Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Everything about this felt wrong as if I had been swallowed by some grim, twisted nightmare.
“This is William,” Nicolette added, her voice garbled and raw as she gestured toward him. “My driver.”
I turned, looking out the window, where the dark clouds above seemed to spiral like something out of a gothic painting, thick with the weight of an impending storm. The rain began to fall harder, slashing against the glass like ghostly fingers trying to claw their way in. My heart raced, every part of me screaming to turn back, to stop this madness.
"I don’t think I want to do whatever it is you’re doing,” I stated, my voice barely audible beneath the sound of the downpour.
Nicolette’s eyes widened with a manic intensity as she twisted to face me, the scars pulling grotesquely at her ruined lips.
“It’s too late for that,” she whispered, her voice hollow, like the wind through the halls of an abandoned cathedral.
William drove like a madman, the SUV swerving dangerously through the narrow streets of the town and garnering all the attention the natives detested. The tires screeched as we sped around corners, the engine growling like some wild beast. Panic surged through me, and I tossed the basket aside, fumbling for the seatbelt and hurriedly fastening it around me.
“That’s going to slow us down,” Nicolette said, her mangled face turned toward me, eyes gleaming with something dark and unsettling.
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. It wasn’t just my life I had to worry about if this thing collided with something, or worse. The SUV shot out of the town, speeding so fast I knew people must have seen us.
There were eyes everywhere on the Isle. Always watching. Always knowing. Alexander would know. Within minutes, word would reach him.
Alexander.
My heart twisted painfully at the thought of him. How would he react to this? His Lolita, taken from under his watch, or worse… running away. Even if I found a way out of this car, even if I somehow escaped Nicolette and William, I had broken the fragile trust Alexander had placed in me.
Would he punish me?
The thought of his anger made my blood run cold, but more than that, the fear of losing what I had slowly come to want tore through me. He’d never forgive me for this. The SUV lurched to a sudden stop, the tires skidding on the slick ground. Both William and Nicolette threw open their doors in one fluid motion, moving with a frantic urgency.
William was at my side in seconds, yanking my door open and grabbing me roughly by the arm.
"Move fast!" he barked over the roar of the storm, the rain pouring down in thick sheets, drenching us within moments. The wind howled, picking up leaves and debris as if the very Isle itself were furious. And perhaps it was.
"What?" I yelled back, my voice barely cutting through the chaos. I stumbled as he dragged me from the car, my boots slipping on the muddy ground.
A simple fall dress and light jacket were no match for the relentless rain. I wasn’t dressed for a dash through the storm, this escape I hadn’t asked for. My stomach lurched, and I fought the growing nausea clawing at me. They were practically dragging me now, forcing me into the woods, the ground uneven and treacherous beneath my feet.
I struggled to keep up, my breath hitching as my heels caught on roots and rocks. The rain soaked through my clothes, making every movement more difficult. I could feel my legs trembling beneath me, my heart racing as I fought not to trip. We finally emerged from the trees, and what lay before me stole what little breath I had left. A rocky slope stretched out before us, jagged and perilous, with one wrong step likely to result in broken bones—or worse.
At the bottom of the embankment, a small boat rocked violently, being hammered by the rain as it sat in the churning waters of the lake. The water, usually so serene, was an angry vortex of waves and foam, thrashing about in the storm. Even if I wanted to leave, I would never be stupid enough to do it in these conditions. This was suicide.
And I didn’t want to go.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. There were people here—people I didn’t want to leave. Anya’s safety still weighed on my mind. There was Alexander and our baby. My hand unconsciously brushed my stomach, and the thought of leaving felt like a betrayal. I was about to make the same mistake my mother had made. I’d be no better off than she had been. What kind of life would that be? I thought of Alexander again. Of the life I had come to know with him, the twisted, dark bond we shared. I couldn’t just run.