Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“How was the reception?”
“You bastard. You left me there.” I take another drink. “I should throw you through that glass.”
“It’s bulletproof. Good luck with that.”
I make a disgusted noise. “Aren’t you embarrassed? You left your own wife on your wedding night.”
He seems thoughtful and finally looks away. “If I’m sorry at all, it’s that you had to deal with your family alone.”
That brings me up short. I’m frowning slightly. “My family? Who cares about them. There were like hundreds of strangers!”
“True, but you don’t hate them the way you hate your brothers.”
I let out a derisive laugh. “You don’t know a damn thing about how I feel.”
“I think I do.” He turns to me again and comes around the pool, the glass dangling at his side. “I think I know better than anyone else in the world.”
The humidity and warmth of the room feels like it’s choking me. I drink more prosecco but that doesn’t help. The alcohol only makes me dizzy and lightheaded. I feel fuzzy, like I’m flying away.
“How’d you get those scars, Finn?” I ask, looking at his chest, at the horribly familiar constellation of ruined flesh. “You wanna talk about it?”
“How about we talk about you some more. Let’s talk about the way you’ve been running from your family all your life. The way you’ve been hiding. I see how you look at them. I know how your father looks at you. What did they do to you, Caroline?”
“Go to hell. You left me tonight. You’re a dick.”
“You’re right. I’m a very bad person.” He stops about ten feet away. I’m trembling. I take another big drink and I really should stop. “I’m a fucked-up monster. But you know that already. You’ve seen your fair share of fucked-up monsters all your life and you know them better than anyone. Isn’t that right?”
I take another drink. “I don’t understand why you keep acting like you know me.”
His smile is infuriating. “I know you don’t want to be married to me. I don’t want to be married to you either. I’ve been here thinking about our situation, and I believe I’ve come up with a solution. Do you want to get out of this marriage, Caroline?”
Now he’s got my attention. I stare at him, pulse racing. He’s so freaking handsome it kills me. That’s probably the alcohol talking, but I want him to take me into that sauna and fuck me like he really does hate me. I want him to ruin me and leave me a shaking, moaning wreck. I take another long drink.
“How?” I ask, wiping my lips.
His eyes linger on my mouth. He’s hungry too. He might even be drunk.
“You’re going to do me some favors. They won’t be easy. They’ll test you in ways you’ve never been tested before. But if you do them, I’ll give you this apartment and I’ll grant you a divorce.”
I take a step back. “How? I mean, you can’t. Your brother.”
“Declan will get over it.”
“He’s the boss of your family. I don’t know a lot, but I know the Whelans are serious.”
“We are,” Finn agrees. He takes a long drink, one hand casually shoved in his pocket. “But I’m a man of my word. You help me and I’ll help you. I’ll take the consequences and protect you.”
“My father will kill me.”
“That’s the thing.” His eyes brighten and the gleam in his face is terrifying. This is all one big, amazing joke to him. “He can’t hurt you if he’s dead.”
My mouth opens. A hysteric laugh bubbles out. I smother it with more alcohol. The bottle is strangely light now. When did that happen? I cover my mouth to swallow a burp.
“Hilarious. Good one. But seriously, my dad will actually murder me if we get divorced. He made it clear earlier.”
Finn’s head tilts. “Is that what he threatened you with?”
“The details don’t matter.”
“Then let me be clear. You’re going to help me kill your father and all four of your brothers. I’m going to hunt them down, Caroline, one after the other. I’m going to cut their throats. I’m going to make them suffer. And you’re going to be there, by my side, drowning in their blood with me.”
I make a gagging, choking noise. I drink more alcohol and cough, sputtering some out. I shake my head, trying to clear it. “That’s insane. You’re joking, right?”
“How did you get those scars, Caroline?”
“Stop asking me about that.”
“How’d you get them? Who gave those to you?”
“Stop it!” I throw the bottle at him. I don’t even know why I do it. The bottle spins in the air and he neatly steps to the side. It misses and hits the tile next to the deep end, glass shattering all over, spilling into the pool.
He doesn’t look back. “We’ll kill them together for what they did. You’ll help me do it. Once your family is in the ground, you’ll be free. I swear on my life, I’ll let you go.”