Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
We continued what we were doing and I had to stop and take a minute to pull myself together.
Ryan approached from the side and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “It will be okay,” he reassured me, pressing a quick kiss to my temple.
Caught off guard, I gave him a tight smile and stepped away just as music began to play from downstairs. We shared a look between us.
“What the fuck is this?” Jason’s voice rang out.
We made our way downstairs and into the living room. I could see Jason standing near the TV, his arms crossed and his expression rife with unease.
“What’s going on?”
He pointed at the TV. “Look at this shit.”
I looked, trying to see what he wanted me to do. There was a music app pulled up. My eyes flicked down to the bottom of the playlist. The Bluetooth device connected was labeled as Gabes.
He and the others trickled into the room.
“What happened now?”
“Your phone’s connected to the TV,” Ryan replied.
Gabe stepped closer. “But I don’t have my phone. I left it in the box.”
Naija stood in the doorway, damn near chewing her lip off. “Do you know how close someone has to be to connect Bluetooth like that?”
Gabe rushed forward and reached behind the flatscreen, yanking at the cord until it came free from the wall. The abrupt silence that followed was louder than any sound.
Jason was the first to speak. “Carson. He’s still close with those other guys?”
I nodded. “Practically brothers. They live together.”
Gabe frowned. “So they could be helping him?”
Naija glanced around, her eyes darting toward the covered windows. “Would they really go this far, though?”
Daniella let out a humorless laugh. “They’re all crazy in one way or another. They just hide it behind wealth, charm, and a perfect smile.”
I crossed my arms, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. “That’s…accurate.”
Cherish looked at me, her brow furrowed. “But they all loved you, didn’t—”
Liza interrupted her. “Then this is happening because of you?”
“No, it’s not her fault.” Daniella spun toward her. “Why the hell would you say that?”
Liza raised her chin. “I can’t be the only one thinking it. There’s a severed head in the kitchen. A head—of a girl you hated.”
“You hated her too. And how the fuck is that my fault? I don’t recall decapitating anyone recently.”
She kept going as if I hadn’t spoken. “Add that weird ass note to the mix, and it’s not hard to figure out. You’re here with three guys, and if the rumors about Wilder are true, everyone knows he’s obsessed with you. You could’ve warned us that he was an actual psyc—”
Cherish moved before I could intervene, shoving her backward. “Do not blame my sister for the actions of a man who can’t handle rejection.”
Liza stared at her; eyes wide. “I wasn’t blaming her—”
“Yes, you were,” Daniella interrupted.
I should’ve felt relieved and defended, but guilt was already setting in and effectively shutting me up. A severed head and the creepy-ass gas station girl, I refused to take the blame for, but if my ex really did have something to do with this, then it was my fault.
“Liz, you’re entitled to whatever you want to think. You can be as pissed at me as you want, but we can’t fight amongst ourselves right now.”
She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I just--.”
Music began to play again. The same song that had just been playing on TV.
“Where is that coming from?” my sister asked quietly.
“If that’s his phone…” Jason trailed off, turning so that he was in front of us.
“Someone is in the house,” Liza whispered, her voice shaking.
“No. We just went from room to room. Twice,” Daniella reminded her.
She shook her head, blonde curls bouncing. “I can’t…I’m not staying in this goddamn house a second longer. I’ll take my chances in the woods.”
“That’s the dumbest thing you could possibly do right now,” Gabe retorted.
She backstepped, damn near shoving Jason across the room to get around him.
“Liza, stop! Don’t be a fucking idiot,” Naija yelled.
I ran after her, grabbing her from behind in a desperate attempt to stop her. “You can’t go out there!”
“Get off me!” She shrieked, twisting in my hold. Her elbow came dangerously close to connecting with my face, and I instinctively let her go before she could land the hit.
The heavy door swung wide, and for a split second, everything seemed to still. Liza didn’t have a chance to react before the person on the other side grabbed her by the throat.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Thorne carried the blonde into the house like she was nothing more than a rag doll. She kicked and clawed at him, but he didn’t even flinch, making her resistance laughable.
Lucian and I followed close behind him, stepping into the chaos with unhurried strides. The screams inside were already echoing through the house. We’d expected this to happen much later. She just moved our timeline up and I wasn’t complaining.