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)
“Bethany told me Frank blackmailed her into sending pictures of you, but she lied. It was Whitney.” She shakes her head, and I nod. “I found the pictures on Whitney’s phone. Your father said you would receive initiations on the phone he gave you, but that was a lie. He gave it to you to gain access inside of the club.” My wife is staring at the floor, unable to meet my stare at the fact she believed everything her told her. “Frank wanted to know what was going on, on the inside of Blackout because he knew that Luke and Miller were taking girls from my club.”
My eyes are on hers, and her head snaps up at those words.
“They wanted attention on Blackout. They wanted to frame me for the disappearance of all those women. They had tried before and failed.” Her brows pull together, confused by that, but I’m not going into detail right now. “They thought this time would be different, but their plan backfired because you forgot about the phone.” Her father didn’t gain anything from it. So, Whitney followed Lake around, took pictures, and then sent them to her, hoping to get a rise out of her, but again, it didn’t work as planned.
“He was targeting you?” my wife wonders, but before I can answer, she jumps up and runs down the aisle.
“Lake.” I follow after her, but she’s quick. The moment she reaches him, she knocks over his chair. He makes a gurgling sound of drool and blood as I pick her up with an arm around her waist, spinning us around. “Get him out of here,” I bark at Ryat who hasn’t left yet. “Put him downstairs in the basement. I’ll take care of him in a minute.” He deserves to suffer a little longer.
I set her down in the front pew, and her watery eyes meet mine.
“Was he targeting you because you married me?” she asks, licking her wet lips.
I sigh, running a hand down my unshaven face. Technically, her father started way before I married her, but that doesn’t matter right now.
“Why did he care that I married you if he wasn’t going to?” she wonders, her face scrunched with confusion and anger that she can’t understand it.
I can’t say the words. My tongue is all of a sudden heavy, my mouth dry. I wanted her to know how sick these people were, but now that I’ve found out what they had planned for her, I can’t do it.
“Tyson?” She snaps my name. “Why did he care…” Her voice trails off. “The honeymoon suite.” Her eyes search mine, and I keep my stare as blank as I can. “My brother said… Oh my God, were there cameras in there? If I wasn’t going to marry Luke, then why would there be cameras in there?” She nibbles on her bottom lip. She’s getting warmer. “Then Luke told me that I better pray I was pregnant. Because I’d finally know my worth. Whitney…” She chokes on her sister’s name. “You asked if she was going to sell me…” Her voice trails off, and her eyes meet mine. They fill with fresh tears before they spill over her bottom lashes and roll down her gorgeous face. “You saved me,” she whispers brokenly, her shoulders shaking.
I reach out and cup her tear-streaked face, and her chest heaves. “Take a deep breath, Lake.”
“Why?” she gasps.
I don’t know if she’s asking why I chose to hijack her wedding or why Luke was going to pretend to marry her only to sell her body, so I don’t answer. She covers her face with her hands, and I pull her into me, holding her tightly while she clings to my bloody clothes.
I wasn’t innocent. I married my wife for revenge. I always suspected Whitney was still alive, but I had no proof. But I never thought making Lake my wife would bring Whitney out of hiding. Or save Lake from a life of slavery.
They gave up one daughter to offer up the other. I wanted to rub it in their faces that Lake was a whore—my whore. I fucked her every chance I got, any way I wanted. She needed to crave me. Want me. Need me. It would only work if I trained her to serve me.
The collar I gave Lake was the very same collar that Luke had purchased for Whitney as her wedding gift. I saw it in her bag when she came over to see me at the house of Lords. When she pretended to love me. I was pretending too, but I wasn’t trying to set her up for something.
I made sure Lake wore it for the wedding, my not-so-subtle hint that I knew what they had done three years ago. Just another way to show off my bride.