Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
The jury filed back, stone-faced, their eyes avoiding mine. Walsh leaned forward, smirk tugging at his lips like a wolf waiting to feast. He followed the protocols asking if they had reached a verdict and giving any of them a chance to reverse their decision before it was announced. The words were a blur until the crushing blow came in.
The foreman stood. “We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.”
The words detonated in my chest. I didn’t take in much of what was said next. I kept hearing the word over and over.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
My breath came ragged, fists slamming against the wooden half wall in front of me. “No.” The word tore from me, drowned by Walsh’s gavel.
“Bailiff, remove this man and his associates.”
Rage coursed through me as my son turned and looked over his shoulder at me. “It’s okay, Dad. Devyn said this might happen.” His words a whisper but not one bit soothing.
Tower grabbed me by my shoulders, squeezing. “Come on, brother, you gotta get out of her before you make it worse on the boy.”
I shook my head and gathered myself together. The deputy approached me, and I sat back in my seat. He came closer as Judge Walsh spoke. “If he can remain in his seat then we can continue.” The bailiff back away just a bit. “We have a special provision from the governor today to move forward with sentencing.”
The world stopped spinning. Everything froze. How was this possible?
I didn’t comprehend what the judge was saying until the end. “Sentenced to life in prison. Without the possibility of parole,” Walsh declared, smirk spreading wide.
The floor dropped out from under me.
GJ’s face stayed stone, but I saw the flicker—the hopelessness he’d been fighting finally slipping through. He stood, keeping his head held high and allowed the deputies to approach him.
“GJ!” I roared as the bailiffs hauled him away. Chains rattled, orange glaring bright against the marble walls. He turned once, eyes locking with mine.
And then he was gone.
I stumbled out of that courthouse hollow. Nothing mattered.
Only two names played in my head. Target acquired. Mission begins now.
Judge Connor Walsh.
Hampton Stanley. The mayor who thought he was untouchable. The judge who smirked while my son’s life was stolen.
They thought they’d won.
But they didn’t know me.
I was Gonzo.
And this war had just begun.
I swore it on Pop Squally’s grave. I swore it on my son’s chains.
I would make them both pay. And anyone else tied to them would feel my wrath too.
Every law broken, every line crossed, every sin committed—it didn’t matter.
The only thing that mattered now was vengeance.
And I’d burn Dreadnought to the ground to get it.
Chapter 7
IvaLeigh
College wasn’t supposed to feel like this. When I left Tennessee for school in North Carolina, I told myself this was my new start. New area. New people. New me.
But walking into my apartment that night, backpack slung over one shoulder, the only thing I felt was the kind of gut-punch you can’t study your way out of.
The door creaked open and the sound hit me before the sight did—breathy little moans, muffled laughter, the squeak of my mattress springs.
My mattress.
Then the sight.
Darla—my roommate with her too-perfect hair and her too-loud laugh—arched back on my bed, straddling Collin.
Collin.
The first person to ever make me feel less than for wanting to take things slow. I wasn’t a prude, we had done things beyond kissing, but I didn’t go the distance. It was our first real date. We had hung out casually before so maybe he thought we had been dating. I didn’t know how he defined things. I only knew that from the minute I said no, he was a different person and I had become his number one enemy.
Their limbs tangled in the sheets I’d just washed that morning. Her painted nails digging into his shoulders. His mouth pressed to her neck, the same way he used to press to mine when he thought no one was looking and we were supposed to be studying. I could still feel the heat of his breath on my skin.
My lungs locked up. The air thinned until all I could hear was the blood roaring in my ears.
Collin’s eyes flicked up, catching me frozen in the doorway. For a split second, guilt flashed across his face. Then nothing. He didn’t stop. He didn’t move. He just turned back to Darla like I didn’t exist.
That was worse than all of it.
I didn’t scream. Didn’t cry. Didn’t demand explanations I already knew would be lies. I just backed out, shut the door quietly, and walked away.
The library was lit up like a beacon against the night, its tall windows glowing gold. I buried myself in a corner with my books, pretending to study, though the words on the page blurred with every blink.