Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 83401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
I looked over to where the driver and passenger were, my hand slapping over my mouth as soon as I saw the tree branch that went straight into the driver-side window and through his head, the end of the stump a couple inches through the headrest. And then there was the passenger. Jack’s skull was embedded in the front windshield, shards of glass cracked outward like a gothic-style spiderweb, a grotesque spray of blood covering the entire front and down to the dashboard.
The only thing keeping them stationed were the seat belts, gravity causing their limbs to hang down, the drip-drip-drip of the blood sliding off their fingertips and onto the metal roof so loud. So loud.
I couldn’t stop myself from rolling to my side and vomiting at the sight, at the knowledge I was the cause of that.
And although I shouldn’t feel any kind of guilt over their deaths, because they were bad, bad men who would have done horrible things, I couldn’t help but feel a part of my humanity slip away as I listened to their blood leaving their body.
I moved onto my hands and knees and stayed still until my head stopped swimming and my limbs stopped shaking.
“Evelyn,” Odhran said. I lifted my head to look at him just as he grunted and moved into a sitting position, his back against the side of the van now, his hands going down to the shackles on his ankles. “Do ye smell that?” He started tugging at the metal so hard the muscles in his upper chest bulged. The blue glow from his eyes lit up, and a very primal growl left him right as a creaking sound of metal rendering filled the interior of the van.
I lifted my head fully, focused, and inhaled deeply. At first, all I could smell was blood. So much blood. But then it hit me.
Gasoline.
And then I saw the glow of orange and red at the front of the van.
I’d seen enough movies that all I could picture was the car exploding and us stuck inside.
“Oh God. We have to get out of here.” My pain was forgotten, and I scrambled to the rear of the van and started pushing and pulling at the latch of the door, jerking it so hard my shoulders protested.
“Ye’ll hurt yerself more. Let me.” Odhran’s voice was rough but firm as I stepped aside. I wanted to argue that he was hurt even worse, but the way he stared at my head wound and the low sound that left him had the words stopping in my throat. “Cian is coming for ye, and anyone who tries tae stop him will die horribly.”
I felt a shiver move through me, and then he was throwing his body against the doors, his shoulder hitting it over and over again until he made a dent in the metal, and the whine of the door giving way was undeniable.
The doors flew open, and the force had Odhran tipping forward. I reached out for his arm to steady him, but he was so big that the momentum took us both down to the asphalt.
I landed hard on the ground, my palms scraping on the rough surface, but my body was so sore all over that I couldn’t discern that pain from any other one that encompassed my entire form.
“We have tae get away from the van,” he said low, his voice strained. “I donna kno’ when or if it’ll blow, but I sure as fook donna want tae be close enough tae find out.”
But before we could move, I heard shouting and snapped my head up to see another van lying in the ditch just across the road. The passenger- and driver-side doors were flung open, and the woman who’d been at the house, the one who hit me with the butt of her gun, came out, her face a mask of fury.
The driver was another big, beefy guy clad in black. And then the back doors opened, and a few more men filed out. I idly thought it foolish they didn’t have our van cramped with men to watch over us, that they left us in the hands of only two, one being all but a kid himself. But I didn't have a chance to let that thought sink in anymore, because they were coming for us.
My heart thundered as I realized there was no way Odhran and I could fight all of them. There were too many of them, and we—I, at least—were too weak, ill-equipped, and not experienced in fighting at all. We were doomed before we even started.
I heard the clanging of the metal baton fall from the back of the van and roll along the asphalt. I reached over to grab it, knowing what I had to do. I stood on shaky legs and looked over at Odhran.