Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 168587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 843(@200wpm)___ 674(@250wpm)___ 562(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 168587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 843(@200wpm)___ 674(@250wpm)___ 562(@300wpm)
“Doesn’t matter.” I shrug. “What matters is I do have a video to show you.” I pick up the remote and turn on the seventy-inch TV on the back wall and hit play. It’s last night inside the club. “That’s you, with your hands on my wife.”
He jumps to his feet once again, the folder and pictures falling to the floor. He runs to the door but Alex steps out, grabs his hair and pulls him back to the center of the room while Finn grabs a chair. Alex shoves him into it and Colton takes the handcuffs from his back pocket, quickly cuffing his hands behind his back, threading the cuffs between the vertical wooden bars to secure him to it.
“You’re finished!” he screams, thrashing in the chair. “You can kiss the club and your wife goodbye.”
I walk around my desk, stepping into him, and lean back against the edge, letting him run his mouth.
“The Lords will kill you if you touch me,” he warns.
“You think they give a fuck about you?” I ask, and the guys laugh. “You know how many people I’ve killed? Most were Lords.” I snort. “They don’t care about you anymore than they care about me. For every ten that are killed, there are fifty more about to take their place.” If I was killed right now, they’d bring someone else in to run Blackout. I guarantee they’ve already got a list. And they’d just continue to go down the line. That part doesn’t bother me. It’s the fact that my wife will be handed to another Lord. That another man would get to touch what’s mine, fuck what’s mine, hurt what’s mine. That is something that I will not allow to happen.
“Remove his clothes,” I order.
His screams fill the room as Finn and Jenks undo his pants and yank them down his legs while he tries to kick them unsuccessfully. Alex and Colton rip his shirt open, exposing his chest to the room.
I nod to Colton, and he starts digging through Collin’s jeans pocket before tossing me his badge. Of course, he carries it around with him. I grab the lighter off my desk and begin to heat it up “How many are missing?” I ask.
His lips thin at his refusal to answer.
“See, I don’t think she’s the first one missing from my club.” It was not a coincidence that she went missing from here and that Collin shows up the next day, right after I marry my wife. The question is why Blackout? And why now? “So … last time. How many are currently missing?” He looks away from me and I smile. “Open his mouth,” I order to no one in particular.
Colton steps up to the back of the chair, placing his fingers into his mouth from behind and pries them open. I step into him, heated badge in hand and go to stick it inside of his mouth. His eyes go wide, and he tries to shake his head, mumbling unintelligible words. I nod to Colton, and he removes them. “You’ve got two seconds before you eat this badge,” I inform him. It won’t fit but I can jam it in there enough that it’ll burn the shit out of him.
“Four.” He gasps. “Four have gone missing. Last seen here at Blackout.” Hanging his head, he adds, “Over the last six months.”
Six months? Well, there goes my theory about it involving my wife. No one knew of my plans to marry her other than Ryat and my father. Even the Lords weren’t aware until the day of the wedding. When I made the deal, they never asked who I wanted. Hell, as far as they know, I didn’t even know who I was giving my life up for.
“Why haven’t I been informed of this?” I wonder. “Why was one girl more important than the others?”
“The others weren’t reported,” he growls through gritted teeth, trying to yank on the cuffs.
I frown. “What do you mean?”
He sucks in a deep breath. “After Andrea was reported missing and last seen here, we found the others via social media posts. Friends and parents looking for them. But no official police reports were filed.”
“You mean they weren’t daughters of a Lord.” I nod my head in understanding. Now those have the same MO as the previous murders from years ago. “How many have been found?”
“Two.” He swallows, looking up at me.
“The other was the same as Andrea?” I ask tightly, hating that he’s not offering this information to me.
He nods and I allow the silent answer. I mean, men and women go missing all the time, but for two to be found the same way as all the ones were years ago—that’s not a coincidence.
“Hmm.” I flick the lighter once again, placing the flame under the badge.