Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
It’s probably useless, but damn it, I’ll use it if necessary.
“This might not do much, but I could jab it into your eye, let the rust crawl into your brain, you pathetic scum.”
“You’ll pay for this,” Gerard snarls, hands still covering himself.
Oh, I’ll pay for it? Haven’t I already paid for it? This man took me away from my family by having me thrown in prison, then proceeded to try and get away with it, and is still doing so. He’s a monster, and soon, he’ll be right where he belongs.
“For what? Please, enlighten me on my crimes.”
“If not for you and your damned club, I wouldn’t be here.”
The nerve of him.
I throw my head back in a harsh laugh. “You have to be kidding. You’re a damn murderer. You slaughtered an innocent girl, maybe more. And you’re seriously blaming me for your predicament?”
His eyes blaze dangerously. “I’ll savor every second as I squeeze the life out of you.”
He charges at me, and I scramble back, dodging his attack. He’s lethal, I know he could kill me, but I won’t let him put it over me. With a swift kick from my good foot, I catch him in the back as he pivots, hurling him forward. A loud crunch fills the room, what part of him I connected with, I don’t know but it was enough to send him away.
He roars, head snapping back, eyes drilling into me.
He lunges again, catching me around the waist just as the door bursts open and Walker strides in. A gun in hand and an unsettling void in his eyes, a chill runs through me. It’s a look that signals that he’s about to do something I won’t like. He levels the gun at Gerard and thunders, “Get off her.”
Gerard releases me instantly, hands raised. “She was trying to kill me.”
The nerve of this man.
I can’t focus on him right now. Instead, I focus on Walker.
“Walker,” I say cautiously. “What’s happening?”
His eyes lock with mine, a careful smile curls his lips. “I’m sorry, Serenity, the plan’s changed. I can’t let either of them live. I just...I can’t have him in a world that I’m breathing in. I’ll never be free, and neither will you.”
My eyes widen.
Gerard gasps.
Walker turns the gun on Gerard, aims it right at his forehead, and fires.
Blood splatters from the back of Gerard’s head, and then he falls to the ground.
Just like that...he’s dead.
Gone.
"Walker," I whisper, my body trembling with shock. "What..."
His eyes meet mine, and they're so sad it breaks my heart. Walker is a good guy. Sure, he might have tangled himself up in some dangerous and illegal things, but deep down, he has a good soul. That soul has been tarnished by Hound; years of abuse have slowly stripped away every piece of who he is.
I feel that.
I know exactly how that can shape who you are.
"I can't just have them in prison," Walker tells me, his voice shaky. "That isn't enough, Serenity. Hound will find a way to kill me, and this bastard will find a way to bring you down. I can't live with that."
"You'll go to prison," I say softly, taking a step toward him. "Don't you see? Now it'll be you."
He smiles brokenly at me. "When I was five, Hound tried to teach me how to fish. He got so angry because I couldn't get it right. I couldn't cast the line correctly, couldn't do anything he asked, because I was five. He decided the only way I'd learn was to teach me a lesson, so he hooked me. He actually cast his line at me, and the hook lodged in my skin. I was five."
My heart breaks in two.
"When I was twelve, he wanted me to join the club and start learning the ropes. My mother wouldn't allow it. She had managed to keep me away from him for most of my life and did everything to keep it that way. He came over and beat her so badly that she ended up on life support. She didn't make it."
I press a hand to my mouth, overwhelmed with pain so familiar, I want to wrap my arms around him.
"I got out of there, stayed away from him, did everything I could to free myself from the monster who sired me. When he got locked away, I finally felt free enough to live my life. I got into trouble, I was so messed up, and then when he got out and tracked me down, I thought maybe I could use him to help me out of that trouble. Then I met you."
A tear rolls down my cheek. "You don't have to do this for me."
"I'm doing it for both of us. Prison is a holiday compared to the life I'll have to live if Hound survives."