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)
Once he’s on the ground, two guards tie him to the bumper of Xander’s car and laugh at each other while the man sobs. I feel tears streaming down my face, too. I can’t even bear looking at Juan’s blood and tear-stained face. I want to help him, but even I don't know if I’m getting out of this alive. Xander’s already proven to be just as ruthless as my husband.
“I want you and me to go for a little drive so I can tell you a story,” Xander says, pulling out of the driveway. I scream as Juan’s sobs of pain echo behind us, but Xander merely turns on the car radio. A dance anthem plays out as we begin our ascent up a hill, the whole time dragging Juan’s increasingly more quiet body behind us.
There’s no one around to help me, or Juan.
I turn around and instantly wish I hadn’t. Juan is bleeding badly, and his jaw seems to be dislocated. Worse yet, Xander is picking up speed in the car.
“Slow down!” I cry out. “You’re going to fucking kill him!”
“That’s the point, Adelina.” He smirks at me. “That’s the motherfucking point.”
“But he did nothing wrong! It’s me you’re mad at.”
“He did,” Xander snarls, slamming his foot on the gas pedal before giving me a syrupy smile. “Put your seat-belt on, Adelina. This ride may get bumpy.”
I swallow the bile rising in my throat and do as I’m told, grateful for the small comfort of the belt around my torso. I try to ignore Juan’s desperate screams for help behind me, but I know I’ll hear them for the rest of my life in every nightmare I’ll have from now on.
“You’re driving like a madman,” I hiss at Xander. “You’re going to kill us all!”
“I told you, I love fast cars,” he smirks at me. “This is what I live for. The adrenaline rush. Now let me tell you my little story.”
“Watch out!” I instinctively scream as he makes a sharp turn, narrowly missing the cliffs beneath us.
By the time I’ve caught my breath, Xander’s already speaking again and Juan’s cries are becoming softer and softer. Within minutes, they’ll be easy enough to ignore as the bloodied man becomes a corpse.
“My brother and I, we swore we’d look out for each other,” Xander mutters. “But my brother broke that promise. He took the way out that was meant for me and ruined every-fucking-thing. One day, I’ll make him pay for it with his life. But this is what you can learn from his mistakes, and Juan’s too.”
He makes another sharp turn and I scream again, my palms covering my face. My panicked gaze remains glued to the road and I can barely breathe. But nothing seems to phase Xander. He’s going even faster now.
“Your lesson, dear, is that you never. Ever. Fucking. Lie to me. So... you got something else to tell me?”
“N-No!” I choke out, the first sob escaping my lips as I realize Juan has gone silent.
I risk a look back because I have to know, and cross myself at the bloody sight before me. There’s not much left of Juan. His family won’t have a lot to bury.
“I think you’re lying again,” Xander sighs, clicking his tongue. “You would really do yourself a favor if you told me the truth for once.”
I stare at him with newfound disgust. “I will never speak to you again, you monster.”
“Is that so?”
He laughs out loud, just as he pulls into a watch point atop the cliff.
There are no other cars here, so he pulls into the parking space with ease and exits the car. I’m still sobbing in the front seat when he forces me out of it. He knocks me down to my knees in front of Juan’s corpse and I sob. I can’t even make out he’s human anymore. There’s just a mess of muscle, bone and blood.
“I think you’ll be more than willing to talk soon enough,” Xander says while I whisper a prayer beneath my breath.
I hear the click of a gun and spin around to find Xander aiming my pink revolver at me.
Instantly, my heart turns to ice and fear reverberates through my body, reminding me nobody can stop him from killing me here. Then, what’s left of Juan’s middle finger on one hand twitches nervously and I gasp.
He’s still alive.
I cover my face with my shaky palms as Xander embraces me from behind, forcing the revolver into my trembling hands.
“You’ve been keeping lots of secrets from me, haven’t you, Adelina?”
I’m tempted to tell him he’ll never find out my biggest one, but I know better than to try my luck. I try to shake him off but he squeezes the gun into my hands even more firmly.
“I want you to put Juan here out of his misery,” he whispers in my ear. “That’s it. Just put one bullet between what’s left of his eyes. It’ll be easy.”