Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
He doesn't have to mention who the little girl is. We all know it's the one who was also found deceased.
"Gaines is a sick fuck," Hemlock says, his eyes landing on me as I cross the front yard toward the entrance of the house.
"He's tying up loose ends," I say as I walk up and look down at the dead guard on the front porch. "Poor bastard."
"Umm, guys?" We all pause at the sound of Casper's voice. "We might need some help here."
Through the mic, I can also hear the growl of another man's voice, which normally wouldn't bother me, but then the tiniest whimper comes through, and I'm out of there.
Somehow Hemlock is right beside me as we haul ass back to base several blocks away. It seems we both thought it would be a waste of time to grab one of the vehicles to get there.
By the time we rush inside the house we commandeered for this situation, Aspen is curled up on the sofa with Nyx standing over her.
"I'll fucking kill him," I say as we enter, but Hemlock gets between the two of us.
"How many fucking kids have to die before you tell the fucking truth?" Nyx yells at Aspen, who is covering her head with her arms as if she suspects the man is going to hit her. I can honestly say I don't know that he won't.
The man seems like a ticking time bomb to me.
"This isn't helpful," Hemlock says as he grabs Nyx's shoulder to pull him away from Aspen.
The look in the man's eyes is feral when he spins to face Hemlock, and I can see that he's a little deranged.
It takes Hemlock stepping in even closer and demanding that he back the fuck down for the guy to snap out of whatever rage he was trapped in.
"She fucking knows something," Nyx snaps. "You don't spend the better part of a decade with a man and not know where he goes to hide."
"Take a fucking walk," Hemlock says, an evenness to his voice I don't possess.
Nyx looks back at Aspen one last time, and Hemlock has to grab me by the arm not to follow the motherfucker out of the house.
I don't know that man's story, but I have a gut feeling there's something that fucked him up beyond repair, and that is still controlling some of his behaviors today. With the way he just acted, I don't know if any of us can trust him to keep his shit together when it's most important and that makes him detrimental to our team.
Chapter 32
Aspen
I swear my teeth are chattering. That guy's reaction is so different from the way Damien would act. He was hostile and volatile, and I don't know which one is worse.
"Aspen," Nolan whispers, and I don't waste a second unfolding and rushing into his embrace when he sits beside me on the couch.
I don't give a shit how weak it makes me look, that I fold over in half when someone yells at me. It's about self-preservation, and I would've bet that guy would've put his hands on me in the next breath if Nolan and Hemlock hadn't returned to the house.
"Peach," he whispers when I cling to him even harder. "I need you to think."
He doesn't approach the topic the same way the other guy did, but it's clear that he also thinks I'm hiding something.
"I'm not protecting Damien," I say when I pull my face back. "I would never."
"I know," he quickly agrees.
"We just need you to consider what else Damien could mean by mentioning the summer house," Hemlock says, his voice calm, yet not in the least soothing.
The man looks as mean and unfriendly as the other guy who was yelling at me does.
"I don't know," I tell him honestly.
"I know this is difficult, Peach, but he wants you to find him. I don't think he's playing you. He thinks you know exactly where they are."
I don't know how much truth there is to that because from the discussion the guys here were having, the bomb that was planted in that house was meant to kill everyone. The trap was set to make the world believe that Eli Gaines was dead, much the same way I was led to believe that Nolan died all those years ago.
"I don't have a clue."
I watch as Nolan's throat works on a swallow, and I know whatever comes out of his mouth next is something neither one of us will like.
"Was there ever a time when things weren't as volatile? When maybe he confided in you? Spoke about hopes and dreams? What he wanted his life to look like when he took over for your father?"
I shake my head. "He was—"
"I don't want intimate details, Peach. I'm already planning on killing the man. He's narcissistic. It might be something he mentioned in passing. The man expects you to hang on to every single word that has ever come out of his mouth. This is something he thinks you know."