Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Seems simple enough. While we’re on that subject, what are you going to do with the other girl?”
I glanced at him over my shoulder and pressed down on the push-handle. “Are you interested?”
“You know how I feel about her. Besides, I have another interest. I’m sure one of the acolytes wouldn’t mind. As long as she doesn’t speak.”
I chuckled, sobering as I seriously considered his question. Anya Kalani had come into Lolita’s life when they were just shy of fourteen, three years before we found her. At first, I’d been relieved to know Lolita had a friend by her side to endure all the unnecessary hardships she had to deal with—that was until I learned all about this disaster of a human being.
Anya was an unsightly fucking stain I wanted to eliminate. I’d considered killing her long before this day arrived, but then Lolita would have been sad, and I wasn’t there to be her comfort. Her happiness was the only thing that saved Anya’s life.
I had hoped the two would drift apart somehow but they remained inseparable. I always knew that realistically; she’d end up here too. This was the downside to always being right.
“Truthfully, I don’t know what to do with that viper. I’ll take advantage of her being here for now. Maybe she can be used as a Progenitor. If we can’t find some way to make good of her alive, she’ll benefit us when she dies.”
We turned down the hall that led to my office, and I spotted my brother waiting up ahead.
“I knew you’d be here,” he stated as I approached.
I hitched a thumb in Bishop’s direction. “Our cousin owes you four-hundred dollars.”
Emilio grinned and looked at him. “I’ll accept my winnings in cash.”
“In that case, I’ll make sure it’s a delayed bank transfer,” Bishop joked.
“I’m assuming you both have everything for our meeting. I don’t, so if you’ll excuse me.”
I left them to their banter and went to my office to retrieve the files I needed. Once I reviewed them, I checked the time and saw I still had some to spare. I fished Lolita’s cellphone from my briefcase and sat down at my desk, pulling the manor’s camera system up on my personal device. I hadn’t had a chance to look through her phone yet.
The operating system was bugged months ago, but there was always the slim chance something had been missed. I scrolled through her browser history, finding nothing I hadn’t already seen.
Next were her text messages. I’d viewed most of these already too. I clicked Anya’s name to re-read her thread and strongly began to lean towards making her a Progenitor. She wouldn’t be worth much elsewhere on the Isle.
Almost all of her texts were about men. A few were sent trying to lure Lolita out to bars to meet someone she had known all of ten fucking minutes. Somehow in that short span of time, Anya deduced they would be a good fit for my future bride.
"Come out and have a good time!" Anya had urged, her words accompanied by laughing and…eggplant emojis and tantalizing pictures of nightlife. A surge of disdain washed over me. How could Lolita ever have been charmed by such a superficial existence?
In my mind's eye, I could almost see the scene: the overwhelming music, the mob of faceless people, and amidst it all, Lolita, being approached by random men. My grip on the phone tightened, almost cracking its case. I took little comfort in knowing Lolita never went and rarely replied beyond telling her friend to stay safe and not go home with strangers, which should have been common sense.
Other than Anya, she didn’t talk to anyone. That made things easier for me. It took more effort to clip the wings of a social butterfly versus a lone one. I sat the phone aside and shifted my focus to mine. Lolita was making use of her limited mobility and exploring her surroundings.
It felt almost criminal that a lens could capture but a mere fraction of her allure. The way her hair cascaded down her back, her full lips that held a hint of natural rosiness, the soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed; everything about her was intoxicating.
Her dimpled smile and expressive brown eyes had caught me off guard back at the resort. I wanted to be the sole reason she smiled. Just as I wanted to see how beautiful she was when she cried. This wasn’t a passing desire, but a profound, soul-deep yearning. I wanted her—every inch, every secret, every thought.
I craved to be the only thought in her mind, the only desire in her heart. Now that she had come home, there were so many things for us to experience together. Years that needed to be accounted for.
I checked the time again and began gathering up my things, powering off Lolita’s phone before I returned it to the confines of my desk drawer and headed to the conference room. I would destroy it later. She’d have no use for it anymore.