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)
Haidyn walks over to the table, and my pulse races. “I’m not getting on that,” I say, my voice shaking as much as my knees.
He turns to face me.
I spin around, grab the door handle, and go to pull the door open, but his hand slaps against it above my head, slamming it shut. I’m yanked back by my hair, and I cry out when he shoves my back into the wall next to the door. He steps into me, one hand gripping my chin while the other holds an open pocketknife to my cheek.
I’m gasping for breath, trying to pull my face away, but he’s got me pinned in place. “Haidyn,” I whisper.
His blue eyes search mine as he speaks. “You either undress yourself or I cut every piece of clothing off you so when we leave this place, you leave with nothing on.”
My hands grip his T-shirt, my breathing erratic. Tears sting my eyes. “Please…”
“This is not a negotiation, doll face. I tell you what to do. You either do it or I do it for you. If you pick option two, then you’ll be punished afterward. Do you understand?”
The cool tip of the knife slowly glides against my cheek, and I swallow nervously. “Y-yes.”
Letting go of my chin, I keep my back to the wall, and he lowers the tip of the knife to the collar of my hoodie. His cold and unforgiving eyes focus on mine. “What’s it going to be, Charlotte? Are you going to be a good girl and get undressed, or will I have to cut your clothes off?”
My trembling hands grip the hem of the hoodie, and I pull it up and over my head, sniffling.
“That’s my good girl.” He closes the knife, putting it away and picks up the gown, holding it out to me. “Undress. All of it. I want you naked. It opens in the front. I’ll give you three minutes.” With that, he exits the room and closes the door as the first tear runs down my cheek.
TWENTY-TWO
HAIDYN
Istand outside the room, giving her a few minutes of privacy to let her mind wander. She knows I’m going to see her naked. The gown is just a false sense of security.
Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I give it a quick look before I go back in there. I’ve had it on silent since I arrived at her place.
I have a text from Kash.
Call me. It’s urgent.
Grinding my teeth, I hover over his number but am reluctant to press call. He answers on the first ring. “Make it quick,” I say in greeting. This is the first time I’ve spoken to him since I left Carnage.
“We found out a few things about Benny,” he informs me.
Glad I took the call. “And?”
“He was a Lord.”
“Was?” I ask, wanting him to get to the point. I’m not in the mood to play guessing games. I have the toy I’m going to play with behind the door I’m leaning on.
“Yeah. He never made it through all the initiations. Failed sophomore year.”
Running a hand through my hair, I growl, “Then how did he know so much if he wasn’t a fucking Lord?” We had looked for a Lords crest and hadn’t seen one, but there was no reasonable explanation for that. And Ashtyn was seeing him while she lived in Vegas. No way would she have willingly dated or fucked a Lord when she was on the run from them.
“We know he was working with Laura and Ashtyn’s mother four years ago, but we think he’s connected to someone else…”
“Who?” I bark out, hating that he’s not willing to give me information. He’s the one who said to call him.
“Our guess is Costello.”
Like a gunshot to my chest, I stop breathing at the mention of the name. I begin to pace the hallway. “No—”
“It’s the only plausible explanation,” he growls. “Saint and I have gone round and round on this for days now, and it makes perfect sense. She spent time in Carnage. She knew the system—”
“But Benny had raped Ashtyn before the vow ceremony our senior year with help from Laura and her mother.” I interrupt him. “Costello wasn’t at Carnage until after Ash ran…”
“That we know of,” he snaps, getting irritated with me. “Who knows how long she had access before our training.”
I sigh, not wanting to believe him but also knowing I don’t know enough to argue any of it.
“Look.” He softens his tone. “I don’t want to believe it either, but what if our dads had something to do with it? We know that Ashtyn’s mother was part of Ash being raped because she was trying to make sure that Ashtyn didn’t become Saint’s chosen. And Laura…” He trails off. “That bitch is fucking nuts. We all know how far she’ll go to get her way. And Laura had access to Carnage before our training. So if—a big if—it wasn’t our dads, maybe Laura helped Costello get into Carnage after our dads were killed.”