Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33526 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33526 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Ella tumbles off me, pulling her legs under her arms, but she doesn’t look frail or scared. It’s a comforting move that seems to give her strength. I recognize the look in her eyes. It’s one I’ve seen in the mirror before I commit atrocities, knowing full well I’ll enjoy every fuckin’ minute of it.
“Let’s go out there and kill her.” Her voice is quiet—a low, icy whisper infused with vengeance and anger.
I raise my head, feeling like a bullet has landed in the middle of my chest. My sweet Ella will never be the same, and it’s all my fault. I ruined her innocence like I ruined River’s and Asher’s. My throat tightens, and I can’t form words.
“We can’t,” River interjects. “At least not right away. She’s got a lot of files on all of us. If anything happens to that bitch, we’re gonna end up in jail, if not worse. And truth be told, we don’t care about being put away, but she’s also got shit on you, Ella. Over my dead body will we let anything happen to you.”
“So we’re just gonna let her get away with it?”
River laughs. “Oh, no, baby, She’s not getting away with shit. We’re going to get those files. It’s already in the works. Have you ever heard of The Beasts?”
I growl at River. We don’t need to tell Ella what we do or who we associate with. The last thing I need is her asking questions about those fucking nut cases. Those guys are so demented they could scare the devil himself.
River smirks, ignoring my silent warning. “They’re the guys who have the key to end all this shit. Their keeper used to be in deep with Celeste. We needed to find the right person because those guys are maniacs. Shit, they make me look almost normal. But this girl, she’s theirs. They’d never hurt her. Once she gets us what we need, we’ll chop Celeste into little pieces and feast on her carcass. We need to wait it out, and you need to go away until we’ve figured out all this shit.”
Relief rushes in my veins when River mentions Ella going away. At least the fucker agrees with me on this.
Ella folds her arms over her chest, her large breasts distracting me for a moment. “Not going anywhere. So you better tell me what I need to do because I’ll be the first one to stab a blade into that cold bitch’s heart.”
“Well, damn, baby,” River says. “Isn’t that the hottest thing I’ve ever heard?” He points directly at his crotch. “Look how hard that made me. Huh, words have never done it for me like that before. Might as well have had your mouth around my dick.”
There goes my hope of thinking River might be logical and sane for longer than two minutes.
“She’s not getting involved,” I say through clenched teeth.
“She’s already fucking involved, Alaric. Besides, if you want the girl, she needs to know who you really are. Like, sure, bring her the fucking roses and the chocolates and all that shit, but let her in. We both know you’re not gonna satiate your needs by fucking her missionary. You might think you can, but that shit ain’t gonna last long.” River laughs. “Besides, if memory serves me right, she liked it a little rough, too.” I glare at him as he smirks and turns his head to Ella. “Isn’t that right, baby? You knew what you were getting into and couldn’t get enough.”
Ella glances at River. Her cheeks flush, and something akin to desire flashes in her eyes. She shakes her head and focuses on me. “I’m not leaving, Alaric, so what’s the plan?”
I jump off the floor, turning between the two of them. River, with a smug look I wanna punch off his face. Ella, with her gigantic eyes and defiant stare. I know I’m not winning this argument because as much as I want Ella to run from us, River and Asher will ensure she stays put.
I storm toward her, forcing her back to slam against the wall. I focus on her, wanting to be sure she hears me. “You want to know what the plan is?” I spit out the words like poison. I want them to wound her, to fester in her veins.
Ella nods.
I slam my hands against the wall beside her head, trying to intimidate her out of her defiant stupidity. “You’re gonna have to be a little whore, Ella. You willing to do that?”
“W-What?” Ella stammers.
“How do you think we’ve been useful to Celeste all our lives? We weren’t always her henchmen. We were scared little kids she used to garner power. She pimped us out, Ella, for whatever she needed. Turns out she wants to sell you to the highest bidder. Are you ready to be a whore? Because that’s what she’ll demand of you, and do you know what she’ll want from us?”