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)
CRACK!
Blood pours from his face, and I ram my fourth knife straight into his back.
He yelps and cries out in pain.
“Get away from me, you bitch!” He attacks me with his own knife, swiping it from left to right like a madman.
One cut slices through my arm, but I ignore the pain and grasp his wrist instead, bending it until it snaps and breaks.
“FUCK!”
The knife falls to the floor, and I pick it up and jam it into his belly, pulling it through.
He falls to the floor, bleeding everywhere, and I perch myself on top of him.
A knife comes out of nowhere, and he tries to ram it into my thigh, but I grasp that arm too and slowly bring his own knife back to his face.
“You thought you could take me? I murder men like you in my spare time,” I hiss. Leaning in close, I whisper, “Now fear me.”
He whimpers, the cries slowly becoming more agonizing as the blade pierces his eye. Blood sprays onto my face and body, but it only makes me smile harder. I take my time, making sure he’s alive to feel all the pain he deserves. And I don’t stop until his body stops writhing entirely.
When his body goes limp, I get off and pull out all the knives, looking around the auction room. The chairs are upended and the floor’s caked in blood, but in the back a rose with half its petals lies on the floor, and my eyes follow the trail of blood leading up to it.
A door is wide open. Behind it, a van is parked out on the street … Crystal’s eyes boring into mine.
“Crystal?” Caleb yells.
He knows her?
He bolts right past me, headed straight for the door through which they disappear.
But he’s no match for their speed.
The van doors slam shut right before it races away in front of Caleb.
“FUCK!” he growls out loud.
Too late.
She’s gone.
I clutch the knife tighter, fury overcoming me, and I roar out loud and rush toward the rest of the guards.
“LOOK AT ME!” I scream.
Slowly but surely, all the Bonesmen stop firing at my friends and home in on the blood caking my skin.
“Your leader is dead,” I say, pointing at Romeo’s dead body. “His blood is on my skin.”
Even Kai and Milo gaze at me in awe.
“And this will be your fate too if you don’t let us go. Now.”
The men swallow, fear settling in their bones.
The first one drops his gun.
Then the next.
And soon, all of them drops whatever they are carrying.
I walk through the hallway and chuck a knife at the last remaining guard still trying to keep us here.
He drops to the floor like a fly.
I walk past, blood smeared all over my body, but the second I lay eyes on my own damn brother along with his friends and Penelope, I stop moving entirely.
Felix’s eyes widen at the sight of me. Or rather, the violence I’ve inflicted upon these monsters.
I swallow back the lump in my throat. The secret I’ve been holding feels awfully heavy on my shoulders. Each step I take leaves a trail of blood on the floor.
“Lana?” he mutters, almost as if he doesn’t recognize me.
But his voice soothes my soul.
All of the years of suffering … all that bloodshed and the frenzy to murder …
It was all for him.
If he hates me now, so be it. I wouldn’t want to touch someone as violent as me with a ten-foot pole. Let alone the fact that I’m covered in someone else’s blood.
Instead, he runs at me, chucking his gun to the side, and wraps both arms around me.
I’m stunned to even react, blinking rapidly.
But I eventually cave to his safe arms, burying my face into his chest.
My body feels so heavy I can barely stand. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, the drugs have the upper hand again, and they’re draining all my remaining energy.
“You murdered him in cold blood,” Felix mutters.
“Do you despise me?” I ask.
“No,” he says, and I can hear him smile. “I’m proud of you.”
I grin against his chest and take in a breath.
“We should go,” Caleb says, clearing his throat. “This truce won’t last long.”
I lean away and watch the men stare us out.
Kai and Milo have helped Nathan up. “Can you walk?” Milo asks him.
Nathan nods. “I can try.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Alistair says as he approaches us from behind and places a hand on Felix’s shoulder. “Y’all can have a family reunion later.”
Felix supports me while we run toward the exit, with Kai and Milo keeping Nathan on his feet. At the back entrance, a blazing fire stops us. In front of it is Dylan, chucking random guards on top of a pile of bodies burning to a crisp.
“Hey, guys! Back already? I cleared out this area!” he says cheerfully. “Roasted them like sautéed chicken.”