Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
As her laughter tapers off, she grows a little too quiet, looking out the window.
“I came to listen to the rumors,” she finally says quietly. “I just wanted to hear something good. Like Herrin was dead or something. I stopped well away from Halo and anyone who might notice me, but I still went to some bars where I knew the rumor mill would be strong.”
Her gaze shifts from the window to me and back to the window again.
“The first time I’d smiled in years was when someone started talking about the cocksucker daisy some tattooist had slapped on Drex as punishment for fucking his girl. Just curious, is that guy dead?”
“Drake’s like a cockroach. He’d survive the apocalypse,” I tell her dismissively, causing more of that laughter.
“It’d just happened when I heard it,” she goes on. “I decided to leave on that note, and I never went to listen to the rumors again. Nothing had really changed. Everything of importance was still exactly as it had been. Rape. Plunder. Murder. Repeat.”
She looks back at me.
“I’ve told you everything you’ve asked. All I want to know is what my brother wants with me.”
My lips edge in a secretive grin. “He thought you might want to come home to help kill Herrin,” is all I tell her before cutting up the music.
I barely hear her sharp intake of air before the stereo is blasting.
And I keep my eyes on the road instead of on her.
The girl who left me.
The girl who doesn’t look like she spent seven years hating life the way I have.
The girl I wish I could hate a hell of a lot more than I do.
Chapter 6
KARA
My heart is thudding in my chest when we cross Halo’s welcome sign. The O in Halo is shot out, and there are horns drawn over the word by someone fairly unimaginative.
The long drive has been made longer with silence and ridiculously loud music.
My eyes scan the town as I ignore the pang in my heart. My heart that foolishly recognizes this hell as home.
But I’ve thought about one thing: Drex wants Herrin dead.
What happened?
He cuts down the music for the first time, and my ears throb as he pulls out his phone. “We’re about to be there,” he tells someone.
He casts a glance at me, smirking like he has a secret.
“Yeah. She’s real excited to be home,” the dick says.
I give him a fuck-off look before returning my gaze to the window, taking in the town that has changed in appearance. But I bet the underbelly is still just as gritty and dark as it’s always been.
He hangs up and takes a familiar turn. We’re definitely going to the clubhouse.
“Liar,” I finally say quietly.
“What?” Rush asks, distraction in his tone as he pulls up next to the curb, definitely stopping at the warehouse I remember too well, even though it seems to have undergone recent construction.
“You lied. Pop will kill—”
“Herrin’s not allowed in Halo without risking the loss of his head. Trust me, we’re all looking for him,” Rush says curtly before opening his door and getting out.
Swallowing thickly, I weigh my limited options. He has no reason to lie to me. I’m his captive, and he knows me too well for me to catch him at a disadvantage, apparently.
He ruined a getaway scheme I planned for years because he cheated.
He cuts me loose from the door, but keeps my wrists bound together. My hands have been numb for over an hour. He stopped every three hours to give my hands time to breathe and relax, and that’s because I waited until I couldn’t stand it to finally admit weakness.
Dick.
He liked hearing me admit I needed a second to have freaking normal circulation, because the binds weren’t cutting into me, but they were definitely tight enough to hold me.
I don’t bother fighting, or kicking, or screaming. Even if I wasn’t worried about someone dying just for hearing my calls for help, we’re back in Halo now. Not too many people would be likely to help.
Everyone here knows better.
I’ll just start planning my escape.
Walking in front of him as I rub my sore wrists, my stomach twisting as we draw closer and closer to the familiar doors that are guarded by unfamiliar faces…along with unfamiliar cuts.
Death Chasers?
“The club split,” Rush says like it’s not a big deal as the guys push the doors open for us.
The loud music spills out and drowns out any possibility for me to formulate a response.
My twisting stomach drops when I catch sight of my brother with a girl under his arm, as he grins around the rim of a beer at her. It’s scary when Drex smiles. He’s not really a smiler unless he’s just made a lot of money…or…killed someone…
I swallow thickly as I pretend I’m not the least bit afraid. Too long in a Mayberry style town has softened me more than I realized until this moment.