Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
She took one look at me, one look at the man behind me, and I knew.
This was about to get even uglier.
God. Dammit.
She crossed her arms over her ample chest—she really was pretty when she wasn’t scowling—and said, “Well isn’t this just typical. Why do you always do this, Felix?”
I felt my stomach burn at those words.
Why do you always do this, Felix?
As if he’d done it multiple times with multiple other people.
Great.
Just freakin’ great.
Mentally, I added a note to my ongoing checklist to never, ever sleep with Felix Alexander Kent again. Oh, and to never look into his eyes.
Leaving with my tail tucked between my legs, I headed home at a sprint.
CHAPTER 5
She’s a ten, but so is her anxiety.
-Val’s secret thoughts
VAL
I was dripping.
Utterly, and truly dripping.
And not because it was raining out.
Because Felix had been inside me, we hadn’t used a condom, and I was now running like my life depended on it.
The sprint to the car took ten minutes. The drive took fifteen. The run into the building took another five.
By the time I arrived at my post—the table where I’d be doing tarot card readings for the next few hours—I was spent.
My brain was just… done.
That had to be why I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me. It took everything I had to keep my focus on the young teens who were giggling as I was ‘reading’ one of the obviously popular boy’s palm.
“And you’re in love,” I said, using my powers of observation.
He kept looking back at one girl in particular, who was not in the middle of the group, but on the outside, almost as if she was trying really hard to fit in but wasn’t accomplishing it.
“Uhhh,” he hesitated.
“Ahh, so you haven’t declared your love for the brown-eyed beauty with glasses,” I said as I continued to fake read his palm. “Would you like your tarot read?”
He nodded eagerly, and so I did just that for him, pulling him the lovers card, the hermit card, and the Four of Wands.
“Four of wands,” someone called out. “Isn’t it cool that we have four wands to give you ladies.”
I nearly rolled my eyes at the kid’s crude joke.
“It’s not what you think,” I said softly as I explained. “The hermit card is indicative of solitude, or needing time alone. Taking a break from others.” I looked pointedly at the group at his back. “Maybe finding one person in particular to focus on would be good for you.”
The boy’s eyes went wide, as if he completely understood my meaning.
“The Four of Wands is marriage, home building, or aligning with your path and purpose. Possibly connecting with the right person or people and having a sense of belonging matching the path you want to take in life.”
He swallowed, and I knew I had him.
“The lovers card is, well, the love card,” I said softly. “Lovers stands for the utmost connection, harmony, love and attraction.”
He finally looked toward the girl who had disassociated herself even more from the group, almost as if she was ready to run.
“You might want to go catch her before she bolts,” I said.
He got up and left, just as the girl took off.
The group of asshole teens left, and there was a lull for the first time in a long time.
Long enough it should give me time to go to the bathroom and empty out my bladder that probably should’ve been taken care of over an hour ago.
I’d just gotten back and was surprised to find not a single person in the area waiting for their turn.
In fact, there wasn’t anyone, period, anywhere around me.
I finally allowed my mind to wander, my gaze going to the stupid crystal ball on my table.
It was just a prop.
I’d never been woo-woo enough to go that far into character. But it was pretty and…
A commotion in the area behind the tent I was in startled me from my ‘concentration’ on the crystal ball. I looked behind me just as what sounded like gunshots filled the air.
Bang.
The tent around me started to collapse from within.
People started running, but I was still in my seat when the fabric collapsed on top of me.
People were screaming, and I didn’t blame them.
Terrified myself as to what was going on, I fought my way out of the fabric, having done this enough times to know that panicking when the damn thing collapsed on you was not only unnecessary, but would hinder you even more if you fought it.
As I made my way through the yards and yards of fabric tent, I finally emerged on the other side into chaos.
My sisters were screaming.
A man—Winston Osborn—was on his knees on the ground bent over…
“Crimson!” I cried out.
I moved until I was on my knees, surrounded by my freaking out sisters, and kneeling in the blood of my sister.