Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 114551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
As if on cue, The Circle members begin to flee, knowing these woods are not safe for any of us, not now that we’re only days away from completing the transition into new leadership. They’re growing desperate, running out of time, but they can’t touch me. I’m too strong.
Not wanting to hang out to see what monsters will emerge from the darkness, I nod toward Cara. “Let’s go,” I say, already one of the last remaining in the bottom of the tomb.
She doesn’t hesitate, slipping out of the old cloak and hurrying to my side before pushing in front of me to walk up the stairs first, not wanting to be left with Hartley at her back. But fuck, I’m not particularly fond of having him at mine. But he’d be a fool to try anything on me now, especially in here. He knows what my training was like, and he sure as fuck knows he doesn’t stand a chance.
After making our way up the old stone stairs, I pull the heavy door open and step out into the cool night. Cara follows, looking disorientated, and I press my hand to her lower back, leading her through the darkness and back toward my car.
Cara glances down at the deep cut on her hand, sucking in a breath as if only now allowing herself to feel the pain. “That was some real bullshit in there,” she tells me. “What the fuck was that anyway? Who the hell goes around sharing the same blade? I’m going to need a visit to the fucking clinic. What if one of those assholes is HIV positive or has hepatitis or malaria or some shit like that? You could have warned me what I was walking into.”
“Would knowing have made it any easier?”
“Yes,” she spits before reconsidering. “No. Maybe. Fuck, I don’t know.”
“Just be happy it’s over.”
“For now,” she scoffs. “I’m still going to have to go back in four days and watch a fucking human sacrifice. Not exactly something that was on my bucket list.”
Growing frustrated, I don’t respond as we continue walking, trying to calm myself, when a noise in the distance has my back stiffening.
Scanning the thick trees, I search the shadows before finally finding what I’m looking for. Damien Santos—A.K.A., The Ghost—Empire’s second-best assassin, coming right after me. The fucker has a real gift for disappearing right when shit gets real. Some think he’s a legend, but not me. I think he’s a fucking coward, terrified of facing the consequences of his own actions. If you’re going to do a job like this, you can’t be scared to die. And Santos? I don’t think I’ve ever met such a pussy in my life.
I clench my jaw, wanting nothing more than to put this bastard down, especially after the stray bullet he put through Oakley’s arm in the warehouse, but my time will come, I’m sure of it. And if it happens to come over the next four days, I might even be nice enough to allow Oakley to be the one to pull the trigger.
Santos stares heavily, but not in the way he’d stalk his mark, and I realize that he’s come to deliver a message. He’s too good to be caught out, even by me. He’s not here for an attack. This is a warning that he’s coming for me.
This is all a fucking game to him, and he thinks he has me right where he wants me. He’s trying to gloat, but in my opinion, he’s got nothing to gloat about. He could have taken me out the second I stepped out of the tomb, but that would have been too easy. He’s looking for the challenge.
Taking me out is going to be his biggest accomplishment, a career move that others could only dream of being skilled enough to make, but I’ll never let it happen, not now that I’ve almost got everything I’ve ever wanted. He’ll never get close enough.
Sensing my unease, Cara looks up at me with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?” she demands, her gaze flicking to the shadows. “Is someone out there?”
“No,” I tell her, giving her a shove to keep her moving before dropping my gaze away from Santos, knowing he’s not something I need to worry about tonight. “Keep walking. We’re fine.”
Cara nods, and with that, we break out of the woods and back to the side of the road, finding my SUV right where I left it. She scurries to the passenger door, grabs the handle, and impatiently waits for me to unlock it. The second I do, she climbs in and slams the door behind her with fear in her eyes, proving once and for all that she doesn’t have what it takes to withstand the ugliness of The Circle.
And without a doubt in my mind, I know this world is going to claim her. It might not be today or tomorrow, maybe not even next week or next year, but at some point, if Empire doesn’t beat her to it, she will succumb to the fear and take her own life. I just hope Sawyer is prepared because when she does, it’s going to kill him too.