Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“I’m not scared of you, Dylan. I’m done being scared.”
“We’ll see about that.”
He pulled out a set of handcuffs, and I held my breath as he used them to secure my hands. It was hard to believe that I ever cared about this man. He was so cold and cruel. I hated being so close to him. And the stench of him brought bile to the back of my throat, and I had to turn my head and take a deep breath to keep from getting sick. “Where’s the kid?”
“He’s not here.”
“Don’t lie to me, Casey. You know I hate it when you lie.”
“I’m not lying, Dylan.” I swallowed, trying to stop my voice from shaking. “He’s staying at a friend’s house tonight.”
“Is that right?” He leaned down and looked under Toby’s bed, and when he didn’t find him there, he walked over and pulled the curtains back. Becoming frustrated, he turned to me and warned, “Tell me where he is, or I’m gonna hurt him when I find him. And I’m gonna hurt him bad.”
“He’s not...”
The closet door opened, and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when Toby stepped out and announced, “I’m here.”
“There he is!” Toby’s eyes darted over to me, and pure panic marked his face when Dylan slipped his arm around him. “You know, I’ve spent a long time looking for you and your momma.”
He took hold of Toby’s arm, then grabbed mine and tugged us out of the room and down the hall. “I’d almost given up on finding you until your mom’s boyfriend showed up at the house.”
Stunned, I looked up at him, and he snickered when he saw the surprised look on my face. “Oh, you didn’t know about that, huh?”
I glanced up at his face, and when I saw the bruises and scabs, I started piecing it together. Sutton’s hands and the bloody t-shirt. He’d gone to see Dylan while he was out on his run, and from the looks of it, he’d done a real number on him.
When we reached the living room, Dylan shoved me and Toby down on the sofa as he rambled on, “Well, your guy thought he was clever. He came late at night and parked down the street, but there’re cameras on every street, and I have access to every single one of them.”
He sounded so smug as he went on to tell me how he’d used the license plate to track Sutton down, because he knew he’d find me if he found him. I wasn’t exactly shocked that Sutton had gone to Dylan’s and beat the hell out of him. I’d seen the look in his eyes every time I had a nightmare or jumped at an unexpected noise. It was the same way when he looked at my scars.
Dylan went on to tell me that he’d watched the house for hours, waiting for his chance to come for us. Apparently, he spent most of that time with a bottle in his hand. “What do you want, Dylan?”
“I want what’s mine, and I’m here to take it.”
“Then, take it.”
I knew Zeke was outside. He would’ve been there to help if he could, so that had to mean something had stopped him. And there was only one thing that could’ve done that—the gunshots. I didn’t want to take a chance on Kay or Sutton or anyone else getting hurt, so I did the only thing I knew to do. I played into his insanity.
“We’ll go. We won’t fight you.”
“You really expect me to believe that?”
“I mean it, Dylan. No one has ever wanted me the way you do, and I haven’t done right by you. I’m really sorry for that.” Just saying the words made me sick to my stomach. I hated Dylan, and I hated the idea of even pretending to care about him. But I didn’t have a choice. “Just give me a chance to make it up to you.”
“You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?” His eyes narrowed. “After all the bullshit you’ve pulled?”
“Please, Dylan. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“There she goes with the begging again. You don’t get it!”
He reached down and grabbed me by the throat, squeezing tightly as he lifted me from the sofa and tossed me to the floor. The handcuffs dug into my skin and made it impossible to move. I could only lay there and watch as Dylan’s foot came toward me. It slammed into my stomach, knocking the breath out of me.
“You did this!”
He kicked me again, and I saw stars.
Trying to stop him, Toby jumped up and rammed into Dylan, trying with all his might to tackle him. He didn’t budge. He just stood there and laughed, “Nice try, kid.”
Toby balled his hand into a fist and tried hitting him, but Dylan grabbed his hand and twisted it, bringing Toby to his knees. He cried out in agony, “Ahhh, stop!”