Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 167819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Instead of answering, my father walks over to the white sheet and yanks it off to reveal an old dingy twin mattress. It’s got stains all over it. I’m guessing sweat and blood. Some look dark brown like pop but I guess that could be blood too. Not sure. “I don’t understand,” I say and look over at Sin.
His body is rigid, eyes staring straight ahead, jaw clenched, and hands fisted by his sides. “Sin?” I ask, but he doesn’t even blink. Stepping closer, I place my hand on his shoulder and he jumps back from me. “Sin, what’s wrong?” I ask, eyes searching his wide ones. I don’t understand. “What am I missing?” I ask no one in particular.
Sin reaches out, grabs my arm, and yanks me behind him while pulling out his gun and pointing it at my father.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
SIN
“HOW THE FUCK did you know to bring us here?” I demand, the same gun I used to kill James and fuck his daughter with is pointed right at his head.
“Sin?” Elli’s hands grip the back of my shirt. “What’s going on?”
We both ignore her. Nicholas places his hands in his front pockets, not caring that I’m about to shoot him between the eyes. I guess when you’ve been dead to the world for nine years, death doesn’t really matter.
“I used to come here. A lot, actually,” he answers, looking around. “I hate to admit this, but I would bring women here. Not down here particularly, but to this house.”
“You cheated on Mom?” she asks, letting go of me. Elli goes to walk around me, but I push her behind me again, my gun still trained on him. “How could you do that? I thought you loved her?”
He gives her a sympathetic look. “The Lords are all about appearances, Elli. While out in public, but behind closed doors, things are different.” Then his eyes go back to mine. “I recognized it right away when I saw the photo you had of Ellington that fell out of your back pocket.”
“What photo?” she demands, but we still pay her no attention.
“Get to the point,” I demand. “This is your place, right? After you died, James found it and would bring her here.” That’s the only thing I can think of. He had documents of this place where he brought his whores back at their home and James used this place to his advantage. Laura probably had no clue it exists.
“What are you talking about, Sin? I’ve never been here,” she argues.
“Yes, you have,” he informs Elli, his eyes going to hers. I feel her body stiffen against my back.
“No—”
“I’ve seen the picture,” he goes on with a nod. “I spent enough time here to recognize what I saw in it.”
I feel her hands slide into both of my back pockets and I’m not fast enough to stop her. Spinning around, she already has the picture in her hands, staring down at it. The gun drops to hang at my thigh as silence fills the room.
She lifts her eyes to look at mine through her dark lashes. They’re filled with tears.
I step toward her. “Elli—”
She steps back, sniffing. “Why do you have this?”
I run a hand through my hair, letting out a long breath. “I needed to find out who the second guy in the photo is,” I answer honestly.
“I know who it is,” her father speaks.
I turn to face him, and demand, “Who?”
“The owner of this house,” he states through gritted teeth.
“Which is?” I snap. I need him to get to the fucking point.
“Your father.”
ELLINGTON
ANOTHER SILENCE FALLS over the cold room and I try not to let the first tear fall. How long has Sin had this picture of me? How many more are there? Where did he get it?
I remember James taking pictures of me. He would tell me that I was too pretty to not capture the moment. Or that he wanted something to look at later when he was alone. I couldn’t stop him from taking them. He would wait until I was tied up and unable to fight it. I would close my eyes most of the time due to the shame I felt over the fact that I enjoyed what he did to me, but I never stopped to think where they went. Or who he showed them to.
Sin turns to face me once again. “Did my father rape you?” he commands.
I flinch at his bluntness. My already racing heart skipping a beat. “No,” I whisper.
“How do you know?” he goes on, pointing down at the picture that’s in my hand. “You’re blindfolded.” His body stiffens and his wide eyes meet mine, making my breath catch. “Just like when I fucked you and you thought I was David,” he whispers more to himself than me, and I watch him readjust his gun in his hand. His fingers flexing before his fist tightens on the grip.