Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
—Cruz—
She snapped around and started walking back inside.
“This is far from over, Sin.”
Without turning, she lifted up her middle finger and kept walking, flipping me off. I couldn’t help but laugh. This was the first girl to ever hold my attention for anything other than sex.
I liked her.
A lot.
It was such an unfamiliar emotion for me. To feel something for someone that wasn’t my family.
“Fuck, my sister.”
I quickly gazed down at my watch, realizing I’d spent more time with Sienna than I intended.
“Shit.”
Just like that, an unsettling but disturbing feeling seeped into the core of my being. Before I knew what was happening, my body turned, moving on its own accord. I hauled ass toward the banquet room, where I left Adriana. Rushing down a long, narrow hallway, passing several other rooms, I noticed how far I’d truly gone.
All I could hear were the sounds of my footsteps, echoing off the walls. My shoes pounded into the marble floor, one right after the other. I couldn’t get to the banquet room fast enough. My heart was beating out of my chest, the pulse in my neck profusely pounding against my skin, while sweat pooled at my temples.
In a matter of seconds, my eyes shifted every which way when I entered the massive space, looking for Ari. Inspecting every inch of the scene unfolding in front of me. It was like I wanted to engrain this moment of panic into my memory.
Words couldn’t describe what I felt. The sentiments that surged through my bloodstream. I forced myself to keep my shit together, as I looked for her among the throngs of people.
Hearing my father’s words, “Protect your sister.” Over and over again.
Every bone in my body was still.
Every muscle in my core clenched.
Every single part of me was unable to move.
The guards were nowhere to be found. Neither was…
My sister.
Taking one last look around the room, I called her, and it went straight to voicemail.
“This is Adriana, you know what to do!”
I sprinted down another hallway. Darting through the estate, needing to find her, feeling as though my life depended on it.
It did.
Music blared loudly through the speakers as everyone mingled and carried on without a care in the world. My blood raged, blinded by craze and madness looking for her but coming up empty.
Until finally, I shouted, “Ari! Ari, where are you?”
There was no controlling the inner turmoil or the wave of thoughts, soaring through my mind, and taking over every last inch of me. For a man who prided himself on control, I had absolutely none at the moment. Only proving it with each heavily passing second.
With each ragged, deep breath.
With every blink of my panic-ridden eyes, I was still unable to find her.
Not one logical thought was able to form in my head. I could only feel the terror flowing through every bone in my body. My patience was stretched thin, dangling by a thread. That thread fucking snapped, when I spotted one of our guards out of the corner of my eye. His demeanor mirrored mine.
“Fuck,” I breathed out, expecting the worst.
He was about to be on the receiving end of my fucking fury. I dashed through the crowd of people, not giving a shit who I knocked into, and was in his face in two seconds flat.
Gripping onto the lapels of his suit jacket, I seethed, “Where is she?”
His eyes told me everything I wanted to know, but I still needed to hear him say the words. Like it wasn’t true, this wasn’t my reality, until I heard him say it.
“Where the fuck is Ari? Where’s my sister?”
He shook his head back and forth as if he couldn’t bring himself to tell me where she was, or what happened to her.
“I’m…I’m…I’m…”
“I’m going to fucking kill you if you don’t answer me!” I clung onto his lapels tighter and more demanding. My knuckles turning white from the pressure of my grip. “Where is Adriana?” I screamed in his face.
It was the first time in my life I had seen true horror wash over someone’s features.
“Answer me!” I forcefully shook him, trying to get him to speak. “Where the fuck is my sister?!”
“We…we…”
Without wavering, I let him go and in one swift movement I pulled out my father’s gun from the back of my slacks, aiming it right at his forehead. Not giving a flying fuck people were witnessing my weakness.
“Where. Is. Adriana?”
His eyes widened, stuttering out, “I’m…I’m…sorry, Cruz…I don’t know what happened. One minute she was there…and then the next…she was gone.”
“Gone! What the fuck does that mean? Where the fuck did she go?”
He shrugged. His body shook with each word that escaped his mouth, “We’ve searched this entire estate, Cruz…we can’t find her…but we did find her cellphone on the ground outside of the property…”
I stumbled back from the impact of his statement. The wind was knocked out of my lungs and the fight in me was gone. Pure agony ripped through my mind, as I ran my hands through my hair, wanting to tear it out. Only triggering memories of our childhood. I struggled to maintain my composure. My resolve shattered around us like shards of glass slicing out of my skin.