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)
"I'm getting rid of the dead weight," Ky responded, his voice barely audible over the chaos. He kicked Roger in the face with his boot, causing blood to spurt from his nose. He lost his grip and fell into the water below, his rage-filled scream echoing around us.
I kept climbing, looking back briefly to see Roger struggling in the water but not getting very far.
“Problem solved,” Ky stated nonchalantly as he climbed faster to catch up with me.
Even though he had just kicked a man to his brutal death, I couldn't bring myself to be angry with him. "Good job," I praised, my eyes quickly averting from his intense gaze when I saw how much my words meant to him. My hands trembled slightly as I managed to climb to the top of the wall, using my fingers to grip what felt like mucky clumps of clay for support. I had to dig in to pull myself up.
As soon as Ky pulled himself over, I crawled on my knees to help Mel, but Dion and Brody were already taking care of her. One was lifting her from the bottom with a strong hand on her backside, while the other supported her waist without putting any pressure on her chest or injured arm.
It was a dynamic that I was extremely grateful for in that moment. I felt a sudden surge of strength as Ky lifted me off the ground and placed me back on my feet. "The only time you should be on your knees, Sunshine, is when you're opening your pretty mouth for me," he whispered in my ear, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine.
Mel shot him a playful look and then stared at Brody, who still had his hand lingering on her bottom. "Oops." He quickly removed it with a sheepish grin.
"I should thank you, but the free grab is thanks enough," Mel joked.
We all laughed, releasing some of the tension and adrenaline we had just experienced. She and I inched closer to the edge, watching as the others climbed up and over the wall on the opposite side.
“You, okay? I asked softly.
She nodded. “Much better than them.”
From our vantage point, we could see the alligators still thrashing about in the water far below, fighting over their torn-up meals.
“Fucking alligators. What else do these people have inside the city?”
“I don’t think we want to know.” I turned my hand over and looked at my bleeding palm. It didn’t hurt—only slightly stung and that wasn’t causing me any pain. A light tug on my hair pulled me back from the edge.
I turned into Ky as I stepped away, and he dropped his hand to the center of my back.
“I’m assuming we go through that door?”
“Only way I see outta here,” Dion answered, facing the rounded metal door.
Ky held my hand up and examined the small cut on my palm. "I should have prevented this."
My brow furrowed in confusion. "It wasn't your fault, Ky."
"I should have stopped it," he repeated in a detached tone.
There was no visible change in his expression, but the girl watching him from the back of my mind knew he wasn’t okay. It may have seemed trivial—and the cut truly wasn’t that bad, but Ky’ wouldn’t see it that way. He couldn’t. To him, this was a mark of failure. That’s the way his mind worked, and what we all loved about him.
I wanted to soothe him with my touch, but there was clay caked all the way up to my wrists.
I opted to place my hand on his chest, not caring it was soaking wet and just as covered in the unidentified substance. He pulled me into a bruising embrace, and I pressed myself against him even harder.
Carol caught my eye from a few feet away, standing with the man we’d saved and saying something to Dion, giving me a small smile.
As we waited for the others to catch up, Mel studied Ky and me with a pensive expression. "Looks like some old habits have resurfaced," she remarked, finally acknowledging our past together.
It took me a moment to process her words. I went to lift my head, but Ky gently pressed it back against his chest, not saying a word. He was so much taller than me. Trying to play off this serious moment as just another casual conversation, I asked, "Do you think it was always this way?"
"I think it’s going to get a lot more intense,” she replied, glancing past us.
I could tell that the rest of our group had arrived on our side of the top platform after going all the way around. Ky slowly lowered his arms, and I stepped to the side so that I could see Lana.
Her hands were coated in the same clay-like substance. Ciaran, Maverick, the brunette—Hayven—and Charon were two steps behind her.