Total pages in book: 266
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
“You said you’re not supposed to know where it is,” Saint argues.
Bill sighs. “She contacted me today, and she knows that I’m bringing her.”
“I’m not letting her go with you.” Kashton shakes his head and then drops his gaze to me. “I don’t fucking like you, but my brother married you.” He looks away, and his jaw clenches before they return to mine. “He chose me to be your guardian, and because of that, I will protect you.”
Bill is right. If my mother knows it’s an ambush, who knows what she’ll do to Haidyn after what I’ve seen him go through in the videos the Lords sent me. I look up at Kashton. “It’ll be okay,” I say, nodding. I promised Bill that I could do whatever it takes, and I meant that. “We’re all here for the same reason,” I remind him.
I take a step back from Kashton to test the waters. Thankfully, he doesn’t follow me. He fists both of his hands, and his jaw sharpens as he looks over at Saint. Adam runs a hand down his face, and the others just stare, as if they’re waiting for the sign to attack Bill and drag me back to them.
Bill opens the passenger side door to a sedan.
“Charlotte?” Kashton calls out, and I stay where I’m at as he walks toward me. He reaches into his leather jacket and removes a gun from his shoulder holster. Pulling back the slide, he cocks it—chambering a bullet and holds it out to me. “Do you know how to use a gun?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t ask questions. Just point and shoot. Don’t stop until you run out,” he orders me, then his eyes slide over my head to glare at Bill before returning to mine.
I smile, remembering the second time I pulled a gun out on Haidyn in his living room, and he said practically the same thing. “Got it.” I take the gun from him.
“It’s loaded and has a factory safety delete—meaning there is no safety. So be careful. Don’t shoot yourself.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
Then I turn and slide into the passenger seat. Turning, I see them all watching as Bill closes my door and gets in, starts up the car, and drives away. I rest my head against the headrest and close my eyes, sighing.
“11 Minutes” by YUNGBLUD and Halsey softly fills the speakers, and my eyes start to sting.
“How long have you known about Dollhouse?” I ask, needing conversation. I’m tired of living in my head.
“Since before your father passed. Your mother has been running it for years. After she passed her assignment her senior year at Barrington.”
“Saint told me…” I bow my head and stare at the gun in my lap. “That Haidyn killed my father.”
Bill nods. “He did.” Then he quickly looks over at me. “But your father knew he was coming. Trent fucked up and knew the Lords would send someone after him. He was Haidyn’s initiation. I was on the deck with your father when Haidyn walked out onto it. Your father suspected it was him because we were…acquaintances with the Spade brothers and knew that their sons were in the middle of initiations. Plus, Haidyn wasn’t on the attendee list for the party.”
“What did he do?” I ask, running my sweaty hands on my jeans, wanting to know. My mother never wanted to talk about my father’s death. She said it was too painful.
“Haidyn took a second. He paused…” His eyes slide to mine quickly. “It was you.”
“Me?” I frown.
He laughs softly. “Haidyn saw you with your friends. You were laughing and drinking champagne. You caught his attention, and he watched you long enough that he forgot why he was there.”
Haidyn had seen me that night? Why hasn’t he told me that? I never knew he was there. Or that he had seen me before our first meeting at Carnage. Not until he left me the video…back in my life.
“Your father didn’t want there to be a scene.” He goes on. “Because although he knew Haidyn was there for him, he didn’t know how he would do it. Usually, the order is to make it messy. And he didn’t want you to see it happen. So he walked over to you, hugged your friend, kissed your cheek…he put himself in Haidyn’s line of sight to get his attention back on him. It worked, and Haidyn followed him to his office.”
“Where he shot him,” I whisper, lowering my eyes to my lap again, and I stare at the gun that Kashton gave me. I wonder how many people he’s used it on. How many lives it’s taken. Were they all Lords? Did they all deserve it?
“You can’t blame Haidyn for doing what he was brought up to do, Charlotte. Otherwise, you’d have to take a look in the mirror.”