Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“You got five motherfucking seconds to explain yourself,” I warned him.
“Ariella LeBlanc is the only skeleton I have in my closet. I’ve never come close to it being aired in my career. I’ve lost sleep over the fact that she’d come forward. Someone would find her and offer her money to talk,” he said, then lifted his eyes to meet my glare. “I met her on a business trip. She worked at a club I frequented. One look at her, and, well, I was hooked. It went on for six months, and then one day, she told me she was pregnant. I wrote her a check for half a million and told her to get an abortion and the rest was hush money. I never went back. Ten years later, I did send out some feelers when my political career was taking off. I wanted to make sure that door was closed tight. There was no sign of her. Not a trace.”
There were several things running through my head as he spoke, but the one thing that trumped them all.
“How many years ago?” I demanded, my hands shaking at my sides. I fisted them, but the tremors of the unleashed wrath expanding with every breath I took didn’t ease.
“Almost twenty-five,” he replied.
I exploded with a loud roar as I charged him, grabbing his shirt and throwing him back against the wall. The monster in my chest had torn me wide open and stepped out to take control. I wanted to rip him limb from limb. See him beg for mercy. Bleed out at my feet while I watched the life dim from his eyes until he was a bloody corpse.
A loud sound came from behind me, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered. This bastard had paid for Rumor to be aborted. MY RUMOR. He’d wanted to kill her before she was born. I felt hands on my arms pulling at me, but I jerked free as an animalistic sound tore from my throat. He was going to die.
“KING!”
I heard my name, but it barely registered. They could hang me on a cross for this, but I would end this man.
Arms wrapped around my chest and arms, pulling me back. I fought, snarling and cursing, but I couldn’t break free.
“YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!” I told him.
His eyes were wide, and his face was as white as the shirt he was wearing.
“What the fuck, King?” Storm was close to my ear.
I threw my head back and a loud, “FUCK!” followed it as the hands around my chest eased up almost enough for me to break free.
“A little help here?” Wells said on my other side.
“He broke my fucking nose! I’m doing all I can!”
That was Sebastian. Why was he here? Who was with Rumor?
“Rumor!” I demanded, turning frantically toward the door.
“She’s with Maeme and Stellan. Thatcher is in there, too, keeping his eyes on everyone. Not to mention, she’s got a goddamn illegal Taser Maeme put in her purse,” Sebastian said.
“Someone needs to start explaining what the hell is going on in here,” Monte said, slamming the door behind him as he walked inside. His eyes swung to Jefferson’s and back to me. “Did you attack Jefferson?” he asked incredulously.
“When I get free of these three, I’m gonna fucking kill him,” I replied, seething as I stared at the man who had given the woman I worshipped life, but had left her to be killed. Paid for it. She’d lived a goddamn nightmare, growing up, while he spoiled that bitch daughter of his and gave her everything she wanted.
“Stop!” Storm barked at me. “We aren’t letting you kill Jefferson. Calm the fuck down.”
“Someone needs to start explaining,” Barrett demanded.
I hadn’t even realized he was in here too.
I didn’t take my eyes off the bastard still pressed against the wall, watching me like I was a madman. He had no idea how fucking insane I was. But he would. When these fuckers let me go.
“I …” he started, swallowing hard. “I recognized Rumor. Or someone who is identical to her. She … I knew her mother once. I wanted to verify that she was who I thought she was. I didn’t realize it was going to set him off. I was going to him about it out of respect since it was clear she, uh … was his. I didn’t know he’d react like this, or I would have spoken to Stellan.”
“You tried to have her aborted, you piece of fucking trash!” I shouted as the others held on to me tightly. They couldn’t hold me forever.
“Fucking hell,” Monte said, walking over to sit down where Jefferson had been earlier.
“Are you saying you knew Rumor’s mother?” Barrett asked.
“YES, he fucking knew her. He used her, then walked away. Left her money to abort the kid he’d made and never looked back,” I said as my entire body shook.