Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
After high school, you planned out your next chapter. Really ambitious people set life goals even before then. I knew some girls that had their weddings planned by the time they were sixteen. My point is, that you made a series of decisions that would shape the rest of your life. I often dreamed of a life where I was that fortunate. Those kinds of decisions weren’t in the cards for me.
Not yet anyways.
I could picture the abhorrent looks on my parents’ faces if I dared to openly go against their regime. My rebellion was never bold and spontaneous. I weighed the pros and cons, always. Until recently that is. There was nothing like a little murder and the feel of a forbidden kiss to get you twisted up in a mess of secrets.
It’d been two weeks since Sainte’s party and with each passing day, my list of questions grew along with the acceptance of what Ciaran had divulged.
I lived in hoodies when I was at home because my family liked to keep the air on frigid, so hiding the marks hadn’t been too difficult. My broken nail was explained away without issue. Nails broke sometimes, we got them fixed. Me pretending nothing out of the ordinary happened was the real testament to my acting abilities.
I didn’t think I would be able to pull it off. Those first seven days I made sure I didn’t slip up, not daring to breathe too hard in case my mother somehow linked that one heavy exhalation to the chaotic night I’d had. The next seven days were spent remembering a certain someone pressed against me and struggling to conceal the tumultuous emotions I’d begun to feel.
More concerning was that I hadn’t heard a word from my sister since that night. Her phone went straight to voicemail for two days before ultimately being disconnected.
I’d tapped all the resources I had to see if there’d been any sightings of her, but thus far there hadn’t been a single one. It was as if she’d vanished. Unfortunately, my only other option was guaranteed to have a catch.
For Lamia, it would be worth it, but I had to consider my own well-being when it came down to attempting to make a deal with him. That’s if he would help me. I didn’t have much I could offer in return.
I wasn’t the only one frustrated with past and current events. Mel rolled onto her stomach and stared at me from the opposite side of the massive L-shaped sectional. I saw her in my peripheral and tried to ignore the look she was giving me. Grace served as a barrier between us with her legs propped up on the ottoman.
“You should make the call.”
I pretended to pull my attention away from the cinema screen none of us were really watching. “What call?”
“Lana.” Her tone said it all.
“I just don’t trust him—them.”
“You’re not even a little interested in hearing what he has to say about your sister or what Judicium was?”
I gave her a mock glare. Of course, she caught my slip-up and of course, she was hitting on the money. Mel had witnessed the whole staircase spectacle and only let it go four days ago. Now she’d moved on to this.
I’d been fighting with myself daily not to use the burner phone still hidden away in the well of my spare tire. I initially only sought it out so that I could make sure it wasn’t turned on. It would be hard to explain why my trunk was ringing if someone else at the house heard it go off.
Ever since I’d seen the phone with my own two eyes, I thought of it and the kiss that shouldn’t have happened entirely way too much, among other things.
“I don’t think they’ll hurt us,” Grace claimed in a quiet voice.
Mel and I shared a look before settling our gazes onto our pretty blonde friend. Her eyes darted between the two of us. When she shifted uncomfortably, I bit back a smile. We knew each other too well.
“Ky seems nice, that’s all.”
“You mean Michael Myers reincarnation?” Mel deadpanned.
“Don’t call him that. I’m being serious.”
I worried my lip, wondering just how much she’d spoken to this guy. I knew of him, but I didn’t know anything concrete beyond basic information you could find anywhere. For example, he was the polar opposite of her. He was the epitome of an apex predator. She would be his prey. His twin wasn’t much better, but at least he could be around people without putting them into a state of terror.
After being filled in about what happened during our brief time apart, I’d come to learn which mask Kyrous had been wearing.
“This is the one that slit Cooper’s throat, right?” And hacked off his head.
Her features softened and she nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, I don’t think they’ll hurt us.”