Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
I can't breathe. My hands tremble, and I clench my fingers into a fist around the little metal bird. The last time I saw this necklace was when one of Joe's men ripped it from my neck. He's sending me a message. He's sending Jude a message.
I stare out of the window at the green woods stretching beyond the house. I used to find them pretty, peaceful, but now they only seem ominous, as though anyone could be hiding in them. I wrap the thin silver chain of the necklace around my fingers. We need to leave. Being in this house is making me nervous. It's only been a few days since we buried Caleb, and I've been trying to be patient, trying to stay calm, but I need Jude to snap out of this. I know he needs to grieve, but here is not the place. It's not safe. Joe knows where we are, and he knows Jude is vulnerable. As always, we're just pawns in Joe's game, part of a bigger plan where we're always two steps behind. He told me he was coming for me, and the thought has me wanting to run as far and as fast away from here as I can.
I turn from the window. Jude is lying on the bed, tossing Caleb's football up and catching it. He's been doing that for half an hour without saying a word. Just staring at the ceiling and throwing the ball. I need to make him understand the danger we are in.
"Jude, we need to leave," I whisper.
His eyes lock with mine, his fingers gripping the ball. He looks back up to the ceiling and throws it again.
I watch him, waiting for a response that doesn't come. He just keeps throwing that ball. Jude always makes me feel safe, but right now, he's scaring me. This is not the formidable Jude Pearson that I need.
"Jude!" I shout, my voice trembling.
"What, Tor!"
I can't take this. I need him to be, well, him, right now. I need him to take control and make me feel safe. Without that, I might as well take my chances without him. Caleb's loss hurts me, just as it hurts him. I know what I need to do to cope with it though.
"Please." My voice hitches with desperation.
He sighs, throwing the ball to the corner of the room. "I told you I have some things to work out. When I get those ready, we'll leave."
"You haven't done anything!" I shout. Fuck this. I move across the room and go into the walk in wardrobe, pulling a bag from the top shelf. I grab clothes from the rails and start ramming them inside the bag.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he shoves his way into the closet and snatches the bag from me.
I hold my hand out, letting the necklace drop from my hand until it's dangling from one finger. He eyes it, a frown on his face. "Tor, why—"
I quickly cut him off. "The last time I had this necklace was at Joe's, right before it was ripped from my neck. I haven't seen it since, until yesterday," I say quietly.
"Where did you find it?"
"Marney found it, hanging from the rear view mirror of the truck," I say without emotion.
I watch his jaw tick, and he drags his hand down his face. "Shit."
"It's a message. He's coming for me. He told me he would," I choke. "I can't go back, I won't go back." My hands are shaking with just the thought, and my stomach churns violently.
He studies me, his jaw tensing. He brushes his finger over my cheek and turns, walking out of the closet without a single word. I hear the door to the bedroom closed, followed by his footsteps on the stairs.
The Jude I know would be threatening to make it rain fire, and he just walked away without a word. I slide down the wall and pull my knees up to my chest, resting my forehead on them. Joe has broken us, and I hate him for it. Never have I wanted to kill anyone before, but I want Joe Campbell dead more than I have ever wanted anything. I want to watch him bleed, and beg. I want to see his eyes glaze over, just like I had to watch Caleb's. For the first time in days, I feel something besides numbness and pain. I grab hold of this new found rage with both hands, and it becomes intoxicating to me. It gives me purpose in a life that has been stripped of it. I will kill Joe Campbell, with or without Jude's help.
It's like all the little pieces of my fucked up existence click into place. Evolve to survive, this is what I need to survive. Blood. Revenge. Wrath.