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)
“My two bastards,” she says as she takes in me and my brother. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“We want to know why?” River asks before I can get my words out. He’s far more outspoken than I am.
Rae smiles. It’s not filled with humor. Instead, I see pity in her eyes.
“You shouldn’t have come here. I won’t give you a happy ever after story, and I don’t owe you anything. You both needed to learn how to survive in this dark, demented world.”
“You sold your own flesh and blood.” This time, I find my voice.
“You weren’t mine. I never wanted you.” Her words are venomous, and I can’t deny, they cut deep. “You were forced upon me when my uncle abused and raped me. If I could have killed you before you were born, I would have.”
Last night, Harper told River and me about our conception, so my mother’s revelation comes as no surprise to us. I understand what it’s like to be a victim, but that doesn’t give her the right to punish innocent children.
Looking at her now, I can see there’s nothing inside her—no emotion, no compassion, no love. I glimpsed her emptiness when I saw her at the gala. Now I see it clearly.
“Why not give us away to a family who wanted children?” River’s question causes her to laugh out loud.
“I wanted you to learn there’s no love in this world. Women and children are just pawns. Men use them for their own purpose, for their own pleasure.”
“You’re sick,” I bite out as I pull the gun from my belt holster and shove it in her face. “You are nothing more than a monster.”
“Do it,” she bites out, as she looks into my eyes. There’s no fear there, not even an inkling. “If you have the courage.”
“We both do,” River says as he steps beside me, his own weapon pointed at her.
“You are nothing to me,” she bites out.
That’s when two gunshots go off, taking me by surprise. My brother and I have both reacted at the same time to our mother’s words and fired our weapons.
The blood that sprays out from the two bullet holes, one in her head and one in her chest, coats River and me. I look at him, and he returns my gaze. Our expressions reflect our shock at what we’ve just done as well as our overwhelming relief.
“It’s over.” The words fall from my lips easily.
“It is,” my brother agrees.
HARPER
I never thought I’d be the one wielding the weapon.
Each time I was taken to the darkened home Bane reveled in, I thought I would die there. But that’s not how my story’s going to end.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Dante asks me.
I nod. “Yes. I’m not going to dwell on the past.” I don’t intend to have a long conversation with the monster who tormented me. “It will be a quick but painful kill. I want him to suffer before he dies.”
I am determined to do this on my own, so I leave Dante in the hallway and enter the cell where I find Bane bound to a chair. He smiles up at me when he sees me walk in.
“The girl who thought she could run from me.” His voice isn’t as confident now as he watches me move.
The blade in my hands is sure to send ice down his spine. And the rubber gloves I’m wearing for my own protection must give him pause.
“Are you ready to die?” I ask him with an arch of my brow.
Bane shrugs. “I’ve lived a good life. You think killing me will stop all the bad things going on in the world. It won’t.” He gives me a sadistic grin that makes my body shudder.
Ignoring his comment, I say, “You think you broke me.”
“I did.”
Shaking my head, I smile. “I’m stronger now than I ever was.”
“You were ready to die not so long ago,” he challenges me.
I tip my head to the side. “When you held me under the water, I was ready to die. That’s true.” I nod in agreement.
“You knew if you didn’t die, I’d make sure you’d wish you were dead. Just like in the good old days.”
I shrug. “There were moments, I did wish that. But yesterday, I chose to die to save the people I love. I’m no longer a toy you can play with.”
He chuckles at me. “You truly think you’re more to that Savage bastard than you were to me?”
“I know I am.”
There’s an evil glint in his eye, and even though I’m the one in control, there’s still a small part of me, a little girl inside, that wants to cower and hide.
I fight it.
I’m not going to allow the asshole to take this victory away from me. I’m in charge now. I’m the one with his life in my hands.