Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I shake my head and he kneels down beside me, staring at the gravestones. “Were you close with them?”
I nod. “Very much so.”
“Do you mind me asking what happened?”
“They were both murdered.”
He looks to me. “I’m sorry, that’s horrific.”
“Yeah, it really was. The worst part is we still don’t know who did it. Well, we do but we can’t find that person and ... it’s complicated.”
“Have you got good police help?”
“Not exactly,” I say, hesitating. “It’s a really long story, and it’s super tricky to explain.”
“You’d be surprised what I’ve heard over the years.”
I smile. “I have no doubt. What happened to your daughter?”
“She died in a car accident, three years ago.”
“I’m so sorry, that’s horrible.”
He nods, and then looks up at the sky. “It’s about to rain, can I escort you to your car?”
“I’m going to stay a little longer,” I tell him, giving him my most appreciative smile. “I want to talk to them a little longer.”
“Of course,” he stands and looks down at me. “Thanks for making my visit a little less horrible, ah?” he pauses, clearly wanting me to say my name.
“Briella,” I tell him.
“That’s a very pretty name, Briella.”
“Thank you.”
He nods, and then turns and disappears into the large cemetery. I look back at the headstones and spend the next half an hour sitting in the rain and talking to my family, telling them everything that’s happened, and how much I miss them. When the rain becomes a little too heavy, I stand to walk off, but glance over at the headstone the man was kneeling in front of.
I walk over and stare down at it, confused.
Maybe I’m looking at the wrong one?
I look to my left, and right, but both headstones belong to older men. The one I’m standing in front of belongs to a man, also. Who died in his ninetieth year of life. There is no way it’s a girl young enough to be that man’s daughter. Confused, I walk up and down the entire row, there are no females except a few older women right at the end.
Was that man lying to me?
Why would you come into a cemetery and lie to someone?
Confused, I walk back to my car, shaking my head the entire time as I try to figure out what the hell just happened. I’m not sure I understand it at all.
I glance behind me, suddenly feeling very uneasy. The rain keeps pouring down harder, and I don’t feel safe. At all. I’m scared to go back to my car, I’m scared to move. Whoever that man was, he was lying. Maybe for good reason, maybe he has a mental disorder, but either way I don’t feel confident right about now that I’m in a safe place.
I turn back to the grave and scream when I see a figure standing behind the headstones of my mother and sister. My screams turn into muffled cries when that person becomes clear as they move closer to me.
It’s King.
For a moment, all I can do is stare at him, tears rolling down my face. I thought he was dead, hell, I thought he was a hallucination recently. I didn’t know what to believe, I didn’t know a damn thing except that I had seen him and didn’t know what it was all about.
Now here he is, standing before me, looking exactly the same as he did before. Only this time his eyes are tired, and he’s got more than a little grey in his big beard. Still, it’s King, and I can’t help but lunge forward and throw myself into his arms. He catches me with a loud grunt and hangs onto me so tightly I can’t breathe freely, but I don’t care. God, I don’t care.
I’ve missed him.
I made so many mistakes when it came to King, so many assumptions, so many things that I should have just believed in.
“I didn’t know if you were real or not,” I whisper, tipping my head back and looking up at him. “I didn’t know if what I was seeing was you or if my brain was damaged after the surgery.”
“It’s me, but I can’t stay long. Briella, that man you just saw, he’s fuckin’ dangerous and you need to get out of here right fuckin’ now.”
“What?” I blink, confused.
“I’ve been keepin’ an eye out on you, watchin’ you and the club, but as far as anyone knows I’m still dead. Shouldn’t even be standin’ here, because if he sees me it’s all over, but I wasn’t goin’ to risk your life. Would rather die a thousand times over than lose someone else I love.”
“You’re not making any sense ...” I say, shaking my head in confusion. “I have so many questions and ...”
“Not now. I’ll answer your questions, I promise you, but not now. Right now, you’re in danger. That man you were speaking to is Dax. The man running the entire monster show you and the club are gettin’ yourself tangled up in. If you go back to your car, he’ll be waitin’ for you. The only reason he isn’t now is because there are cameras in this cemetery.”