Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I stare at her dumbfounded, my tongue heavy and my throat dry. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Then I see it in her eyes, the fear of being rejected. She blinks away some tears threatening to fall from the corner, and I finally snap out of it.
“I love you too,” I say, the words feeling foreign but true.
“You do?” she asks, giving me a shy smile.
“It’s about damn time you two admit it,” Colt chimes in. Fuck, I forgot he was still in the bathroom with us.
I turn off the water and open the shower stall. Colt is already dried off and partially dressed when I grab a fluffy towel from the rack and hand it to Leni before grabbing one for myself.
“And you are okay with this?” I ask my brother while stepping out of the shower to dry off.
“Yes, I already knew you guys cared for each other, so there is no surprise here. I don’t particularly like sharing Leni’s love, but I’m willing to try. I don’t know how we’re going to make it work, but I’m sure we can figure it out.”
Colt’s words have a weird effect on me. It’s like there is a weight lifted off my chest that I never knew was there. I suck in a breath, and somehow it feels lighter to breathe than before.
“You look relieved,” Colt points out. “Were you worried I would punch you again?”
“Wait, when did you punch Nix?” Leni questions as she steps in between us, wrapping a towel around her body.
“When I first saw him again, right before we came to rescue you,” Colt admits before adding, “he deserved it.”
“It’s all right, it barely hurt,” I lie. It hurt like fucking hell. Colt didn’t hold back in his swing.
Leni shakes her head and frowns, but lets the subject go. “We need to get out of here.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I say as we all get dressed quickly.
Colt and I already arranged the bodies to make it look like they were in bed sleeping. I set everything up to start a fire and let it appear to be an accident. Now that we are somewhat clean and dressed, it’s time to blow this joint. Figuratively and literally.
A few minutes later, we are all downstairs and out the back door. We walk around the house in an eerie silence. I think we’re all holding our breath, waiting for someone to jump out at us. I scan the area continuously, looking in every dark corner, behind every bush and tree we pass until we finally get to the cars.
“I’ll take your car. You can ride with Nix,” Colt tells Leni before leaning down and kissing her on the lips. She briefly hugs her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer before releasing him. He gives me a nod before getting in Leni’s car to start the engine.
Leni and I get into my car. I push the key into the ignition and turn it, making the car roar to life. Leni buckles up beside me as I reverse the car back into the street. As soon as I’m on the road, I hit the gas. I don’t want us anywhere near the house when it goes up in flames.
I learned my lesson the first time.
31
COLT
For the second time in two weeks, there are fresh bruises on my face that will take time to fade. Just when the horror show on my forehead started to disappear, I had to go and get myself tied up and beaten.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I examine each one. Some might cringe at the sight, but to me, they’re like a badge of honor. The visual proof of what I was willing to do to protect Leni, to protect all of us. Proof of what some people are willing to do for revenge, and how that drive for vengeance can drive them crazy.
I run a hand over the glass to wipe away the steam from my shower, getting a better look at my hard, glittering eyes. Yet another tragic house fire claimed three victims—that’s the story on the news. Maybe George had a point about the police not giving a shit, since they seem satisfied with taking things the way they appear on the surface. A tragedy. The kind of thing that happens all the time.
Ugly images flash through my mind as I shave carefully, wincing when I have to work around the colorful patches across my jaw and mouth. I might let it go and deal with the grow-out if I could stand the scratchy feeling of my beard coming in. Leni doesn’t like the feel of whiskers against her cheek, either. I’ll deal with the discomfort. It will pass.
Just like interest in George, Cecilia, and Mike will pass. The explosion of reports in the day or two immediately following the fire died down in no time. That’s the thing about a twenty-four-hour news cycle: there’s always another story to catch people’s interest. It’s like the whole world has turned into an infant who needs a rattle shaken in front of their face to keep them entertained. At least it works in our favor right now while we lie low, waiting to see whether there’s any further investigation into the so-called accident. A tragedy that wasn’t tragic at all.