Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
I hadn’t gotten my tasks done like I was supposed to, so I was behind. I had to work my ass off to catch up and hope Fender didn’t notice.
After I asked Raven not to speak to me, she didn’t.
So, we never spoke again.
I didn’t owe her a goddamn thing. I’d saved her life so many fucking times—so she was still in my debt.
I’d warned Alix that I would kill him if he made another attempt.
Now I had to make good on my word.
I went to the communal cabin that night with my blade in my pocket. If he was sitting there and playing poker with the guys, I’d hold him down and slit his throat. The mess would remain behind until someone else cleaned up because I certainly wouldn’t.
When I walked in, that exact scene was in front of me.
Alix sat on the other side, holding the cards in his hand.
I shut the door behind me and pulled out my knife.
Alix immediately got to his feet. “Truce.”
“Truce?” I actually laughed because it was fucking ridiculous. “I asked for a truce twice—and you ignored it. I may only have one ball left, but you’re the pussy who couldn’t kill me three fucking times. You’re gonna sit in that chair, and I’m going to slit your fucking throat. Anyone who resists me will get the same fate.”
None of the guys moved. Word had spread that I was outnumbered four to one, and I still prevailed.
Alix held up his hand. “Magnus, come on—”
“Come on?” I snapped.
“We’ll forget what you did if you forget this. That’s fucking fair.”
I wanted life in the camp to return to normal, when all the guards didn’t despise me. If I killed Alix, they would still hate me. But if I let him live…I wouldn’t have to sleep with one eye open. I sheathed my blade and returned it to my pocket.
Alix immediately looked relieved. “You want in?” He sat down and grabbed his cards again.
The guys looked at him then looked at me.
It was hard for me to pretend nothing happened, that they hadn’t turned against me so ruthlessly for the past month. But the quickest way to leave it behind was to move forward. I opened the fridge, grabbed a beer, and took a seat. “Deal me in.”
My routine became normal once again.
The guards stopped ostracizing me. They spoke to me like nothing had happened at all, like the camp hadn’t burned to the ground because of my stupidity. Whenever I worked, they would step in and help me like before.
It made my life a lot easier.
Raven went back to work on the line, but I never directly looked at her to see if she was struggling.
I returned to my indifference—as I promised.
In a couple weeks, I would return to Paris, which I’d been looking forward to. The repetitiveness of the camp could be mentally exhausting at times. The food was always the same, there were no eligible women around, and you couldn’t get a good glass of wine. Now that I had earned the forgiveness of the camp, I knew Fender’s full pardon would follow soon afterward.
I joined the guys for a round of poker that night. Chips were in the center, cards on the table, and the empty bottles of beer continued to cover the surface. Some of the guys smoked cigars, but I’d never been a fan of the taste it left in my mouth.
The guys threw their final bets into the pile.
Then it was just Eric and me.
Despite the permanent scar on his thigh, he seemed fine with me. He looked at his cards before he laid them down. Two pairs.
I dropped mine. A royal flush.
Eric groaned. “Motherfucker…”
I scooped the chips into my arms and pulled them to my side of the table.
“You’ve got the best poker face I’ve ever seen.” Nathan drank from his beer.
I shrugged then added my cards to the discard pile.
“Where did you learn that?” Eric asked.
“Experience.” It was a lie. I had a great poker face because I was perpetually indifferent to everything. It didn’t really matter if I won the hand or not. I was already rich. More money wouldn’t make me richer—that was how rich I was.
Screams sounded from outside.
The guys all stilled before glancing at the door.
Because it was coming this way.
It was a woman—screaming at the top of her lungs.
The door burst open, and Alix dragged her inside by the hair. “Scream all you want, bitch. Make the wolves howl.”
She only had her black top on. She was completely bare on the bottom, a dark bush of hair between her legs. She fought against him as hard as she could, her dark hair flying about, her blue eyes panicked with streaming tears.
I watched her being dragged across the room.
She looked at us, her eyes settling on me for a moment, sheer terror in her gaze.