Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
I dig my heels in best I can, but it’s a pathetic attempt.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I hear Kincaid roar.
My heart skips a beat.
He’s here, he’s here.
I try to lift my head to look at him, but I can only stare at the muddy ground where his black combat boots come into view.
Is that…blood splattered on them?
Fear twists into me like a knife.
I remember that Kincaid lied to me about Clayton.
Oh god, what has he done?
“You’re a little late, doctor,” Michael says coldly. “She’s breaking.”
“She’s fine,” Kincaid says, and he steps forward to grab me, but Michael blocks him.
“Stay back, Wes,” Michael warns.
“Stay back?” Kincaid sneers. “Are you serious right now? She’s my fucking patient.”
“And a patient you’re fucking,” Everly says under her breath, so bitterly that it causes something to dig in the back of my skull.
She’s jealous.
“Fuck off, Everly,” Kincaid says. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“She’s breaking,” Michael says again. “And your sessions have been no help, that much I can see. Preventative, my ass. We need to do something. Take a look at her brain, see what her problem is. See if we can fix her.”
Excuse me, what? I think. I moan, trying to run, to scream, but I can’t.
“Hold on, Syd,” Kincaid says to me, trying to sound calm. “You entrusted her into my care. Both of you did,” he says to them, his voice brimming with raw anger. “So you’re not laying a single fucking finger on her head, or I swear to god I will burn this whole damn place down with you in it. Especially with you in it.”
“Idle threats,” Michael says. “You’ve said this before, and yet you’re still here.”
“I don’t make idle threats,” Kincaid growls. “She’s mine.”
Everly sighs. “Such a caveman. Fine, fuck, what do I care what you do. I don’t.”
Michael lets out a derisive snort.
“What?” Everly snaps. “I don’t care.”
“Right, dear,” Michael says sarcastically. “Sometimes I can’t tell who will be your downfall here, Sydney or Wes? Perhaps both of them, hmmm?”
Everly suddenly lets go of me, and I slump toward the ground, held up only by Michael’s cruel grip.
“All of you can go to hell,” Everly says, and I hear her walking off.
“You first,” Michael says under his breath, but he’s still holding me at an angle, as if I’m diseased.
“Michael, you’re traumatizing her,” Kincaid says in a low voice. “You think she can’t hear this right now, can’t feel this?”
Michael grunts and starts to release me. Suddenly, Kincaid rushes forward and grabs me by the waist, hauling me up.
“You need to be careful,” Michael says as Kincaid cradles my head against his chest. My entire body lets go, slumped against him. “You need to be a lot more careful.”
“Sounds like you’re the ones who need to get things under control,” Kincaid says. “One more mistake will put all of us over the edge. And you have the most to lose.”
Michael laughs bitterly. “That’s where you’re wrong, doctor. That’s where you’re wrong.”
Then he walks off, leaving Kincaid and me alone.
“Jesus,” he swears, exhaling heavily before kissing the top of my head. “Syd, are you okay?”
I try to speak, but it all comes out as gibberish.
“That’s okay,” he says. “I’ll take you to the boat. Come on.”
He leans down and scoops me up in his arms, carrying me past the totem pole and boardwalk, down the ramp, to the docks.
He carries me on board and down the stairs, and then takes me to his sleeping quarters, laying me down on the berth.
“You’re going to want to sleep for a few hours until the sedative wears off,” he says. “I’m not sure exactly which one they injected you with, but you should be okay. I’ll be right here keeping an eye on you. You’re safe.”
Then he kisses my forehead tenderly and pulls the blanket over me, tucking me in.
Am I safe when I don’t know you at all? I think. You lied to me. You have blood on your shoes.
Does he have blood on his hands?
“Good morning, sunshine.”
I groan, stirring until my head erupts in pain, as if someone is beating a drum inside. I blink my eyes open to see the hatch above me. But there is no sun. Only dark clouds that move quickly in the sky. The boat moves up and down, water sloshing against the sides and the dock.
I slowly turn my head to see Kincaid sitting in a seat in the corner of the cabin, a mug of something that smells like mint tea in his hand. He has dark circles etched under his eyes, his stubble turning into a beard. He looks exhausted, which makes me imagine I must look worse.
“Don’t try to get up right away or make any sudden movements,” he warns me, voice stern yet quiet. “You’ll be groggy for a while. I have no idea how much of the sedative Everly gave you, but it was close to a dangerous amount. You were out cold all night long.”