Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 74062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Here she is, Volkov,” Dad says with a smile. The same sinister glare on his face is the one I used to go to sleep seeing. A nightmare. A deranged man who wants to hurt innocent people.
The man, Volkov, shrugs, taking me in as if I were a piece of furniture he was considering purchasing. “I suppose I can take her.”
“No,” I shout, but a kick to my ribs has me reeling. Agony shoots through my side, and I struggle to pull in air, but nobody helps me.
Seeing my father again has bile rising to my throat. I never wanted to look into those dark, evil eyes again. But I can’t avoid it. The way his mouth curves upward tells me he no longer cares about what happens to me. I don’t doubt the years in prison has changed him even more. The darkness I recognized in my father when I was merely a teenager is still there, it’s only more vicious now.
He meets my gaze, his glare locked on me. “It’s time you paid for my release, sweetheart,” he tells me with confidence dripping from every word. I don’t expect anyone to understand the pain of how my father hurt me, but the men who stand behind me, with guns to their heads do. They’ve accepted me.
“I won’t be paying for anything,” I answer softly, keeping my voice calm. I hope he doesn’t see the fear dancing in my eyes, because I don’t doubt there is. “You needed to stay behind bars. You can’t be free after what you did.”
“Enough!” One of the men in a black suit shouts. His voice is deep, it rumbles like a truck rushing down the highway. It sets me on edge. “Take them,” he orders, and the men holding guns on The Fallen step forward. “We are leaving, I can’t stand here and listen to this bullshit.”
In the next second, all hell breaks loose when shots are fired, and I’m shoved to the ground. I’m not sure what the hell is going on, but the twisting in my gut tells me it’s not good.
The scent of metal fills my nostrils when the man my father offered me to grips my arm and drags me toward him. My knees scrape along the cold concrete, and the biting agony slices my flesh has me whimpering.
“Don’t you dare fucking touch her.” Crow’s voice is filled with anger as he shouts into the darkness. “I will fucking kill you.” I didn’t expect him to fight for me, not like this. He’s always been aloof about his feelings. Fucking me isn’t loving me. But Crow’s tone is tinged in more than vengeance, there is affection in it.
The man holding me, Volkov, glances over his shoulder, the smile on his face is sinister. He regards Crow who’s on the floor, a man in a suit holding him down, and says, “She’s mine.” I’m dragged farther away from the men who’ve stolen my heart.
I can’t fight because I’m trying to stay on my feet. But each time he tugs at me, I stumble forward which only hurts more. Cold ground bites into my sensitive skin. The hold he has on me is going to leave a bruise. At times, Crow marked me, and I wanted it, I loved it. But this is the devil taking me down to hell with him, and I know I won’t be able to fight him off. Even if I do, he’ll gladly make me regret it.
“Please, let me go,” I plead with him when we reach the back of the building and head outside to a waiting SUV with blacked out windows. A sense of dread takes over because I know the moment I’m in the car, I won’t ever be able to escape. “My father should never have offered my life. I don’t want this, please,” but no matter how much I beg, this bastard won’t listen to me. So, I tug my arm, which has him stumbling backward, and I managed to dig my heels into the ground before he can get a proper grip on me again.
He spins on his heel, and it’s only a second later the harsh sting of his hand makes contact with my cheek. The heavy gold ring on his finger cuts into my lip, and the whoosh of blood fills my mouth, causing me to cough and splutter at the flavor.
“If you don’t shut up,” he bites out, his teeth grit in rage. “I will make sure you shut up permanently. I don’t need your mouth for what I have in store for you.” I’m shoved into the car, the soft leather smooth against my face, as blood drips from my mouth and tears stream down my cheeks.
I don’t know where I’m going to end up, but the boys won’t be able to find me once we leave the country. I have no doubt I’m fucked. As much as I wanted to escape The Fallen, now all I want is for them to find me, to save me and to keep me.