Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Like GRWK, I can't help thinking.
But since I also know liking the same artist does not a dog-napper make—-
"Has she ever gotten in any kind of legal trouble before?"
Corey looks at me in surprise. "How do you know—-"
"So she has?"
"She's had several ex-boyfriends sue her in the past few years..." Corey's voice lowers a notch as the queue starts moving, and it's finally our turn to board the yacht. "But none of the cases ever made it to court. Rumors have it she's either paid or scared them off—-" Corey breaks off when a taut-looking Rake suddenly appears by my side.
"Sorry," Rake says abruptly. "I need to talk to Kayra in private."
He finds a secluded spot for us next to the railings and tells me without further ado about traffic cameras showing Yiorgos being forcibly taken out of his car by a couple of men wearing ski masks.
"Where did this happen?" I ask.
"A couple of blocks away from where Milo's confined. The last footage we have of him is his abductors taking him to this port—-"
I grab his hand, and Rake raises a brow. "Are you about to ask me to marry you?"
How is this man ex-FBI and Strakh and yet still come up with the craziest ideas?
I give his hand another insistent tug, and this time he finally gets it. He follows my gaze to where Suzanne is. The other girl is also leaning against the railing just a couple of feet away from us, and it's when she takes her phone out to answer her call that she raises her arm...and I see Rake's gaze narrows upon spotting the tattoo under her bikini top.
Rake glances back at me, and I nod in confirmation.
Yes, I am definitely sure Suzanne is Yiorgos' ex.
He abruptly lets go of my hand, and my heart feels strangely tight when I see his jaw clench. I know right away that he's thinking of the last time he allowed the girl he loved to face danger, and it's also at that moment I realize this is it for us.
Some couples may need to hear the words 'I love you' in order to move forward, but I'll never be that kind of girl...and Rake will never be that kind of boy.
If the two of us are to work, he needs to trust me to keep my promise.
I'll live for him no matter what.
And it seems the time to prove this has come as well, with Suzanne suddenly looking at us with cold, hard eyes.
She knows we're the ones who rescued Milo from her clutches...
Just like we know she's the one who had Yiorgios abducted.
Chapter Thirteen
Suzanne breaks into a run like she's out to escape, and I go after her while Rake orders his friends to block the exits. That the two have no idea about what's going on is a given, and it's why I'm doubly impressed when they do as told rather than waste time asking questions.
Dorks they may be, but you can't ask for friends any truer than those two.
Party screams turn into screams of shock and terror when Suzanne pulls a lever to trigger the fire alarm, and guests start jumping out of the yacht in their panic. It's complete pandemonium everywhere I look, but I'm still of the mind to take things easy with her...until Suzanne orders her bodyguards to start shooting at us.
Well, that does it.
The monster inside of me is out, and I'm once again in the zone as the smell of blood stains the air around us.
My gaze never wavers as I make my way to her, and I keep going even as bodies around me start dropping to the floor. I think it's Rake watching my six like he tends to do. Sweet and misguided like always, and if I do make out of this alive, I think that's how I'll be with him as well.
If love means being ridiculously sweet, then so be it.
That's how I'm going to love him back...given the chance.
But until then—-
I SEE YOU.
Yes, you.
You may be better at hiding the truth, but it takes one monster to know another.
And you are definitely just like me.
A monster that can kill endlessly.
A monster that feeds on the pain of others.
But also—-a monster with free will.
And that's where our differences lie.
My monster still has a conscience it can listen to...and a heart that is now in the care of someone who knows and loves the real me.
My monster has hands that refuse to do evil for evil's sake—-
But it's also those same hands that can so very easily kill you...if that's how justice asks to be served.
SSSSH.
Be quiet, you.
Have you forgotten I'm not normal?
Tears do not move me at all, and you may not be normal yourself, with how you're able to abuse innocent creatures that have done you no harm.