Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
The body in the barn. Broken, twisted, and beyond help.
“What did we do to you?”
The woman—for now I knew she was a woman—that I buried at Black Widow Hill, did not answer my calls then, nor did she in the memory.
I heard the name I called her. I saw her face when I flipped her over.
“What did we do?”
“You killed me,” I whispered, pain fading as it all came back. “I died that night.”
“Yes.” Zoey released my hair and stroked my cheek. “That’s it. Remember.”
“I forgot about dying.”
My voice was small. Pleading.
“How could I forget?”
“It’s okay.” Zoey kissed my forehead. Standing up, she backed away, aiming my bow at my now silent boys. “You were special, Angel. Only you could live on after death. Even so, you must pay for what you’ve done. Give back the time that wasn’t yours.”
I rose on shaky knees.
“Scott believed we could bring you back through blood, clues, and letters. But he should have known.” Zoey lined the shot at Cairo’s heart. The expert marksman I was, I knew this time she wouldn’t miss.
“The dead only return through sacrifice.”
I looked down below at the black, icy waters.
“Now it’s time to make your choice,” she barked. “You? Or the Bedlam—”
I climbed onto the ledge and jumped off.
Chapter One
Icy claws bit into my legs, stomach, chest, face—dragging me under. The impact smacked conscious thought clean out of my head, filling me with a blank calm. I didn’t struggle. Didn’t thrash, fight, or claw to the surface.
I shut my eyes... I think. The water was too dark to tell if they were open or closed, and I stopped feeling my face somewhere around the time my guys’ shouts faded.
It was better this way. How wrong it was of me to live on after death. My soul walked away from that grave, stealing borrowed time and not even using it for vengeance. There was no point of me anymore, so let my death do some good this time.
Let it save my boys.
The claws loosened their grip—accepting that I wasn’t going to escape. Watery arms cradled me, gently sending me on to a place more peaceful than I deserved.
I’m so sorry. My lungs burned... until they didn’t. I’m coming.
A band wrapped around my forearms, snapping my eyes open. I knew they were open this time, because something was looking back at me.
Black crept in around my vision, blurring the figure. As we burst through the surface, it claimed me for good.
“RAINEY? RAINEY, WAKE up. Dammit, wake up!”
Pain pounded my chest, ripping me from sleep. I shot up, spewing river water from my throat. My eyes focused on Cairo— No, not just Cairo. Jacques and Legend hovered behind him.
“Wha— What happened?”
“You tell us.” Cairo scooped me into his arms. The lift jarred my aching head, making me wince. Pictures and scenes were assaulting me. Faces, people, eyes in the dark.
“We ran down and found you on the bank,” Legend said. “What the fuck is going on, Rainey?”
I couldn’t answer. Burying my face in Cairo’s chest, his dry shirt confirmed what he said. He didn’t jump in and get me. None of them did.
Someone else pulled me out of the water.
“—out of nowhere.” Cairo’s voice penetrated. “Killed that crazy bitch and cut Arsenio loose, knowing he couldn’t chase after them.”
“What?” I croaked. “Cut Arsenio loose? Killed who?”
“That’s what we’re telling you,” Jacques said as the guys made the slow climb up the hill. “That woman— Zoey. She’s dead. Headlights appeared on the other side of the bridge, there was a gunshot, and she went down. It was seconds after you jumped.”
“Then a guy—girl—who the fuck knows, steps over her body like trash and cuts Arsenio down,” Legend continued. “He didn’t say a damn word. Just frees him and leaves Arsenio to get the rest of us with one bad leg. It took so long, we knew there was no chance we’d get to you in time.”
“And then there you were,” Cairo finished.
I heard the question in their voice, but I had no answers for them. If anything, their story confused me more than ever. Someone saved them and me. Who? Why?
Topping the hill, the scene laid out in gory defiance. Zoey lay bleeding on the ground, my crossbow lying inches from her hand. Propped against the railing, Arsenio’s chest heaved as he clutched his leg—bandaged with nothing but a ripped shirt.
“Tell us what the hell is going on,” Cairo said. “That girl said you knew her. You two were friends until you refused to kill me. What was she talking about, Rainey?”
I climbed out of his arms, making my way to Arsenio. He glared at me with pained distrust. Gazing at the other guys, I saw the same look in their eyes.
“Don’t call me Rainey,” I rasped, taking Arsenio’s hand anyway. “My name is Ivy.”