Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Ivy, please, let me find you. I need you to be safe.
I walk around the neighborhood, each of my steps reverberating between the many warehouses that line these streets. On the ground are skid marks that look fresh. I look up in the direction she went—a road to my right with several dumpsters behind each door leading into a warehouse. Behind one of them, the spokes and an inch of a wheel peek out.
Oh, Ivy. You shouldn’t have come here.
Grinding my teeth, I watch the feet disappear behind the dumpster.
If I bring her to Heath and Silas now, they’ll definitely mess her up too just for watching them kill. And I can’t let that happen.
I take a deep breath and approach her, but the second I raise my head above the dumpster, she nearly swats off my head with a wooden stick like it’s a bat and I’m the baseball.
“Wow, wow, calm down.”
“Stay away!” She keeps swinging that thing like she’s trying to hit something. “I swear to G—”
I grab the stick mid-swing and stop her, and I take off my mask to show her it’s me. With big eyes, she ogles me. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promised you. And I will keep that promise.”
“They were torturing someone!”
I smash my hand in front of her mouth. “Shhh! Don’t let them hear you.”
She bites my palm, and I yank it back, hissing as I shake my hand.
“You’re with them,” she says. “Why are they doing this?”
“I can’t tell you. I’m sorry. But I will get you out of this.”
“Then what were you—Wait, how?” She frowns and points at me. “You all saw me.”
“No, they didn’t. They think you were some rando, which is why they sent me after you. But I’m not taking you back to them.”
“I wouldn’t let you,” she says, swinging the stick around like she’s trying to show off.
“Good.” I smile. “Now grab your bike and get out of here.”
With furrowed brows, she eyes me up and down, still holding the stick tightly like she’s afraid it’ll be her last resort.
“Quickly, before they get suspicious.”
Finally, she drops the stick, makes a beeline for her bike, and races off.
When she’s out of sight, I breathe a sigh of relief and put my mask back on. Even though I know I’ll have to face Silas’s and Heath’s wrath now. It was worth it.
Heath
Max suddenly walks back into our alley, and I look up with furrowed brows.
He didn’t bring anyone with him.
What the…?
“I couldn’t find them.”
My teeth slam together.
Fuck.
Silas nearly crushes the guy’s heart he ripped out in his bare hand. “You let a loose end get away?”
“They had a bike, but I don’t see it anywhere. Probably hiding out somewhere.” He shrugs.
“And you just gave up?” Well, this just dampened my already darkened mood.
Silas stuffs the bloodied heart in a plastic bag and walks up to his car. “They saw us. We need to rip them to shreds.”
“But do they know us? We’re wearing masks. No way they recognized our faces,” Max replies.
Hmm. “Dude has a point,” I say.
“Whatever. If this comes back to bite us, you’re gonna take care of it.” Silas points at Max.
Max puts his hand against his head like a military soldier and salutes him, making me grin.
“It’s settled then,” I say. “Now help us put the body in the trunk.”
Ivy
Twenty minutes later
I close the door to my apartment and turn all the locks, clutching the wood while breathing wildly. I just saw them murder a man in cold blood.
Jesus, I looked them dead in the eyes.
Even with those masks, I instantly knew it was them. But did Silas and Heath recognize me?
Will Max keep his word?
I suck in a breath through my nose and head to the windows, checking every corner of the street despite it being pitch black outside. I need to know if they followed me. If there’s even an inkling of danger out there, I’m grabbing the kitchen knives and the gun I have hidden in a safe box on top of my closet where Cora can’t reach.
My heart races a million miles an hour as I check every window for their car, but there’s no sign of them anywhere.
Did I get away safely?
It almost feels too good to be true.
“Mrppp.”
Bagel brushes up against my legs, and I pick him up and pet him. He always manages to calm my nerves. “I love you too, Bagel.”
I put him back down, check on Cora, and breathe a sigh of relief. She’s still sleeping and safe as can be. I take off my hoodie and put on my white tee and a fresh pair of undies before I crawl in bed too, hugging her tightly. She curls up to me and mumbles a little in her sleep, and it makes me smile.