Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“How far out is the truck?” I asked, my eyes scanning the area.
“Around the block,” Tyrone murmured. “Let’s go inside.”
We did, and I was unsurprised to find the men there, waiting to party.
It was the day I was officially a part of the club.
“Look, Prospect is here!” someone called.
I looked over to see who’d spoken but couldn’t place them.
I turned back around in time to get picked up off my feet by Tyrone/Merchant.
“Hey, buddy,” he crowed, playing the part perfectly.
Callena came up to my side and leaned into it, also playing the part perfectly.
“Who’s this?” Hybrid’s eyes gleamed. “Another present for us to watch?”
I gritted my teeth to keep the anger in check.
I fucking hated that these sick fucks had seen Athena like that.
Seen me like that.
“Sure,” Callena purred.
I grinned, trying to act like I didn’t give a single fuck about it, but inside I was seething.
The night wore on like that, and eventually, the club got bored and ordered the whores out.
Several came out of a room to the side of the clubhouse’s main area, and my heart clenched for a completely different reason when I saw the youngest woman. She had to be all of sixteen.
But the photo I’d seen of her at twelve had shown her not as developed.
Now, at sixteen, she looked womanlier.
Fucking sick perverts.
All of them.
Merchant’s eyes met mine, and I watched him touch the button on his shirt collar.
It took all of a minute before the doors were blown off the hinges.
Seconds before the doors were breached, Callena, Tyrone, and I put our earphones and glasses on.
The stun grenade that rolled into the room shocked everyone in it, man and woman alike.
Everyone but the three undercovers.
“Go, go, go!” I yelled.
Forty-five minutes later, everyone had been arrested, women had been taken to a hospital, and only one man had escaped.
Madman.
“Darryl Horton slipped out the back,” Tyrone looked pissed.
He wasn’t the only one.
“How did he get out?” I asked, looking at his men. “I thought FBI had the back entrance.”
“They did,” he scowled. “Apparently, there was a third exit no one knew about. Wasn’t on the city’s plans.”
I gritted my teeth.
“Any ideas where he’ll go?” Callena asked.
“I tried really hard not to get friendly with him,” I admitted. “He was fucked in the head already. I also tended to set him off. So to keep the peace, I chose to stay away as best as I could.”
“You don’t think he’ll go to your girl, do you?” Callena asked. “You said that he was obsessed with her.”
My heart froze.
Then I remembered that she was leaving this weekend.
While she was gone, I’d find him.
Then, when she got home, she’d be safe.
Tonight, I’d stay outside her house to make sure she stayed safe.
Tomorrow, I’d start the hunt.
I should’ve known she’d catch me.
I’d tried to hide in the shadows, but the stupid cul-de-sac she lived on was impossible to hide on.
Plus, she hadn’t been home when I’d rolled up hours later.
I’d started to call Maven and had pulled over in her neighbor’s driveway, when I saw her car puttering up.
She got out of her car with another pint of ice cream and turned directly toward me.
I cursed and rolled the bike backwards with my feet, right into her driveway behind her car.
“What are you doing here?” she asked warily.
“Some stuff happened tonight, and I want you to be very cautious,” I said carefully.
She set her ice cream down on the back of her car, then leaned her hip against it and said, “Tell me why I need to be cautious.”
I thought about protecting her from Madman, not telling her the depth of the shit we were both in, but chose to give her the information to help protect herself.
“Darryl Horton, Madman, the one who approached you at the bar that night…” the night that changed me forever. “We were able to arrest every member of the Aided Aimers except for Madman. He escaped through an exit that wasn’t on the city’s plans, and we didn’t have covered.”
Her eyes widened. “What does that mean?”
“It means he’s missing, and we have to find him,” I explained. “It means that we won’t stop until he’s found.”
She bit her lip.
“I don’t think you’re in danger,” I said. “But I just want to make sure you’re aware that you could possibly be.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Anyone could’ve come over and given me that information. Why did you?”
Because I’m an asshole, and I wanted to see you.
“It’s just business.” I shrugged.
Her shoulders drooped. “Oh.”
She picked up her ice cream and turned her back on me.
“Do you mind if I do a walk-through of your place?” I took a step toward her.
She shrugged. “Sure.”
I followed her to the door, and watched with relief as she unlocked two locks, then immediately turned off an alarm.
When she let me in, she locked the door behind me and waved her hand in a go-ahead gesture.