Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 114551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Chapter 15
OAKLEY
The sun rises over the city in shades of pink and gold, promising a beautiful day that I’m finding it hard to take joy in. I lean back and dangle my legs over the side of the DeVil Hotel, taking in the same sky I’ve spent twenty-one years living under, yet knowing how many sunrises I have left in this world makes this one mean so much more.
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and listen to the busy morning below. The breeze breaking through the high-rise buildings, the cars on the road, the dogs bouncing and barking on the end of their leashes, and their owners going about their day without a care in the world. They’ll lock their dogs in their fancy apartments and head to their office jobs like every other morning. Maybe they’ll stop for coffee or meet a friend for breakfast first, but all of them are blissfully unaware that someone’s world is ending.
God, I’d give everything I had to be able to feel that way. To forget about the fresh hell knocking on my door. This morning, I woke in Sawyer’s arms to realize there were only four days left. I shouldn’t be counting down like this, shouldn’t be giving myself a constant reminder, but I can’t help it.
Four days.
Ninety hours.
Five thousand, four hundred minutes.
Three hundred and twenty-four thousand seconds.
This is what my life has been reduced to.
Knowing the boys are bound to come looking for me soon, I get up, and as I stand on the very edge of the rooftop, staring out at the world below, the thought enters my mind—I could just throw myself over and put an end to it now. I could finish this on my own terms, have a mostly peaceful death. I won’t need to scream in agony. I won’t need to feel the torture of Zade’s hand plunging inside my chest.
One quick drop to the ground below and it’ll all be over.
Fuck.
Tears fill my eyes, and I quickly blink them away before turning on my heel and stalking back toward the private elevator. It’s not going to end like this. The boys asked me to have faith in them, to trust that they will find a way to save me, and while that trust is quickly fading, I’m not ready to give up yet, and at the very least, I’m going to enjoy these next few days.
Pressing the call button for the elevator, I lean against the wall and wait the few seconds it takes to come up from Zade’s apartment. The door opens, and as I go to step in, I run straight into Easton. He catches me before I break my nose against his wide chest, grinning down at me. “There you are,” he murmurs. “I was just coming to look for you.”
“I figured as much,” I tell him, pressing the button to go back down. “I thought I could beat you to it and get back to Zade’s apartment before anyone started to worry.”
“Don’t stress,” he says with a soft chuckle. “It’s just me and Sawyer. Zade and Dalton are still asleep, and I figured we’d at least check for you before sounding the alarm. Fuck knows Zade couldn’t handle it if you went missing again.”
I laugh, able to picture it so perfectly. “Good plan,” I tell him as he steps in behind me, his arms circling my waist. Easton drops his lips to the base of my throat, gently kissing me, and I tilt my head, allowing him more space when the door opens to Zade’s apartment and we find Sawyer madly rushing around.
Stepping out of the elevator, Sawyer’s eyes come to mine and he stops before bracing his hands against the kitchen counter and dropping his head. “Thank fuck,” he breathes, letting out a relieved sigh. “I thought something happened to you.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, walking right into his arms before pushing up onto my tippy toes and pressing a kiss to his lips. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to watch the sunrise from the roof.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sawyer questions, reaching up and brushing my hair off my face, looking me deep in the eyes. “I would have come with you.”
“You were sleeping so peacefully,” I murmur, my hand pressing against his chest. “I didn’t want to disturb you. And besides, it was kinda nice just having a moment of peace to myself.”
Sawyer rolls his eyes, clearly not satisfied with my answer, but all I can offer him is a wide smile as I step back out of his space and head into the kitchen to make my second coffee of the morning. “I don’t buy it,” Easton says, crossing the room and heading for Venom’s enclosure. “You’re not a get-up-early-to-watch-the-sunrise kind of girl. You’re a sleep-till-after-lunch girl. You couldn’t sleep.”