Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 62569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
He pointed at me. “You’re distracting me. I don’t like it.” He moved his finger toward Ace. “She’s dangerous.”
“Tell me about it.”
It was almost distracting enough. The normalcy of Ivan standing in front of me giving me shit, Ace being annoyed with me as per usual.
Almost.
But Louis was missing.
Ivan’s phone went off. “Well, if you want to keep all your body parts…” He sighed. “Looking at you, Ace. Put on some clothes. Dante’s almost here, and he’s in a really cheerful mood, threw his coffee cup against the wall and everything this morning.”
“Why?” I asked.
Ivan shook his head. “Too hot? Too cold? I don’t know. He read a text and lost his shit. I’m pretty sure it has to do with you, though, so congratulations for giving him an ulcer in his early forties.”
I gave a small bow. “I do what I can.”
Ivan grunted. “Clothes, and try not to misunderstand that when I say clothes I mean ones that completely cover your body. None of this, ‘oh, I thought I just had to cover tits’ sort of shit. My head also is on the chopping block, and I want to see tomorrow.”
“Heard there’s an early sunrise.” I winked.
His eyes narrowed. “Like I said, dangerous. You have ten minutes.”
"How could I possibly—”
“Nine!” he snapped, slamming the door behind him.
Rude. I jumped out of bed and pulled off my clothes like I normally did, I always jumped out of the left side, walked to the shower and…
I paused as a choking curse erupted from the other side.
I winced and looked over my shoulder. “Old habits.”
He clenched his teeth. "Make new ones.”
With a smirk, I turned fully toward him. “Okay.” I put my hands on my hips. “Look your fill and consider a new habit officially formed. They say it takes seventeen days to break one. How many do you think it takes to make one?”
He stalked toward me, shirt still off, only in grey sweatpants, his muscles bulging with every step. “Stop being difficult!”
He picked his folded shirt off the back of the chair and shoved it at my breasts.
I didn’t take it. “I’m not being difficult.”
“It’s literally your reason for living.” He seethed. “I did the nice thing, the right thing, which is completely foreign to me, and the way you repay me is to accidentally get naked right before your dad gets here? Do you have any clue what the fuck he’ll do to me if he sees us together?”
"Tell me.” A dark voice said from the door. “What the fuck do you think he’ll do? I’m curious.”
I quickly put the shirt over my breasts and stared up at my dad standing in the door and a very pale looking Ivan right behind him holding his phone up as if to say I texted and you’re the idiot for not checking. Again.
My lower lip wobbled. “I can explain. Nothing happened.”
"You’re naked.” Dad tilted his head. “He’s half naked. And you’re both pissed. I don’t buy it.”
"Dad—”
"Get dressed, both of you, I want you downstairs in five minutes.”
Ace gave me a light shove and walked away from me putting on his shirt in the process. I quickly ran to my closet and grabbed a set of black sweats then stared down at the grocery bag I’d brought upstairs with the pregnancy test.
When I looked inside, it was gone.
I didn’t take it though.
No, I had plans to take it when Ace finally went to sleep.
So I left it on.
Oh shit.
Oh shit!
No!
"RAVEN!” Dad yelled.
It wasn’t Ace’s head that was going to roll—it was all mine.
13
ACE
The one with the lie.
I've never really believed in the saying your life flashed before your eyes and I’ve been in multiple near death experiences, but in that moment, I truly felt all the life leave my body as Dante held up a pregnancy test in his left hand and trained his gun on me with his right.
It suddenly clicked into place at the worst possible moment.
Her sadness.
Her mood swings.
The puking.
She was pregnant.
And I was assuming the person responsible for said pregnancy couldn’t as much as defend himself. Then again, would he if he were alive? Or was that all part of his plan? Was he just as bad as her?
I shouldn’t let my past taint the present.
One thing at a time.
She was possibly pregnant—more than likely.
And I was just seen naked with her in the bedroom, and she was too frail, too fragile emotionally to probably deal with it.
I had two choices.
Throw her under the bus.
Or lie down and let Dante run me over.
I stayed perfectly still while Raven rushed down the stairs. I didn’t expect her to run toward me and stand in front of me the way she did, blocking the would-be bullet from her dad’s gun.
Momentarily stunned, I grabbed her by the elbow to pull her to the side, she used that same sharp elbow to jab me in the stomach. “Stop messing around, he’ll kill you.”