not until I feel it release around my shoulders that I notice he’s untied my ribbon.
He lowers it to his lap, but I’m too locked in to take my eyes off his. “I’ll gut them alive, drawing a cut right here, down the middle—” He traces the line of my arm, keeping his tone level. “Before stuffing them with that same shit they put in teddy bears. Then I’ll sew them back together, being sure to add a roll of ribbon on the tip of his tongue and parade him around every party on this side of the continent. Every event. I’ll do this, Madness, until every single person in our world understands that if they so much as look at you for too long, they’ll be right there with him.”
I swallow, but it feels like sandpaper. “You’re stubborn.”
“I’m greedy.” His hand is back on my neck and he’s forcing my face close. “And you’re mine. Always have been, and sure as fuck always will be, and if you haven’t got that through your pretty little head by now, I don’t mind taking it apart to make sure it gets in there.”
I pale.
He laughs, flashing a smile so beautiful it doesn’t belong on someone who said those words as if he was reciting the ABCs.
“Go on…” He nudges his head, leaning back against the door and widening his leg. “You can go play now.”
My hand finds the handle, and I cuss under my breath as it widens. I’m suddenly aware of the Madrabbit cut that’s still fresh on my thigh when the air whisks up my legs, my stockings doing nothing to keep them warm.
“I see he stole you!” River glares at Priest over my shoulder.
Evie brushes up beside her, holding two bottles of mixers. “Okay, this is what I missed. Good old days of getting drunk at a track, inhaling rubber, and watching Halen snatch the balls off every guy who thinks they can beat her.” She hands me a drink, her eyes holding mine for a second, before finding Priest. I step to the side when her arms fling around him.
“I missed you, grumpy!”
Priest allows it, and I’m impressed. Not jealous, just impressed. I know that she is Halen’s best friend, but maybe she and Priest are too. I didn’t think Priest had friends. Priest has family.
“They’re close, but it’s nothing like that. Evie’s been away with her dad, so she hasn’t seen him in a while.”
I look to River, taking a sip of my sugar-filled drink. “You don’t have to reassure me, Riv. It’s okay.”
She places her head on my shoulder, and I plant a gentle kiss on it. “I think I’m in love with him.”