Total pages in book: 266
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
She’s taking a bath in Saint’s bathroom while he went to talk to his father, and Kash said he needed to make a phone call. I’m pacing Saint’s room, making sure no one comes in here until they return.
My cell rings, and I pull it out of my pocket to see it’s a blocked call. “Hello?” I answer.
“Is she okay?” the voice rushes out.
“What the fuck, Adam?” I whisper, walking over to the double doors and stepping out onto the balcony to make sure no one hears me. “Where the fuck are you?”
“I tried to help her,” he rushes out. “Just…just tell me she’s okay.”
“Your mother is dead. Your father is missing. Know anything about that?” I snap, ignoring his question.
“I need you to trust me, Haidyn.” He sighs. “Please. I tried—” He cuts himself off. “I’m trying to fix it.”
Looking over at the bathroom door, I can hear her crying while she sits in the bathtub washing off her mother’s blood. “What do you need me to do?” He’s on my shit list, but I’m doing this for her, not him.
“Just keep her alive. I’ll contact you soon.” The line goes dead just as Kashton returns to Saint’s bedroom.
I pocket my cell before he can see me on it, knowing that things will get worse before they get better.
Stepping back from the window, I pull the cell from my pocket and find the number I want. They answer on the second ring.
“Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Are you in town?” I ask, my eyes going to the door to make sure no one enters. Privacy isn’t a fucking thing when you live with two other men.
“Yeah, why?”
“Ashtyn is here.”
A silence lingers over the other end of the phone before he asks, “Here—as in there at Carnage?”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck! How did that happen?” he snaps.
“Whitney,” I respond. “Some shit went down with Tyson and his wife, and it led to Whitney ratting out where Ashtyn was. Kash and Saint brought her back yesterday.”
“Son of a bitch!” he hisses.
Pretty much.
“I thought you were keeping an eye on her?” I demand.
“I’ve only been in town for a week,” he snaps. “What the fuck do we do?”
“Nothing,” I answer. “She’s back, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Shit will hit the fan. We just have to be ready when it does.
ELEVEN
ANNABELLE
The man is infuriating. The moment I rushed out of the room and got into my car, I had to unbutton my blouse. I was sweating from his words.
“I’ll tie you up in a tight little ball, suspend you from the ceiling so that your cunt, mouth, and ass are easily on display for me to fuck.”
Goddamn! I have my air conditioner on full blast, trying to cool down.
“Once I’m done violating you, I’ll sit down, have a smoke while I let you hang there, and watch my cum leak from your stretched-out and overused holes like the worthless whore you’re meant to be.”
My hips rock back and forth in the driver’s seat, just imagining the picture he painted. Men like Haidyn don’t make threats. They’re promises.
Is it bad that I can’t stop thinking about it? He seemed on edge today. More than the past two times I’ve come for a session. It’s like he’s upped his game. He’s tired of me returning and wants to get rid of me. I don’t care what he says; I’m not walking away.
I killed a woman. I’ve taken a brand. I can sit there and listen to a few crude comments about how he wants to use my body. He’s a Lord after all. Sex is all they think about, and ever since I started seeing him, it’s all I think about too.
HAIDYN
Four years ago
I hear a gunshot go off, and I’m walking down the hallway when a small body turns a corner and runs into me. She screams before looking up at me, and my eyes drop to the gun in her hand.
She’s shaking, holding on to it for dear life. I can hear Kashton yelling Saint’s name. Did she shoot him? Fuck, this isn’t going as planned.
“Get the fuck out of here. As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead. Do you understand me?” I tell her, not making a move to take her gun. If that makes her feel safe, then she can keep it.
“I…understand.” She sobs, nodding her head.
“Saint! Fuck!” Kashton shouts from around the corner.
I step into her, lowering my voice so no one can hear. “We all pay for our sins, Ashtyn. You are no different. You can run from them all you want, but they will catch up with you no matter where you go.” Pulling back, I turn and walk back in the direction I came from.
I stand on my balcony overlooking the rolling hills behind Carnage. I didn’t get any sleep last night, but that’s nothing new. That memory from four years ago keeps playing in my mind, knowing she’s here.