Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Lev’s stupidity led to me spending a month with people who could have caged, beaten, raped and tortured me. The only reason that never happened is I was lucky to meet two men and catch their eye. The irony is that Lev doesn’t even know what happened to me. I lied to my sister and the guys. If Azadeh knew the extent of what happened, she’d turn away from Lev, and he’d already suffered so much.
My gaze travels between three pairs of glaring eyes. The band of misfits my mother and sister took in. My mother nurtured all three men, and my sister fell madly in love with them. They have so much baggage to work through, and I won’t add more weight to their already heavy burdens. They punish themselves enough. My sister wasted so much time delaying her happiness with these three men, and I don’t want to give her another reason to blow up her happily ever after.
But I know they won’t stop pestering me until they get an answer. So, I give the vaguest response I can think of. “Someone whose name you don’t need to know, okay?”
“Yeah, that’s how delivery usually works,” Cyrus states.
Zeke glares at me, the blaze of his blue eye a stark contrast to the black leather patch covering his other eye. “You’ve already said that, Mona.”
“I don’t know,” I sigh, frustrated that I’m the world’s worst liar. “A package is always waiting for me when I get home. It’s usually groceries.”
The clang of utensils hitting glass plates startles me, as do the eyes glaring at me in disapproval and shock. The only person who doesn’t seem to be fazed by my confession is Cyrus, who continues to shove his face with kabob and rice. He stops abruptly when Zeke elbows him.
“Whoa, Bro. What the fuck was that for?” Cyrus demands.
Zeke glares at him. “How can you keep eating after what she just confessed?”
Cyrus shrugs. “This shit’s good, and I’m hungry. It’s not like what she said is gonna kill us.”
“How do you know?” Azadeh demands.
“Hello? Mona said this has been going on for a while. If whoever is dropping it off wants to kill her, they would’ve done it ages ago.”
My sister ignores Cyrus and turns to me. “Doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Maybe it’s some twisted fuck who gets his sick kicks by making you think you’re safe, and then bam.”
“Well,” I say as I regret having them over for dinner, “it’s been a year, and since I haven’t died, I’m gonna assume it’s a good Samaritan.”
“Or a stalker completely obsessed with you,” Cyrus mumbles between mouthfuls.
Azadeh smacks him on the back of the head. Cyrus just beams at my sister as if she’s hung the moon. “If you want to get frisky, Hellcat, say the word, and I’ll get you home in a jiffy.”
Azadeh shakes her head but cracks a smile. “You say that like it’s not a big deal.”
Cyrus shrugs as he looks at Lev. “Sometimes, stalkers aren’t that bad.”
“Yeah.” I point to Lev. “If stalkers were that bad, you wouldn’t have married yours.”
Zeke clears his throat. “Um, she’s married to me, and I did not do any kind of unhinged nonsense.”
Cyrus rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair. “Zeke takes out eyes before he kills people. Lev put a tracker on Azadeh for ten years. Oh, and he was a perv who recorded her while she slept. I burn people for shits and giggles. Azadeh has a thing for knives. All I’m saying is that it’s obvious the person sending Mona food isn’t trying to hurt her. Maybe they’re shy or fucked up and can’t ask her for a simple dinner date.”
The plates jump as I stand and slam my palms on the table. “Listen, I’m a big girl. A big fuckin’ girl. I’ve been through shit, and I know I have to be careful. For fuck's sake, I’ve been around danger my whole life. Now, the four of you are going to eat and tell me about your week, and that’s that.”
Azadeh sighs as she picks up her fork. “I just worry about you.”
“You’re my sister, Az, not my mother. If I need your help, I’ll ask. I love you, but you don’t get to impose bullshit on me that you’ve ignored your entire adult life.”
“Fine, but if whoever is sending you this food hurts you, I won’t be held responsible for stabbing them to death.”
I smile at my sister. “Deal.”
14
CALLUM
I’ve only ever been good at one thing, and that’s killing. I could’ve been an artist or a doctor with a better upbringing, but fate had other plans. I was born to a charming woman addicted to poison. At least my mother tried her best to protect me. I wasn’t harmed to supply her addiction or wound up on drugs—something unheard of with heroin addiction. No, the issue of growing up where I did, surrounded by certain types of people, schooled me in crime and survival rather than mathematics and science.