Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Come on,” I say to Caleb
On the way out of the room, I catch the glint of something on the floor. Tor’s necklace. I pick it up and continue out of the room.
“He shouldn’t have done that to her,” Caleb says.
I nod, shoving the necklace in my pocket. “We shouldn’t have done that to her. I should have let her go the second she got here,” I mumble, climbing the stairs, my chest tightening with regret and guilt.
I feel responsible for her, and in that moment, my mother and sister flash through my mind. I need a fucking line, and Tor is that line. I draw in a labored breath as we step onto the landing. “Every fucking piece of shit that put her
here will pay, I’ll see to that.”
I floor the accelerator, the momentum forcing my head against the leather headrest. I’ve had an entire day to mull over what happened, and all the anger has festered into full-on wrath.
I know Tor’s here because of Joe. That bastard never should have put an innocent woman in that situation, and I will not let him use her the way he planned. She’s mine now, and I will fucking kill him. I will torture him, then kill him in the most brutal way I can think up. He made me choose between my business, my life, and my dignity. He made me realize what kind of person I really am—he made it apparent that I’m just like him. I am exactly like the man I fucking hate. And I will fucking murder him for that.
I’m going a good fifty miles over the speed limit and coming up on traffic. I swerve around an eighteen-wheeler, my tires losing traction for a moment, and the car fishtails across the lane.
“Get the fuck outta my way!” I shout, clenching my jaw and gripping the stick shift.
I pull up to the apartment complex and park the rental car by the exit. The ground is covered in a thin layer of snow, which crunches underneath my boots as I make my way toward the apartment. The tendons in my neck tighten, and my breath grows more heated with each hard step I take. I check to make sure my gun is secured in the waist of my jeans, then stop in front of apartment 3C.Tapping my fingers over the door, I wait.
Nothing.
I pound my fist over the door, but not too hard. I don’t want to give away that the person on this side of the door is ready to fucking kill someone.
I hear movement inside and pull the mask down over my face as I move out of the peephole’s view.
Footsteps stop right on the other side of the door, and I hear him breathing nervously.
“Your uncle sent me. There’s been a problem.”
He clears his throat but doesn’t say anything.
“Come on, Euan.”
Silence.
“They killed her. She’s dead, and now they’re after you. We’ve gotta get you to a safe place. Joe sent me to get you.”
There’s a loud sigh and then the knob turns. The door barely cracks, then I shove my way in, grabbing the dumb bastard by his throat and knocking him to the ground.
“You fucking worthless little shit,” I hiss.
His eyes widen, pupils dilate, and his skin washes white.
“Who the fuck do you think you’re messing with, huh?” I roar as I tighten my grip on his neck, squeezing so hard I can feel the delicate bones crush underneath my fingertips. He chokes. His arms flail. His fingers dig into my hands, trying to pry them away from his throat. He’s so small compared to me, barely what I would call a man.
“Ah, ah, ah.” I shake my head. “You calm the fuck down right now, or I’ll just go ahead and end your pathetic life right here.”
His eyes widen more and he struggles beneath me, managing to nod his head. When I loosen my hold, he pulls in a desperate breath.
“You answer every last question I ask you, or I will kill you fucking slowly. Understand?”
He frantically nods again.
Out of all the questions I can ask him, out of all the information I could actually use to my advantage, the only thing I want to ask him is why he gave her away.
“Why?” I swallow and try to regulate my breathing. “Why did you hand her over?” The thought of it and of everything that ensued once she arrived at my house flips through my mind. An angry heat consumes me. Leaning over his face, I shout at him, “Why would you do that to her?”
Euan closes his eyes. Like that can make any of this go away. “Did they really kill her?” he chokes out.
My fingers claw into his throat again. “What the fuck do you think? You handed her over to low-lifes. She’s gone.”