Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“Kienna James,” he murmurs, and as the words come out of his mouth, I realize they don’t hurt as much as they once did.
I nod. “My life became intertwined with my new foster family, and they weren’t good people. They never hurt me or tried to touch me, but they resented me for whatever reason, and as that got worse, they used my name as a taunt, and I realized that I had to hold on to it with everything that I had. It was all I had, and I wasn’t going to let these people destroy it. I spiraled from there. I was only with them for a few months before bouncing to my next family, but from day one with that new family, my name was mine and mine alone.”
“I know you may not be ready, but one day, I’d like to call you by your name,” he tells me. “I want to know you for you. Siren is just one portion of the woman you are, but I want to know the woman you are inside. I want to know the woman you’ve hidden away for all of these years.”
I swallow hard, resting my hand on his chest again as I nod. “I think I might be okay with that,” I tell him. “I don’t know how or when it happened, but I trust you. You’re not going to hurt me. I feel safe with you, and while I might need some time to be okay with hearing my name again, I can work on that for you.”
“Then I suppose I can do the same for you,” he says. “When the time comes, I’d like to reintroduce you to who I really am, not as Reaper or the ghost you feared at the start of these games, but as Nikolai Volkov.”
“I’d like that.”
He nods. “To be honest, I’m not even sure I fully understand who he really is, but if you’d like, we can work it out together.”
“Together?” I gasp, teasing him. “You’re not suggesting we work as a team, are you?”
Reaper groans and rolls his eyes, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You’ve got yourself a deal,” I tell him as my heart swells deep inside my chest. “Though I’ve gotta admit, I don’t think I have any fucking idea who Kienna James is either. Last time I talked to her, she was only six years old with more trauma than any kid should have to hold. I don’t know what kind of person we’re going to uncover.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’re both trained in expecting the unexpected,” Reaper says. “Whatever you want to throw at me, baby, I can handle.”
“Oh yeah?” I say, adjusting myself on his lap and leaning in, my lips hovering over his. “Well, I’ve got something else a little unexpected, and I’m dying to see just how well you handle it.”
Then, without another word, I close the gap and drop my lips to his, and as if on cue, he picks me up off the couch and walks past the one-eyed dead head and straight to our bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him.
25
SIREN
Tonight Gasoline dies, and I’ve never felt so giddy about making a kill in my life.
Reaper practically sent me on my way with a kiss and a packed lunch, telling me to have a great day. But truth be told, I think he was jealous. Ever since the fire, he’s wanted revenge on this vile woman just as much as I have, but he knows I need this more. Besides, he thinks the brothers are planning something, and until he figures out what that is, he’ll be tailing them.
Mila has been working on tracking Gasoline for the past few days, and this morning, we finally got a hit. She’s been staying in one of the old warehouses in the industrial area where this whole bullshit started. Personally, I find staying in a warehouse unimaginative. The Boston Maneater did it too, and I can’t figure out why they would want to spend their last days on earth in a rundown building with no heat or access to working amenities. I get that living it up in a holiday home like Reaper, Shadow, and I have been doing certainly has its disadvantages, but I wouldn’t trade a working bathroom and a proper bed for anything.
With my car becoming a casualty of the suite fire, I had no choice but to walk my ass out to the industrial park, and after already knocking out many of the big contenders of War Games, I really don’t mind the stroll. Hell, I even let my guard down and try to enjoy the fresh air. Though despite doing what I can to enjoy my night, I keep to the shadows. My typical assassin-style outfit, complete with the black lips and long rope-like hairstyle is more than enough to draw the wrong kind of attention, and after the FBI have been sniffing around Blue Springs, the last thing I need is to get my ass caught.