Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Trust me, Luke. If this were a trap, you’d already be dead. Come on.”
I hated that I had no choice but to trust her. I followed her close, still ready to kill. We made our way through the woods in silence. Mostly because I was trying to focus on what was in front of me. It was as dark as shit out, and the only light cast off the full moon in the night sky.
My hands fisted at my sides. Traitorous waves of anger rolled off me, witnessing the woman I didn’t know at all.
She’s the female version of me.
It had been over decades of solitude. It was a never-ending stream of emptiness.
I could feel her love for me.
I could feel my love for her.
But mostly, I could also feel my hatred for her.
It was loud.
Disastrous.
Chaotic.
It would take everything around us with it, like a tornado around in circles. It elicited feelings I never thought were possible, emotions no one should ever have to experience.
It cluttered my mind.
My heart.
My soul? Did I even have a soul?
The silence between us was deafening, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t contemplate that this walk could be a one-way ticket to my own execution. We walked for probably a mile, and neither one of us said a word when finally, a house came into view.
There was no way of getting back here unless you walked and knew where you were going.
“Sloan, I’m gonna need you to tell me where the fuck we are?”
She turned to face me. “We’re at—”
Big.
Bright.
Blinding spotlights shone out of nowhere.
“The fuck?” I muttered to myself, instinctively grabbing her.
I pulled her toward me, aiming my gun at her head.
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
Those were always words to live by.
She softly gasped as the lights suddenly dimmed. Now there were spots all around my eyes, and I desperately tried to focus on what I was seeing.
“I highly suggest you lower your gun if you know what’s good for you,” a strained voice threatened, coming closer to us.
Instead, I clicked back the safety.
“Don’t…” Sloan coaxed to the man approaching us.
“Then tell him to show some goddamn respect and lower his Glock before I do it for him.”
Within seconds, he stood in front of us, and I blinked a few times, finally getting my sight back.
I was face-to-face with the man I least expected to see. I recognized his bright green eyes almost immediately. They were hard to forget through his mask.
“We haven’t been properly introduced,” he greeted, cocking his head to the side.
My stare went wide as soon as he recalled…“I mean, you know… aside from you carrying my sister out from the party tonight.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
SLOAN
Seconds, minutes, hours later, everything blended as darkness settled in every crevice of my mind. I wasn’t scared for my life. I was terrified for his family. A family I didn’t know and had never even met. A bunch of strangers meant more to me than anything I could place. I felt like I knew them through what Luke had shared with me.
I was fixated on a man I didn’t know would ever forgive me. Or could ever forgive me. Trying to distract myself from that was easier said than done.
The only hope I had was to believe that maybe it was possible. At that point, I had to pray for something even though I stopped believing in God a long time ago. Satan only ruled my world. Hell was on earth, and I’d die on that hill.
What felt like an eternity later, we were strolling through the woods as if this was suddenly the yellow brick road and we were off to see the fucking wizard.
Navarro finally made his presence known.
Of course, he had to be a dick about it. Needing to show face to thee Luke Jameson. Basically, they were about to cock sword fight, and I mentally rolled my eyes about it.
Boys will be boys.
In true Navarro Del Toro form, he came out with a blunt in his hand, ready to start swinging. It was part of his charm. My eldest brother was seven years older than me, while Xavier was four. I swear they all acted like Neanderthals, cut from the same cloth.
Cavemen at their finest.
The night had been one thing after another, and it was like I blacked out, moving in a trance-like state.
“Luke, please…” I whispered, and to my surprise, he actually did it.
Navarro didn’t let it slide. He called it out, “Huh, well, look at that. He’s already pussy-whipped.”
“Nav…” I warned him with a glare before shifting my gaze to Luke. “He’s just fucking with you.”
Nav extended his hand to shake Luke’s. “The pleasure’s all yours.”
“Jesus…” I stressed, glaring at him again. “Can you fucking chill?” Pushing him, I threw my arms around his neck, pulling his pain in the ass into a hug.