Total pages in book: 238
Estimated words: 231781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1159(@200wpm)___ 927(@250wpm)___ 773(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1159(@200wpm)___ 927(@250wpm)___ 773(@300wpm)
I rubbed my hand over my face. Jesus Christ. We didn’t have time for this. The Cove blew up, the townspeople were in a frenzy, most of them probably loading up to go check out the trouble for themselves, and this kid just happened to be there the other night and now here tonight? This was connected.
“I like red, though,” Rika teased her. “Do you like red?”
The girl just stared at her, and after a moment, reached out and touched Rika’s earring, enamored.
“Do you know what that was at the Cove, honey?” Rika asked.
The little girl looked around, fear etched in her eyes.
Rika tipped her chin at her. “It’s okay.”
The girl swallowed, finding her words. “No. I left the night you guys came and set the fire.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Rika told her. “We didn’t know you lived there.”
“I had already left my hiding spot when you got there,” she explained. “When the men came through the tunnel from the sea a couple of hours before.”
My eyes shot to Michael, seeing Micah, Rory, and everyone else join us.
“The men?” Rika asked.
The girl nodded.
“What did they look like?” Rory asked her.
“One looked like him.” The kid pointed to Michael. “But with darker hair.”
Darker hair and hazel eyes.
Aydin.
“The other one was hurt,” she said. “His hand.”
Taylor.
“What’s your name?” Rika asked.
But the kid took one more look around at all of us hovering over her and whipped out of Rika’s hold, slipping between Alex and Em and diving into the crowd.
“Wait, no!” Rika called as Banks lunged for the kid.
But she was gone.
No matter.
I looked to Micah, Rory, and then Em. “Aydin and Taylor,” I said.
They nodded.
The train went under Deadlow Island. I didn’t know how they’d gotten that far, or if they had help, but the tunnel could’ve certainly connected to Coldfield and the Cove tunnels, as well.
Michael shook his head. “Two nights ago…”
They’d been here for two days.
Motherfucker.
“And they just announced their presence,” Kai said, staring off at the black cloud dissipating into the air off the coast.
The town swarmed around us, people hopping into their cars, while others chatted wildly.
“Get out of your dresses,” Michael told the girls. “Everyone meets at Coldfield in thirty minutes! Go!”
Emory
Present
Lev and David carted everyone home in the SUVs, and after we’d scrambled into new clothes, and the kids and grandmas were secure at Kai’s parents’ estate, safely under the care of Katsu and Vittoria, we raced down the black highway, pulling on jackets. I slipped on a pair of black leather gloves Banks lent to me, since it was chilly.
But I was pretty sure it was because she didn’t want me leaving fingerprints.
I didn’t argue. She’d had more experience in this. The girls had filled me in last night on everything I’d missed over the years—Delcour, the Pope, Pithom, Evans Crist, Gabriel Torrance, and everything the guys did wrong—and right—in their quests for vengeance.
And Trevor. I’d known he was dead but not the extent of his demise. It all should’ve scared me. It was a lot to take in.
But I couldn’t help it. Something bubbled up inside me as Will drove, and I couldn’t believe how running wasn’t even an option. Even with the fear knotting my stomach, I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
Sensing him staring at me, I pulled my black ski cap on and glanced over at him in his black hoodie, and the veins in his tattooed hands bulging out as he gripped the wheel. His eyes flashed to me again, his mouth opening and closing.
“Stop looking at me,” I said, facing forward. “I’m coming, and you’re not stopping me.”
I knew he was worried about the mess he’d gotten me into, but he was forgetting that this was all my mess, too. I didn’t run anymore.
We pulled into Coldfield, the place swelling with a crowd, the explosion down on Old Pointe Road drawing people out of their houses instead of back in. Will didn’t even bother looking for a parking spot. He pulled up behind two cars, blocking them in, and shut off the engine.
Another SUV pulled up behind us, and everyone climbed out of both cars.
Will and I walked to the rear of the vehicle and pulled open the hatchback. He dug in a duffle bag, handing everyone their mask, but no one put them on yet, simply hooking them onto their belts.
Misha and Ryen jogged up, dressed in street clothes and ready to rock.
Will narrowed his eyes at his cousin, pausing. “What are you doing?”
But Misha just reached down, pulling out a black mask with a blue stripe. “This belong to anybody?”
Will dropped his eyes. “You don’t have to be here, man. You don’t have to be involved.”
Misha stared at him. “Yes, I do.”
He strapped his mask onto his belt and dug back into the bag, pulling out a white one for Ryen.