Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lucas. I’m sorry, but you don’t.”
He’s faster than I recall. Before I know it, he’s on top of me, taking my wrists in his hands when I beat at him with my fists. “This is what’s meant to be.” He forces my arms apart and pins my wrists to the bed.
“No! No, no, don’t do this!” I’m a wild animal, bucking and kicking, twisting from side to side because I need to get him off me. I have to. This has to stop.
But no, he wedges his knee between mine and forces my legs apart. “Don’t make me hurt you,” he says in a strained voice. “You mean so much to me. I didn’t mean to do it. I wanted to scare you, that’s all.”
This is going to break me. This is where I shatter into pieces so tiny that no one will ever put them back together.
His sweat drips onto my cheek, and I scream in horror. This is happening, no matter how hard I fight. He’s too strong. “Please, don’t!” I can hardly hear my pleas over the constant rumble of thunder shaking the cabin. The storm is at its peak, adding to the blood-curdling nightmare I can’t wake up from.
“Stop… fighting…”
I won’t. I can’t. “No!”
“Get your fucking hands off her!”
Lucas freezes, and so do I for a heartbeat before I crane my neck to see who’s standing in the doorway.
A flash of lightning reveals a soaked, very enraged Callum. He’s a lion ready to strike. Nothing has ever looked better.
A second flash reveals the gun in his hand, aimed right at Lucas. “Get. Off. Her.”
Lucas pushes up onto his knees. I can’t see his face, but he’s going to break my wrists if he squeezes any tighter. “You. This is all your fault. You destroyed her.”
“Lucas.” My throat’s so tight I can hardly whisper. “Listen to him.”
He doesn’t listen to either of us, letting go of one of my wrists to reach for something at his side. All I catch from the corner of my eye is the glint of steel before he touches the cold switchblade to my throat. I can’t breathe. I can’t do anything but lie here, helpless, afraid of what will happen next.
“I’d rather see her dead than let you put your hands on her again,” he snarls at Callum.
It all happens so fast. The boom of the gun as it goes off. The spray of warm blood across my face. The sudden release of my wrist. He drops the blade before falling onto his side. For a moment, I can’t comprehend what has happened.
A scream rips from my throat. There’s so much blood. His blood.
Callum’s hands roam my body, touching my face, arms, and legs. All I can see is his face filling my vision. His hands cup my cheeks, and they’re warm, so warm.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?”
He’s here. I’m safe. There’s so much blood. Lucas is dead, but I’m safe. My screams fade to gasps as I try to suck in enough air to clear my head. I’m okay. It’s over.
There’s a dead body sprawled across my leg. Bile rises up my throat. I startle when Romero comes in, but Callum’s arms hold me in place.
“All clear,” he says, looking around the room. “Is she okay?”
I don’t know what to say. I don’t think I can speak. All I can do is keep my eyes away from Lucas. He’s dead, and his blood is on my face. It mixes with the raindrops that soak Callum and drip down onto me.
Romero pulls out his phone and starts barking instructions while Callum lifts me out of bed. “We need to go.”
“But…”
He turns my face away from the bed and angles me toward the door. “Now. We’re leaving. I’m taking you home, and Romero will take care of this. We’ll make it look like a suicide.”
I hear him, but nothing he’s saying sinks in. Like my subconscious doesn’t want to accept what’s happening.
Callum guides me to the stairs, but my feet won’t take me down. I can’t move anymore. I can hardly breathe; there’s no air in the room. Why am I so cold? My teeth are chattering.
I hardly notice him picking me up and carrying me down the stairs. Only the rain pelting my face once we’re outside snaps me out of the worst of the shock. Lightning zigzags across the sky, and I bury my face against Callum’s neck until we reach the car, where he lowers me into the passenger seat and buckles the seatbelt for me.
The rain sounds like hundreds of little gunshots going off at once as it pounds against the roof. I fight off the urge to cover my ears while Callum gets behind the wheel and starts the engine.