Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 125121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Time to suck it up, I thought. They’re not going to say a thing that’s not true, but afterward, they’ll get past being pissed that I acted alone, and we’ll make a plan for my meeting with the Phantom.
A plan that ensures they don’t make it out alive.
Lucien and Cato were in the kitchen too when I came down. My chest panged looking at Wilder’s empty seat. Where was he? What was so bad that he had to take off the way he did? Your brother coming to visit shouldn’t be a reason to squeal out the driveway with the lights on and the water running.
“Morning.” I kissed Lucien and Cato, then Cato again when he tugged me back. “There’s something I have to tell you,” I said, making each one stop what they were doing. “The Phantom called me last night.”
“What?” Rafael dropped the waffle iron. “The Phantom called? And you’re just telling us now?”
I took a deep breath. “There’s a reason you’re finding out now. They asked me to—”
The front door banged open, shotgunning my heart out of my stomach.
“Guys?”
Is that—?
“Lucien? Rafael?” Wilder bellowed. “You here?”
Wilder skidded into the entrance. I ran at him full speed, jumping in his arms.
“Wilder, you’re okay.” I kissed him all over. “What the hell happened to you? Do you have any idea how worried I was? Why did you just take off?”
“Luna, I’m sorry. We have to talk about this later.” He set me firmly on my feet and sidestepped me. “Which one of you did it?”
“Did what?” Lucien asked.
“Which one of you hung the flag? Was it Wolf? Did he do something?”
Rafael went very still. “What are you talking about?”
“A purple flag is waving over the fucking quad. If you’re pissed at me for taking off, I get it, but stop fucking playing dumb!”
I blew back at his shout.
“Who hung the flag?”
“Wilder, we don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. We didn’t hang the flag.” Rafael threw looks at Lucien and Cato. “You didn’t, right?”
“Of course not.”
“No.”
“I did it.”
The kitchen fell quiet. Four heads slowly twisted to me.
“That’s what I had to tell you. The Phantom called me last night and said if I hung a purple flag in the quad, they’d end the cat-and-mouse and reveal themselves... to... me.” I flicked between them. “But judging by your faces, doing it was the wrong move?”
It was hard to judge their faces. The big-eyed, slack-jawed expressions were ones they never made before.
“Luna, you— Why didn’t you—” Rafael couldn’t find the words. He fell back against the kitchen counter, clutching his head. “This is not good.”
“Wait. It might not be too late,” Lucien said, jumping off the stool. He fell on me, grasping my shoulders. “How long has it been up? We’ll take it down before anyone sees it.”
“I put it up before sunrise, but we can’t take it down!” I quickly added when my reply caused a burst of activity. “The Phantom has to know I followed through. They—”
“Luna,” Wilder sliced in. “The Phantom is not who you think they are. Whatever they’re about to do next will be terrible for all of us. We need to take that flag down”—he darted for the front door—“now!”
“Wilder, wait! Someone explain to me what’s going on?” I chased after Rafael going up the stairs.
The front door opened.
“Hey— Luna, run!”
Thud.
“Wilder?” My heart stopped. “Wilder! What was that sound?” I ran back downstairs, ignoring Rafael’s shout for me to come back. “Are you o—?”
I skidded to a stop. Freezing in the kitchen entrance, my eyes crossed staring down the weapon.
“Hello,” the masked figure sang. They pressed the stun gun to my forehead. “Remember this?”
“Luna!”
Rafael’s voice reverberated through my mind, following me down the path of darkness and pain. My love and myself—I lost both before I hit the floor.
BITTERNESS SEEPED THROUGH my lips, leaving an acrid kiss on my tongue.
I coughed—rough and hacking and dragging my senses back to the surface. Blinking, I came to, straining as my vision cleared.
What happened? Where am I?
I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing tears to fall. My eyes were watering, it was so blurry. And what was that noise?
I opened my eyes again, fighting to adjust in the dim. Why can’t I see? What’s wrong with...?
Twisting my neck, I saw past the couch to the staircase—where the smoke freely billowed down. Smoke?
“It’s about time you woke up. You’re the one who wanted this little chat. You’re wasting your own time.”
I turned with difficulty, achy bones creaking. It was hard. Tight pressure around my wrists and ankles proved I was bound.
A vision in white stood on the very spot Wesley spat out his bloody tooth. She lowered her face mask and smiled at me. “Hello, Luna.”
“Everleigh?” I croaked, then immediately started hacking. My lungs shredded trying to force out smoke that kept flooding in. “W-what’s... going on? Where are the guys?”