Total pages in book: 190
Estimated words: 185785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 929(@200wpm)___ 743(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 185785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 929(@200wpm)___ 743(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
And what I see…
No.
Movement behind me makes me startle before I twist to look behind me.
My husband.
“Baby. You shouldn’t be down here,” he says.
“I probably shouldn’t,” I whisper, sadly.
My heart feels like it’s splintering apart right now.
“Violet…” Killian tries and hooks his arm around my waist from behind me.
I shouldn’t be surprised he followed me. He’s been looking at me for two days like he knows I suspect something.
My poker face has never been very good.
“Turn around and close the door, sweetheart,” he says. “Believe me, that’s the best thing you can do here. Close it and forget this.”
My eyes follow the light to the corner.
“Is that…” I gasp when I see movement in the corner on the bed that’s there.
“Yeah,” he says, kissing the top of my head.
“Not dead?”
It sure smells like death.
“No. He’s not dead.”
“Vi?” I hear croaked out.
My stomach lurches. It is him. His voice is weak, but I know it’s him.
“You’ve had him down here this whole time?”
Killian says nothing.
“How? What the hell? When?” I pull away from him. I’m trembling.
“I had someone give his mother money to bail him out. And then waited to catch him.”
“You’ve had him here this whole time?” I step back. The stench is getting stronger. It smells rotten.
“I have.”
“When? When did you put him here?”
“A few days after you told me about the double-sided coins,” he says.
I gasp. That long ago?
Ray laughs. “I won. I had her first. She loved me first, you piece of shit bastard. ”
I bristle.
Killian doesn’t react to Ray’s jibes.
“He’s been torturing me, Violet,” Ray says weakly from the corner. ”Dunno if you’re really here or if I’m dreaming again, but in case you’re real… he’s been showing me videos of you… Playing videos of you. Making me listen to him fuck you, Vi, on a loop. He feeds me dog food. He beats the fuck outta me. Shot my knee. Pissed on me.”
“Shut your face, Ass-wipe,” Killian snaps.
My eyes travel to Killian. He’s staring at Ray’s shadow coldly.
“He’s got cameras on you all the time, Vi. He shows me footage. Footage of you two fucking.”
“Keep talkin’, asshole. See how it goes for you later,” Killian warns. “Don’t listen to him, baby, he’s skewing things. Like he always has.”
My blood runs to ice at his words, at his demeanor. I back away.
Killian catches my hand. “Baby.”
“You lied,” I say.
“Yes, I did,” he replies matter-of-factly.
I’m in shock. I can’t process this, especially not with his green eyes cutting through me, showing me what looks like the epitome of I give no fucks.
He has zero remorse. Zero.
Is that possible?
“I can’t believe you did that.”
Without hesitation, he replies.
“Believe it. I would lie; I would say anything to protect you. I’ll lie to anybody, you included, to keep you safe. To keep you happy and carefree. To protect you from how I know you feel right now.”
“Killian.” His name sounds like pain. Agony. Like shock.
“Violet,” he replies coolly.
It’s true.
He did this.
He actually did this.
To be continued…