Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Rhett jerks, a final spasm, before falling still. His eyes stare up at the stars, but there’s nothing left in them.
We sit back and catch our breath.
There’s no triumph. No joy. Just the knowledge that we did what we came here to do.
We leave his remains for the wolves, knowing they’ll finish the job. Enough blood spilled in these hills tonight. It won’t take them long to find us.
Backing far enough away, we wait.
Within the hour, the wolves fall upon the pieces of his body, their howls echoing through the hills.
A fitting end for a man who thought he could kill us.
I turn to my brothers, Wolf, Kody, and Monty, and see darkness in their eyes, the same primal violence that burns in me.
We crossed a line tonight, became something else, something more than human. But we did it together, and we’ll carry this with us, this bond, this blood, for the rest of our lives.
We avenged Frankie.
It’s early morning when we return to the cabin and find her waiting on the porch with Oliver.
She takes one look at our blood-soaked appearances and grimaces. “Showers for everyone.”
We step into the cabin, bloodied, exhausted, and relieved.
The smell of death clings to the air, but it’s fainter now, not as overwhelming as before.
I exchange a look with Kody. He notices it, too.
Drawn by the need to confirm my senses, I veer toward the kitchen, expecting to see the grotesque dinner party Rhett left behind. But the kitchen is empty. The bodies are gone.
Oliver appears before us, his eyes flat, kind of scary. “I moved the corpses into the walk-in freezer.”
I blink, the answer almost too simple, too practical. He says it like it’s nothing, just another task he had to check off his list.
Who am I to judge?
I just hacked up a heart surgeon without hesitation or regret.
Kody and Wolf head upstairs to shower in our old bathroom.
“Monty.” Frankie brushes her fingers against his, drawing his attention. “Oliver wants to cash in his favor.”
That was quick. The Ghost doesn’t fuck around.
Monty stiffens, his brow furrowing as he turns to Oliver. “What do you want?”
“I want the cabin.” Oliver doesn’t smile, doesn’t even blink. “This cabin.”
“What for?” Monty’s eyes widen with surprise.
Oliver gives him a blank look, the same inscrutable expression he’s worn since we met him.
It’s unsettling, the way he can make even the simplest requests feel like something darker, something that should be questioned.
Monty glances at me, then back at Oliver, and there’s a sudden flash of worry in his eyes.
“Does that mean you’re no longer my chef?” he asks, his voice lighter, but there’s an edge to it. “No more Eggs Benedict?”
Silence.
Monty’s unease grows as Oliver remains expressionless, giving no indication one way or another.
There’s no negotiation here. Monty agreed to Oliver’s terms when he hired him. Now Monty must pay it.
“Monty.” Frankie’s tone carries a quiet authority that we all instinctively respond to. “I intended to scorch this place to the ground when we leave. Oliver wants the cabin and the second plane, too. He’ll stay behind and deal with the bodies.”
“You can fly a plane?” Monty cocks a brow at Oliver.
“I can do many things.”
He jumps out of planes, too. This dude has secrets.
“I have a bone to pick with you.” Monty steps into Oliver’s space.
“Interesting word choice,” I mumble.
“When you learned my real name was Montgomery Strakh, you were a fucking dick. Leo was convinced you spit in my food.”
“True.” I nod.
“How do you know I don’t spit in your food?” Oliver grins.
“Oliver…” Monty pinches the bridge of his nose. “You were pissed at me for not telling you my real name. Yet all this time, you kept your identity from me.”
“Oliver is my real identity. The Ghost is an alias.”
“Same difference.”
“Not the same at all.”
“Can you both forgive and forget?” Frankie anchors her hands on her hips. “It’s time to move on.”
Monty and Oliver incline their heads.
“The cabin is yours,” I say to Oliver. “My brothers and I want nothing to do with it.”
“We’ll leave you the extra plane under two conditions.” Monty steps back, returning to Frankie’s side. “Contact me every time you’re in town, so I know you’re not trapped here. And you will not use this place to imprison, harm, or kill innocents. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“Time for those showers.” Frankie takes my hand.
Monty motions her forward, and she leads him and me down the hallway.
It feels like she’s pulling me into a dark memory. The walls shiver, and the floors hum with whispers of everything that’s happened here.
The door at the end of the hallway looms ahead. Denver’s bedroom. We escaped this place. Fled for our lives. It doesn’t feel right to enter this domain again.
She pushes the door open, the creak of the hinges shuddering through me.
“This is his room?” Monty peers inside.
“Was.” She enters and flicks on the lights.