Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Ruby was right. I have enough blood on my hands.
With my eyes closed I pull the necklace free and drop it on the sink. When the first tear pushes past my closed eyelids, I know I have to let it all go. My chances of survival are almost non-existent, but I just can't manage to give up yet.
I eye the other door, knowing that getting out of here will probably be impossible, but I also know I have to try.
I pull the door open, seeing a short hallway that leads to several other offices, and I understand this to be the courthouse employee entrance to the restroom. If people were smart, they'd make this damn door only accessible with a keycard or something.
I make it to the end of the hallway, finding a single elevator door. I press the down button with my fingers crossed in hopes that it takes me to employee parking or some area that Cerberus or that other group hasn't thought to cover. They've been pretty fucking thorough so far, but I knew I couldn't get lost in the thoughts that I was actually safe.
After climbing on the elevator and pressing G for the garage, I pull my oatmeal-colored jacket off, turning it inside out so the paisley print liner is showing. I pull the pins from my hair and let it settle around my shoulders. I have no money, no identification. I have nothing, but it isn't the first time I've been in this situation.
I hold my head high as the elevator doors open, knowing I need to look as if I belong here. There's a security checkpoint, but they're only monitoring the people entering the building, presuming that those leaving had been checked on their way in.
No one shouts my name or runs after me as I push open the heavy door and step out into the frigid weather.
I pull in a fortifying breath of the cold air and before I can take a step, warmth covers my side.
My heart races as I look up at the scarred face of a man I don't recognize.
"Your car is waiting right over here, Ms. Adair," he says, his voice full of gravel.
I don't miss the warning in his tone or the feel of the gun pointed at my back.
I don't have many choices, but I do risk a glance back through the glass. The security guards are speaking with a man there.
The click-clack of footsteps draws my attention in front of me, and I feel a hint of hope when I see a man and woman walking in our direction to enter the building.
"Make a scene and I'll not only kill those two but everyone they love."
I don't doubt his threat, and I know he must've been well informed by Nathan of my weaknesses. I might be capable of getting hurt myself, but I've always hated being the reason anyone else suffered at Nathan's hands. It was the only thing that separated me from Xan, and Nathan hated that he couldn't break me all the way. He hated my compassion for others even though there were times when the abuse got so bad I caved.
"Try me," he growls in my ear, and that's all it takes for me to give the people walking toward me a small smile before allowing him to escort me to the waiting car.
The guy behind the driver's seat doesn't even bother to look my way when the man with the scarred face opens the back passenger door.
"Scoot," he snaps, crawling in beside me when I make room for his massive form.
The car pulls out of the underground garage, and I tilt my face toward the sun, knowing it may be the last day I'll have the chance to see it.
I lift my hand to my throat nearly to the point of tears that I pulled the necklace off. I'd like to have something to hold on to, a token of someone's love when I die.
Chapter 31
Newton
"She planned the whole fucking thing," one of the stupid fucking attorneys says as the videotape rolls.
I watch the cameras as the tech follows her from the bathroom and into the elevator. The second she gets in the car, she turns her jacket inside out like a professional, definitely like someone who has had to do it before.
"Not a fucking chance," I argue, unconcerned at the way Kincaid looks at me.
"Explain that then," the guy snaps pointing at the monitor as the video plays out the scene of Brielle meeting up with a goon we have to assume is one of Nathans's men.
She looks over her shoulder before looking ahead, but the angle is wrong for me to see her face.
It takes all of ten seconds for her to climb into a waiting car.
"Wren's already trying to track the car through town," Kincaid says when I look at him.