Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
By the time I reach the hallway, I have the syringe prepped in my hand. When my eyes land on Harper, I smile because she has Mrs. Atwood’s back facing me. Within seconds, the woman is out cold. Now we need to move quickly.
“Let’s go.” I throw the unconscious woman over my shoulder, and Harper and I race for the door.
It’s time to give Rayne the vengeance she needs and deserves.
11
RAYNE
Seeing my mother again is harder than I thought. Her mask is off now, and even though she’s passed out, and will be for a while, my stomach churns as I look at her in the seat beside me.
Dante, who’s at the wheel, keeps glancing in the rear-view mirror. His focus is on me, rather than the road. I know he’s worried about me, but knowing I’ll soon get closure makes me feel stronger than I expected.
I’ve waited a long time for this moment. When I first learned my mother sold me to make a name for herself among the traffickers, I wanted to kill myself. For a long time, I thought about taking my own life, but in the end, I realized there was no way I could because I had to stay alive for River. There were several botched attempts, though. Maybe, deep down, when I held those blades to my wrists and walked into harm’s way, I knew I would survive. And now I’m happy I did.
“Rayne,” Harper’s voice catches my attention as she looks at me over her shoulder from where she’s sitting in the front passenger seat. “Are you okay?”
“It’s strange seeing my mother here,” I tell her. “It’s been such a long time since I laid eyes on her. It’s almost surreal.”
“But this time you’re in charge,” Harper says gently, a small smile on her lips.
As we weave through the streets, I no longer feel nervous. There was tension twisting in my gut all night. But after leaving the gala, I’m more at ease, even with the woman who gave birth to me in the car.
Harper is right. This time I’m in control, and I know as soon as we get her back to the house, we’ll have her bound to a chair and ready for questioning in the outbuilding situated in the grounds of the rental.
I’m still not sure I want to hear what she has to say, but I’m hoping it will offer me the closure I need. This moment has been years in the making, and it’s all her own doing. I keep telling myself she brought this on herself, but I don’t know if I’m trying to justify what I know I have to do.
There are no doubts in my mind, though, my mother must die. River and I were nothing but pawns in her game, and she played it well. But now it’s going to come to an end.
We all have choices to make in our lives, and there are times when we must decide whether to do good or bad. No one is born one way or the other. It’s a decision we all make consciously. My mother chose to be bad.
When Dante finally pulls up the drive and we come to a stop outside the front porch, I push open the door and exit the car as quickly as I can. I didn’t realize just how stifled I’d been feeling in there.
“Hey.” Dante is at my side, his arm wrapped around my middle. “We’re going to finish this together. Harper and I will be by your side throughout,” he promises, and all I can do is nod. “Take Rayne inside, Harper. I’ll be there in a minute.”
I make my way into the house with Harper. My heart thuds against my chest as I glance at the woman who’s come to mean so much to me. I know I’ve fallen in love with her. I haven’t told her yet, because the realization is still fresh in my mind. It’s the same emotion I get when I look at Dante. When I think of either of them getting hurt, it brings out a rage in me I didn’t think I was capable of feeling.
We both settle on the sofa in the living room. Her eyes are on me, watching me and waiting for me to speak. There’s been this unspoken communication between the three of us since we first met. We know when one of us needs space or time. It’s a wordless understanding involving occasional glances and small smiles. I can read their emotions in their expressions in the same way they can read mine.
“It’s real,” I finally whisper as I consider what Dante is doing at this very moment—tying my mother to a chair in the outbuilding.
“It is.” Harper nods. “I think I’ll feel the same way when we finally capture Bane. I wanted so badly to do it tonight, to finally close the door to my past.”