Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 176345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 882(@200wpm)___ 705(@250wpm)___ 588(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 882(@200wpm)___ 705(@250wpm)___ 588(@300wpm)
NATHAN
When we get back to Spine Ridge, I check Rory for any marks and blemishes before I give her a bath, after which I put her back in Milo’s bed because she was already used to sleeping there, and she was tired as hell after what happened to her.
Milo’s room is awfully empty without him, though, and it’s a tough pill to swallow. It’ll take him a few days more to get back on his feet.
I pull out my phone and text him back after he sent a couple of frantic texts asking about her.
Me: We got her.
Milo: Thank fk.
Me: How r u?
Milo: Better. I just wanna know if Ro’s safe.
Me: She’s in one piece.
Milo: I was so gdamn worried they hurt her.
Me: No. Just scared.
Milo: Won’t they keep coming after her?
Me: We killed almost all those Bonesmen.
Milo: Almost?
I swallow away the lump in my throat. That guy who followed us outside definitely saw Lana. And while we were wearing masks, she pretended to be a server and couldn’t, so her identity got exposed the second she decided to fight back instead of run with my sister.
I don’t understand why she would risk her own life to help us.
Me: Don’t worry bout it. U just rest.
Milo: Don’t gimme a reason to come back early.
Me: If you don’t focus on gettin better first, I’m gonna kick your ass back into the clinic.
Milo: Oh, don’t fkn tempt me with a good time, or I might just do it.
I roll my eyes and grin.
Me: I’ll c u soon.
I put my phone back into my pocket and check on Ro to make sure she’s sleeping, then tell the other Phantoms to stay vigilant and keep watch to make sure the Bonesmen don’t come here.
Though I doubt they’d be able to enter the university grounds that easily.
Ever since Dean Rivera took over, the place has become locked down and tightly guarded.
I head upstairs, my blond hair sticking to my cheeks from a mixture of sweat and blood, but all the hardship was worth it because I got Ro back, and no amount of pain could ever stop me from finding my way back to her. Ro is all I have left, and as her big brother, I need to keep her safe.
When I head to my room, the steam emanating from the bathroom makes my brows twitch.
I walk inside and watch as Lana clutches her arms close to her naked body, rivulets of water mixing with blood as it slowly washes off her hair and back.
I swallow as my eyes glide over her smooth body and ass, every curve making my mouth water and my cock twitch.
I once thought I was all that stood between Ro and the cruel outside world, and I tried so hard to shield her from the tough reality of living without parents or money. Tried so hard to keep her out of harm’s way, and none of it worked because they still went after her.
But she…
She came to help me without prejudice, risking her own life to save a girl she barely even knew, a girl who was the sister of her enemy.
When push came to shove, there was no hesitation … she simply annihilated her enemies like it was child’s play to her. As though she was waiting for a chance to unleash her wrath.
And I am in so much goddamn awe of her that I’m drawn closer, like a moth fluttering to a flame, knowing full well it will burn like the brightest fire, but it won’t dissuade me.
All this time, I thought we were the ones destroying her, but it turns out reality was quite the opposite.
She … has ruined me.
Her ruthless brown eyes connect with mine in a flurry of emotions as she glances at me over her shoulder when I come to stand in front of her.
But no amount of rage could ever convince me to stay away.
Lana
“Do you always watch girls shower?” I jest as Nathan comes to stand behind me.
He’s looking at me like he’s never seen me before.
“No,” he says with a low voice. “Just you.”
The smile disappears off my face. I feel like I just got caught masturbating even though I wasn’t. But the way he’s looking at me … like he’s completely infatuated with me, makes me swallow. Hard.
“You’re in my room,” he says, putting one hand on the wall beside me.
“Sorry, I just wanted to shower to get all this blood off, and this was the first one I found.”
His eyes narrow. “You chose my room, and you’re not afraid?”
I look around the open room, the metallic wallpaper so crude and emotionless, while the man who lives here is filled with so many of them. I gaze at the furniture in his room—the long, black couch, the metal cage in the back, the bed with poles, the rigging and entrapment items used to keep someone in place, along with all the whips hanging from the wall.