Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 74457 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74457 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
I stepped forward until I was right next to him.
He grabbed my arm and held it tight.
I thought I might fall. I felt dizzy but he wouldn’t let me jerk away. He held me hard, his grip iron, his stance like a skyscraper. I stared down, down, down, at the dark water below, at my death, my doom, my future. If I went through with this plan, if I let Jarrod kill a man—no, I had to be honest, if I helped Jarrod kill a man—then I’d be damned.
What would be left of me then?
Not much, but there wasn’t much to begin with.
Dr. Silver had taken it away.
My parents had destroyed everything else.
And my brother’s pain had made sure I’d never regain what I’d lost.
“If we’re in this, we’re in this together,” Jarrod said softly. The wind picked up and blew through my hair. “You know, if we do this, we might end up in prison for the rest of our lives? Or we could end up dead.”
“I know the risks. Believe me, I’ve been thinking about them a lot longer than you have.”
His lips flattened. “But you haven’t thought about whether you can trust me or not.”
My stomach flipped. His hand tightened enough to hurt.
If he wanted, he could throw me off here.
“Let go of me.”
“I need you to understand that from here on out, you’re mine. Your life is in my hands, and your body is for my eyes only. Do you understand?”
“No fucking anyone in the meantime. Got it.”
“No fucking. No kissing. No undressing. I own you, freak.”
“We said one night.”
“And I’ll honor that deal.” He leaned closer, lips near my throat. “But you’d better keep me interested. You’d better hope that one night is enough. Otherwise, I’ll let go.”
His hand disappeared from my arm.
For a second, I thought I might drop.
The world spun. My life was on the edge of a dime. One step and I was gone.
Without revenge.
Then his hand returned, harder than before. I gasped in pain as his fingers dug into my skin.
He stepped back and yanked me with him.
I stumbled and fell against his chest.
He pulled me tight and brushed the hair from my face.
His smile was horrible and vicious.
The grin of a killer.
“Can you do that, freak? Can you keep me interested long enough to get what you want?”
I nodded, staring into his eyes.
He scared the hell out of me, but another, stranger emotion drifted through my body.
It warred with the fear.
It fed on the terror.
Desire, pure and simple. Animal lust.
I wanted him to fuck me.
I wanted to see what this beast could do if unleashed.
One night might be the end of me.
And I was fully willing to find out.
But not yet.
First, I had to get what I wanted.
I shoved him away as hard as I could.
“This isn’t your game,” I said, trying to keep my tone acid and sharp. “I’ve spent years planning how this’ll go down. You think you’re in control, but you’re not. If we do this, we do it my way. We do it together.”
His eyebrows raised in delight. “You want to be there to pull the trigger, freak?”
“I want to be there to watch that bastard die.” I met his gaze, steady and certain, and held out my hand. “Eight thousand dollars and one night where I give you whatever you want. I’ll do anything you ask, let you fuck me however you please, suck your cock, let you come down my throat, I don’t care, so long as we do this. Are you in?”
Hunger blossomed in his face. He licked his perfect lips.
He shook my hand.
“I’m in.”
He held it there, staring at me. I wondered if I’d made a horrible mistake.
But no, no, I’d made that mistake already, a long time ago.
I’d made that mistake the day I walked into Dr. Silver’s office, and the day I’d told my parents what he’d done to me, and the day I’d been shocked when they hadn’t believed it, and the day my little brother had come and admitted that the same thing had happened to him—I’d made the mistake years ago.
This was retribution.
I’d do anything to make it happen.
And if I enjoyed the payment?
Then so be it.
He released me and turned away. “All right, freak. Enough for tonight. Go home and get some sleep.”
“When are we doing it?”
“We’ll talk again soon.” He strode toward the fence.
I hurried after him. He got on the bike and kicked it to life.
I climbed on back and held on for dear life as he flew back into the woods and left me alone in the lot to think about my future.
4
Cora
The next day, it was like nothing had happened.
Robyn picked me up in the morning. She drove us to campus every day since she had a car and I didn’t. My dad was at work and my mom sat in front of the TV bingeing one of the Housewives franchises. I wasn’t sure which.