Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
There are more gunshots, so many more, before I finally realize what we’re hearing. “He believed me.”
“What? Who?” she asks, raising her voice to be heard over the chaos. “What are you talking about?”
“I called Q. I had to. I gave him our coordinates and told him to get here to help you. I was afraid he didn’t believe me.”
There are pounding footfalls outside the door, and I pull Scarlet away from it, putting myself between her and whatever’s coming. Even if it is Xander and a small army who came through the gate, there’s a chance Rebecca comes in here and finishes us off to make sure nobody spills her secrets to the world.
It isn’t Rebecca who comes charging through, though. “Scarlet?” Xander grunts. There’s a semi-automatic in his right hand, raised like he’s ready to fire.
“Dad!” She throws herself at him and regrets it right away, flinching with a gasp when he touches her back.
“What did they do to you?” In the dim light streaming in from outside, it’s easier to see what the darkness hid. The ugly blood stains tell a painful story that can’t be denied.
“Did you find Rebecca?” I ask Xander as he stares at his daughter’s back. At first, I wonder if he heard me; his jaw ticks and his nostrils flare, but he doesn’t say a word.
When he does, he sounds like an animal ready to charge. “No. She slipped out of our grasp, but I’m not stopping until she’s finished.” He tucks the gun into his waistband before taking Scarlet’s face between his hands. “What did they do to you?”
Instead of crumbling and sobbing the way most people would after what she’s been through, Scarlet stiffens her spine. “I’m stronger than I look. But I would very much like to get out of here.”
He shakes off whatever was holding him still and gives her his leather jacket, draping it over her shoulders. “Come on. We’re going home.”
He pauses, then looks my way over the top of her head. “All of us.”
9
REN
Iknew better than to think there was any kind of, like, feeling behind Xander getting me out of there. He stormed New Haven to save his daughter. I happened to be there, was all. I’m sure he did it more for my parents and for Luna.
The second we clear the front gate along with the rest of the team Xander brought along, I’m escorted into an SUV while Scarlet is ushered into another. Nobody says a word. It’s just understood that I’m not going to ride with them. The most I get out of Q is a dirty look before he climbs into the vehicle with his family.
There’s plenty of time to think as we make the long ride back to where I have no idea what’s waiting for me. I feel like I should prepare myself for all possibilities, since the last thing I want is to get caught unaware by somebody as dangerous and well-connected as Xander Rossi. My head’s still aching enough to be a distraction, but I can’t let it get in the way.
They don’t trust me. That much I know without anybody throwing it in my face. I mean, the armed men sitting on either side of me in the backseat tell a clear story without a word needing to be spoken. I’m sure Scarlet told her family all the same shit she told me, all that bullshit about River, about me being sick. Why does she have to use that word so much?
They don’t trust me, so they will probably keep me locked up somewhere. Either that, or they’ll drag me straight to Xander’s office and interrogate me for as long as they feel like it. About what? For starters, about all the shit that happened back at Corium. It feels like a lifetime ago.
They won’t understand, no matter what I tell them. There’s no way. They weren’t there. They only think they understand the hell River and I and so many others went through.
What if they want to know where River is? Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell them. I won’t desert my brother the way he deserted me. That’s not how I operate.
Once we’re back at the compound, I’m dragged from the SUV in silence. There’s no time to appreciate being back in a familiar place before I’m forced to get moving across the wide lawn. “I can walk on my own,” I mutter, not that it matters. They have their orders, and they know better than to slip up.
With both of my arms held in a vise grip, I’m led around to the east wing of the main house while Xander and his kids walk up the front stairs. Scarlet manages to crane her neck and look my way only once, and only for a second, before Xander says something to distract her from me. What is she thinking? How is she feeling? She looked worried, that much is for sure. For herself or for me?