Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Several other men and I near the house. One of Xavier’s guards takes out some security personnel in front of the building, and then we’re in.
The house is spacious, overlooking the beach. Before we head inside, I spot a small boat anchored to their pier, and I recognize it as the one Rain was driven away on. My heart pounds, knowing I’m that much closer to being reunited with her.
“Watch it,” Xavier’s man barks at me and I barely dodge a bullet. A guard yells for backup before his brains are blown out all over the wall. Now our cover is fucking blown, and we need to move fucking fast.
The guard next to me nods, muttering, “Don Xavier has arrived.”
I curse under my breath and launch myself into the firing pit. Bodies go down while we make our way through the house. I’m eager to search the bedrooms, but this place is well protected with a lot of security. The only thing on our fucking side is the element of surprise—if it weren’t for that, we’d be fucked. Xander’s men outnumber us. But not for long.
My crew bursts through the doors moments later and I smirk as Liberato pounds me on the back. “Head to the bedrooms, hermano. We’ll deal with this fucking mess.”
For the first time since our disagreement about Xavier, I feel connected to my best friend, and I know I’ve still got him on my side. I usher the men toward the guards while I run up the winding marble staircase.
“Fucking drop your gun!”
The voice shocks me into standing still, and my fingers grip the gun even tighter. “Relax.”
“I’ve got a clear shot,” the voice snarls. “Turn around. No funny shit.”
Slowly, I force myself to turn, coming face to face with the man who kidnapped Rain. I recognize him now, see the subtle differences that separate him from his brother. Xander has an element of madness about him that makes me fucking worry about Rain. He’s dressed all in black, and he’s pointing a gun at my head.
“Lie down on the floor,” he hisses.
“No fucking way. Tell me where she is.”
He smirks, saying, “So this is about the girl after all.”
“Isn’t it always,” I grunt, still pointing my gun at him.
“You know, we could have been good friends, you and me,” Xander says thoughtfully. “If my brother hadn’t ruined every-fucking-thing.”
“Watch your mouth.”
We both turn toward the third voice, and I find Xavier standing at the top of the stairs, a gun in each hand. They’re both pointed at his brother, but now, he switches positions and aims one at me.
“And you, Heath. Don’t you think it’s time you fucked off?”
“So you can steal what’s mine?” I hiss. “Keep fucking dreaming.”
“Really?” Xavier cocks his head to the side while Xander moves his gun from me to his brother. “You’d risk dying for her?”
“You wouldn’t?” I scoff. “Makes sense. She wants nothing to do with you.”
Xavier fires a shot and I feel a burning sensation in my thigh. Forcing myself to grit my teeth through the pain, I smirk, saying, “You missed, fuckface.”
“Grazed you, didn’t I?” Xavier hisses, before turning to face his brother. “Where is she?”
“Nice to see you, too,” Xander mutters. “Been a while, hasn’t it, brother? What have you been up to?”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Xavier spits out. “Tell me where my wife is.”
“Even if I told you,” Xander laughs. “Who says she’ll want to leave with you? I showed her some good fun while she was here. She may be reluctant to leave.”
“What did you do to her, you bastard?” I snarl, ignoring the pain as I point the gun to Xander’s head. “You hurt her, motherfucker?”
He laughs like a goddamn maniac, throwing his head back carelessly. As if hurting innocent women is something he’s very fucking familiar with. “She’ll be fine. Nothing a few lashings with a belt won’t fix.”
My blood boils and my gun fires. I can’t control my impulses anymore.
The bullet wheezes past Xander, skimming the top of his ear. He roars in pain, the touches his bleeding skin and licks his bloody fingers, smirking as he says, “Seems like you two have one thing in common. You’re both fucking terrible shots.”
Xavier hisses an insult and throws himself at his brother. I don’t miss him not shooting Xander. Even though there seems to be no love lost between the two, they still don’t seem to want to kill one another.
Using the opportunity while they’re both distracted, I run down the hallway, yelling Rain’s name and slamming bedroom doors one after the other. Finally, on the third door, a small voice calls out my name.
I burst into the room where she’s handcuffed to the metal railing of a bed. Her pretty, cornflower blue eyes have never been more afraid. She’s naked.
That’s the last thing I notice before I throw myself at her like a madman. I kiss her, barely able to get enough of her sweet lips before I pull back to get her the hell out of this madhouse.