Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
A curtain of bloody red dropped over Torus’s vision and a roar came from his throat as he rushed into the small hallway where the sounds were coming from.
The human male—it was the same one that had followed them the day before—looked up as Torus rushed at him. His eyes went from narrow and angry—filled with a mean kind of glee—to wide and frightened in an instant. He didn’t waste time trying to explain, instead, he turned and ran down the narrow hallway, which looped back into the food prep area,
Torus rushed after him, but his height was a detriment. The smaller human male was able to maneuver through the doorways without ducking his head—a move which cost Torus precious time. Before he knew it, the human male was out the back door and on his way to an Earth vehicle which was parked not far from the bungalow.
Torus still might have caught him if not for the shifting sands. The loose sand slid under his feet and the human was able to make it into his car and slam the door before Torus got to him.
Undeterred, Torus made a fist and pounded on the top of the car. It was one of those expensive vehicles he’d heard humans call a “sports car” but it was made of flimsy material. His first punch nearly caved the whole roof it. His second punch finished the job, making a huge hole.
“Hey, man—my car!” the human male who Torus now recognized as Mandrew Pate whined. “It’s a fucking Maserati—you can’t do this!”
“Watch me!” Torus growled and punched the driver’s side window. The safety glass was a tougher material—but it had been made to withstand collisions, not an encounter with an angry Giant Kindred in Rage. The glass spiderwebbed into a hundred tiny cracks and then shattered on his third or fourth punch.
Torus reached into the vehicle and grabbed the human male by the front of his shirt.
“Leave me alone!” The human tried to pull away. He was fumbling with the controls of his vehicle. “Let me go!”
“No! You’re going to answer for your crimes!” Torus pulled harder and the human’s flimsy shirt ripped in his grip.
Unfortunately, this allowed the human to get his vehicle started.
“You’re fucking crazy, man!” he shouted as he gunned the engine. The expensive sports car—looking considerably worse for the wear—sped away leaving Torus with nothing but a piece of fabric clutched in his fist and the Rage still pounding in his brain.
He wanted to go after the human male—wanted to catch him and drag him out of his vehicle and fucking end him. He—
What about Molly?
The thought intruded, over-riding even his Rage. Torus suddenly remembered that his mate might be hurt. Who knew what in the Seven Hells that bastard had done to her before Torus had made it back to the bungalow?
With a low curse, he rushed back to the little dwelling and ran inside.
The fresher door was still locked and he could hear frightened breathing coming from inside. Torus was reluctant to even knock on the door—he knew from his dreams that Molly had been trapped by her ex in this same situation, locked in the fresher and praying he wouldn’t get to her and hurt her.
“Molly?” he called, trying to use his softest, most soothing voice. “Sweetheart? Can you hear me?”
When there was no answer, he tried calling through the TET link again.
“Little bird, please come open the door. The human male is gone—it’s just me. Please come to me.”
But there was no answer through the TET link either.
Torus wasn’t sure what to do. He wasn’t going to knock or bang on the door but he was worried about Molly. He could feel her terror and sorrow through the link—it was working in a kind of wordless loop through her mind and she seemed powerless to break free of it.
Since he couldn’t send her words, he sent emotions. Love…caring…protectiveness…he sent and sent through the link, praying that at least some of what he was sending would get through to her and bring her out to him.
34
MOLLY
Molly didn’t know how long she was in the black hole. It was like a void had opened up inside her and it was filled with terror and horror and the awful fear of what he would do to her once he finally got to her. He was Zach—she could vividly remember how his face would twist with rage when he got angry at her for the least little thing.
But wasn’t there also some glee in his anger? Yes—he enjoyed being angry with her—he liked tormenting her. It was the same kind of mean pleasure a bad man gets when he kicks a dog or runs over a cat. Inside she knew he was laughing at her, even as he was raging—laughing at her helplessness, at her fear, her…