Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
A sharpness shoots through me, causing my muscles to stiffen along with my jaw. “I know him well enough to know if you don’t get out of my face, I’m not the one you will need to worry about.”
Damiano’s head yanks back as if slapped. “You would sic him on me?”
“Of course not,” I snap. “He would come to you on his own and if you believe for a single second he will stop on my command, you’re dead wrong. He won’t.”
Damiano’s eyes narrow, searching, speculating, but he isn’t allowed to do it for long.
“Move,” the deep, deadly baritone booms through the speaker, sending a shiver down my spine. “Right the fuck now.”
Damiano scoffs, standing taller, and a jarring “pop” sounds a second later—the microphone dropping to the ground.
Quickly, I jerk past Damiano, just in time to witness Bastian hopping over a post with zero effort, chin down, eyes up, and headed this way, but he comes to a halt at the sight of me, and then every other head follows suit.
“Fuck,” is cursed from the corner we’re in.
“I’m not taking Delta out there,” Ander says.
“You don’t have to.” He only wants me.
“Bring the brother with you.”
Okay, apparently, he wants Kenex too.
I look back, eyes wide, when I find Kenex grinning from ear to ear.
Bass waits for us to be almost to him before walking backward and dipping beneath the rope. We reach its edge a moment later, finally spotting our missing Greyson—also grinning.
Idiots.
“In the ring,” Bastian demands.
I swear Kenex almost runs, excitement bright in his eyes, the fool.
I look to the dirt beneath his feet, already stained with streaks of blood someone did a poor job trying to cover with a second layer of dirt.
“I thought Leo and Maddoc were the last fight of the night?” someone shouts out random names, confirming my previous thought.
Blood was already spilled here tonight.
That’s why he didn’t show sooner. He was working.
“Change of plans.” Bastian stares Kenex down, speaking to the crowd. “No hype man. No bets. Just … seizing the opportunity.” His jaw tics. “Bitch one, in the ring.”
Kylo stands, stepping in so he’s on one side of Bastian and Kenex is on the other.
He’s going to make them fight each other?
Until … what, one concedes? Because that won’t happen. Damiano has to peel them off each other all the time. Almost every single training session and the brothers do train daily, in fact, and that’s not counting other areas, just hand-to-hand combat.
We’ll have to jump in to stop it, but then what?
All these renegades attack us at once?
Bastian wouldn’t allow that …
Right?
I look to him, and his eyes find mine in the same second. He stares long and hard, and then it gets worse. Slowly, he begins to peel his jacket from his body, walking toward me.
Without a word or warning, my body obeys the command he didn’t have to give, turning, and then my arms are sliding into the thick, heavy sleeves until it’s draped over my shoulders. “Do not look away, Little Thief,” he whispers.
Facing the ring once more, I watch, transfixed, as Bastian’s shirt leaves him next, and holy. Shit.
His art really is everywhere. All over.
His entire left rib cage, designed to look like a reaper tore his skin from his flesh, but instead of reaching his insides, a monster of sorts is released, its talons breaking free.
Bastian breaking free, but from what? or more … who?
Suddenly I want to know all his secrets, the deep, dark ones that sting. The ones that leave the circles beneath his eyes. The shadow within them.
Though now is not the time, as he’s backed up a few more feet, and both Kylo and Kenex are still in the ring. The crowd gets loud, swarming in, and Bastian’s gaze flashes to mine, then over my shoulder for a curt nod.
Suddenly two arms cage me in, gripping the rope steady and keeping those around from touching me.
I get a look at who it is, but the sharp bark in my ear makes me pause. “What’d he say, prep?”
I grit my teeth. “I could smash your windpipe in right now if I wanted to, just so you know.”
“So I heard, but I ain’t hurting you and as much as you pretend to hate it, me standing here is his way of protecting you, so shut the fuck up, face forward and give him what he wants.”
I do as he says, but only because Kenex and Kylo look to each other, both their gazes snapping to me, then back.
A second later, Bastian holds his arms out wide, cocks his head and my eyes bulge, my heartbeat thumping erratically in my chest as reality crashes into me all at once.
“He’s not—”
“He is.”
“He can’t—”
“He can.”
“He will—”
“He won’t.”
I slam my heel into the foot of the asshole caging me in and cutting me off, and he growls into my ear, pressing his body firmer into mine.