Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
In thirty days she’ll be gone, so tell me why the fuck the idea of her being in danger makes me feel like tearing the world apart to get her back? We don’t even talk. I fucked her a few times and it was phenomenal, but as far as our encounters go, that’s about it. It doesn’t make sense for me to be so messed up about this.
The elevator dings its arrival, and we’re on our feet before the door even opens. Oakley walks out first, her gaze locked on the ground, and it’s clear she’s received some kind of hell from Zade. Out of all of us, she drew the short straw to be found by him. That motherfucker would have made her wish for death. I can only imagine the bullshit that went down when he found her.
Zade follows her out of the elevator, and step forward, ready to let her have it when Zade holds up his hand, cutting me off. “Sawyer, stop,” he says, a strange tone in his voice that has me pausing mid-step. “We gotta talk.”
The fuck? Talk?
My gaze cuts to Oakley, wondering if this has something to do with her before turning to Dalton and Cross, who wear the same confused expression. “What the fuck is going on?” I question, unease settling into the pit of my stomach. I’ve known Zade since we were kids, and he’s never once told me we need to talk.
He hesitates, and I see from the look in Oakley’s eyes that she knows exactly what this is about. But she wouldn’t dare speak a word, not when Zade has already made his intentions clear to take point on this. Neither of them look at Dalton or Cross, making it clear that whatever this is has everything to do with me.
“I found her at the compound,” Zade starts. “She was in the basement, tied up, wrists and ankles bound.”
“The fuck?” Dalton spits, his back stiffening and he looks over Oakley, making sure she’s in one piece. “Who?”
Zade’s stare remains on me. “Your father, man,” he says, a hint of anguish in his eyes. “He wanted to kill her to keep me from completing the ritual.”
My brows furrow and I shake my head. “Nah, that’s not right. Have you met my father? He’s a prick at the best of times, but he doesn’t make fucking power plays like that.”
Zade rubs his hands over his face and walks into his dining room, turning his back to us and bracing himself against the table. “There’s more,” he states, pain in his tone. “Something you all need to know.”
Oakley hovers awkwardly by the elevator before shuffling slightly closer, not wanting to miss whatever’s about to go down in here.
Zade takes a heavy breath before finally turning to face us, an acceptance that doesn’t belong flashing in his hard stare. “Despite everything we’ve been told and knew to be fact, I am not the heir of Empire. The blood does not run through my veins.”
“What?” Dalton grunts, glancing around to make sure we’re all equally confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Her,” Zade mutters, turning a filthy stare on Oakley. “She is the heir, the only living heir, and it’s why her name was put forward for protection.”
My gaze snaps to Oakley, taking her in with disbelief, trying to wrap my head around what Zade just said. Oakley is the heir. “How is that even possible?”
Zade shakes his head. “A secret adoption after my grandparents failed to conceive an heir. My father didn’t share my grandfather’s DNA.” He turns that stare back on Oakley. “But apparently she does.”
Cross narrows his gaze on Oakley, and I’ve seen that stare a million times before. He doesn’t trust her. Doesn’t trust that she has been forthcoming with what she knows. Now, he has just what he needs to believe she’s been keeping things from us. “What is he talking about?” Cross mutters, his tone low and lethal, making Oakley swallow.
Oakley raises a brow at him, not liking the way he watches her. “Don’t look at me like that, Easton,” she spits, his name sounding like an insult on her lips. “This is all brand new information for me too.”
Wanting to get this over and done with, Zade continues. “My grandfather had an affair that resulted in Oakley’s father. His mother died shortly after birth and he was adopted into a different family. When my old man heard of this—”
“Let me guess,” Dalton cuts in. “He saw to it that this dirty little secret could never get out.”
“Exactly,” he confirms. “Point of the story, Oakley is the rightful heir.”
I try to put the pieces together, attempting to figure out how my father could possibly be involved in any of this when it all starts crashing in, horror twisting through my gut. If he had Oakley bound in the basement, that means he had intended to take her life. But that doesn’t make sense. My father would have railroaded Zade to protect the blood. He’d dedicated his life to his loyalty. He would never have harmed her. Not unless there was some kind of ulterior motive.