Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
A small gasp escaped my lips as I stumbled, only to be saved by Lana’s quick reflexes and her taking more of the man’s weight. “If this is how we end, I will be so pissed at you, Grace.”
I laughed, despite nothing about this being remotely funny, my mirth sobering as soon as another clown rushed at us.
“At least you’ve made your peace with death,” he commented, his voice dripping with malice. He was enormous, at least three times our size, and unnervingly broad.
“You two really know how to pick ’em,” Brody joked, only a few paces behind us. I wasn’t confident he could handle this one alone after having just dealt with at least two on our way to the tram. He had to be tired.
I didn’t have to worry for long.
Ky and Ciaran were suddenly there, moving into the clown’s path with no regard for the long, sinister blade he brandished. Ky didn’t waste a second. He lunged forward with brutal efficiency, grabbing the clown’s wrist and twisting it with a sickening crunch. The blade clattered to the ground as the clown let out a guttural roar of pain. Ciaran followed up by knocking his feet from beneath him, causing him to collapse to the ground.
“Stay down,” Ky coldly demanded, as he slammed his boot on the clown’s chest. There was an audible crack followed by a wheezing sound from beneath the clown’s mask.
Ciaran crouched, his hand clamping around the clown’s throat with a vice-like grip. “You should’ve known better, Leo.”
“Get them to the Tram,” Ky directed at Brody without looking our way.
“I’m working on it.” He grabbed my arm and Lana’s, pulling us away from the scene, practically launching us on board before jumping in behind us.
“Don’t ever do that again!” Mel yelled from where she was now sitting, her face pale and strained.
“Relax, Mel. We had it under control,” Lana replied, her tone light. “I’m sorry for making you worry, though.”
“You think I was worried? That’s an understatement. How gray is my hair now? And you risked your life for that--him?”
As Brody helped Lana and I get the him in question into a seat, I forced a laugh at her way of accepting the apology, offering one of my own.
I knew she’d done herself more harm by trying to come to us and that wasn’t anything I could ever forgive myself for. “I’m sorry, Mel. I didn’t think it through until it was too late.”
“Clearly,” Brody grumbled.
“Hands off,” Ky's gritty voice carried from behind us before I could further explain. Brody immediately dropped his supportive hand from my arm and moved away as if I’d suddenly caught fire, taking a seat beside Mel.
“Good luck,” Lana quipped, moving back toward the front of the tram.
I turned toward Ky as he came forward. There was blood splattered on his front from far more than just that clown he and Ciaran had taken down. He’d ditched his gloves as well. I swallowed hard, looking up at his masked face as he firmly, yet gently crowded me into a seat using his body, not touching me with his hands.
Once I was seated, he planted himself beside me and leaned close.
“What the fuck was that, Sunshine?”
“W-what was what?” I questioned, transfixed on his masked face. It was mesmerizing, a haunting white and black now sporting red streaks and splatter, giving him an otherworldly, fearsome appearance. Oddly, I found him just as attractive with it on.
“Don’t dumb yourself down.”
“I couldn’t leave him.”
“You couldn’t?” His laugh was low and unsettling. My reaction to it was entirely inappropriate. “If something happened to you, no one would have made it onto this tram. Not a single soul.”
He couldn’t mean what that implied. Except I knew he did.
“Do you understand?” he asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous cadence when I didn’t respond.
I swallowed hard, the intensity of his stare piercing through the mask. “Yes, I understand.”
“Good,” he murmured, his voice softening but still carrying an edge.
There was a strange comfort in his protectiveness, a dark allure that I wanted to bask in. Our connection was broken by his shifting so that he was facing forward on the seat. I sat back, acutely aware we had an audience. I finally glanced around, noticing a few stares aimed at our group as a whole from others who had made it on that I didn’t know.
I noted where everyone was sitting and the tram’s interior. The compartment that housed the driver was barred off, prohibiting anyone from reaching it or the control panels. Where we were was unsurprisingly luxurious yet simple. Soft, plush seats in muted tones of grey and burgundy.
The ambient lighting, subtle and warm, created a sense of calm that was almost eerie given our recent ordeal. Sleek metal poles and polished surfaces reflected the low light, adding a touch of modern elegance. Mel was sitting with Dion and Brody, Maverick on the other side of them. Ciaran was now beside Lana, one arm draped over her shoulders, and Charon was beside a beautiful brunette who had come on board with the other few stragglers. She had long, ash-brown hair and light silver-blue eyes.