Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Eli shrugs as if it’s not his problem.
“You’ve been warned several times, Anthony. This is no longer yours,” Eli says with a false sense of casualness. And I realize with startling clarity that even in his deranged, ecstatic state, Eli brought me to not only make a point of the empire he envisions to continue to build but to execute this pent-up wild energy that hasn’t entirely left him since his father threatened me. Eli came here to kill, and he simply waited for someone to come for his head.
“This is my fucking area!” Anthony screams, spit flying. His men take a wary step closer. Then, their boss’s gaze lands on me again, and a cruel, twisted smile appears on his lips. “Maybe I’ll take what’s yours once I kill you. It’s very rare and very stupid for you to go out at night without backup.”
“Who said I don’t have backup?” Eli replies.
I slowly and stealthily move my hand to my hip, but I make a point not to show my gun because I always appreciate the element of surprise. I’ve been using this gun for so long it feels like an extension of myself.
When the men take me in, thinking they’ve sized me up, they throw back their heads and laugh. That pisses me off. Not because their response is unexpected but because of the opposite. It’s always the same. They always underestimate me simply because I’m a woman, which is why they end up dead.
“You made a mistake coming back here without your men, boy. And we’ll send you and your little gal pal back to your father chopped up into little pieces to send him a message.”
I try not to laugh at the “gal pal” comment, and I can also see the corner of Eli’s mouth twitch. It’s an unfortunate thing that Eli knows my weaknesses. I’m a moth to a flame when it comes to being reckless, and having an enabler by my side might be the most dangerous thing for me… and him.
I find it hilarious that they think they can hurt me; I could kill at least two of them before they reached me.
Two of the men behind Anthony start toward Eli. He doesn’t seem concerned about their approach. If anything, it appears he’s willingly letting them get close. Is he testing me or something? He even lets them slowly take hold of his arms, one on each side. What the fuck is he thinking?
“I should make it known I don’t like being touched,” Eli says but still makes no attempt to get away from them. I don’t know how to read this version of Eli. Is he ensnaring them to make the kill more exciting?
“But you seem smart enough to understand your situation,” Anthony chirps with pleasure.
“Oh, it’s not me you should be worried about,” Eli sing-songs as they start to drag him toward the car. I stand there, shocked, wondering why he isn’t fighting back when I notice the fourth man heading in my direction. For every step he takes toward me, I take one back.
What the fuck are you doing, Eli?
“It’s okay, darling, we won’t bite…” The man smiles, and I see he needs a toothbrush as well. “Much.” He laughs.
I’m shocked when Eli lets them punch him in the stomach, and then he laughs like a loon. They hit him again, and he laughs harder. Oh my fucking God, he’s actually lost it. He’s lost his fucking mind. They warily glance at one another, confused. That makes three of us.
“You think this is funny?” Anthony barks, finally walking over himself and kneeing Eli in the stomach, which forces him to double over. Eli goes quiet, most likely because it’s knocked the wind out of him.
I still have no idea what’s happening. I’m waiting for a sign something from Eli to indicate what I’m supposed to do. I’m not sure what he’s wanting out of tonight. I thought it was blood, but is it something else that I’m not clearly understanding?
“It is,” Eli says, still amused, as he stands to his full height, towering over all of them. “Because it’s not me you have to worry about.” He licks his bloody lip, and his lethal gaze finally lands on me. “It’s my future wife.”
I guess that’s my sign. Now’s my time.
This fucking psycho.
“Leaving it a bit close, aren’t you?” I growl at him.
As the first man turns to face me, my gun is already out. His eyes go wide as he goes to pull out his own weapon, but it’s already too late. I shoot him between the eyes, stepping back to avoid the body falling. Then I take aim at the one on Eli’s left, shooting him in the chest, and then the one on his right, putting a bullet in his forehead. It all happened so quickly that they didn’t have time to grab their own guns. Eli basically baited them into thinking they were in control. He was playing with them the whole time.