Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“Honestly, it seems like they know they’re backed into a corner. Gia said Mom and Dad are fighting a lot, which is why they left her with Aunt Darcy and they flew to Florida right away.”
Antonio and I look at each other. Hunters rarely fly anywhere because you can’t take weapons on a plane. That means Darcy needed to get Gia away fast.
“How long is Gia staying in Florida?” I ask.
“She doesn’t know, but she said she heard Grandma telling Danielle about a waitressing job in town and Danielle seemed interested.”
“It seems they’re going to stay for a while,” Antonio finishes. “At least that keeps Gia safe.”
“For now,” I add ruefully. “Do you have any idea where Vivian or Marco are?”
“No, and I was able to talk to Ryder just briefly and news of Marcus Henry’s death is spreading. Vivian is telling everyone she saw Xavier Malus kill him.”
“Zeke won’t mind you taking the credit, will he?” I ask, unable to help myself from using inappropriate humor.
“What does that mean for the hunters?” Xavier asks. “Surely, they want revenge.”
“They do,” Leo goes on. “Ryder and a few others are doing a decent job reminding everyone that there was an unspoken agreement between the vamps and the Order to leave each other alone and Marcus Henry put every hunter in danger by going after the vamps first. Most are blindly loyal to the Order but a good amount of hunters see that Marcus was reckless and they know starting a war with, uh, your family, is a terrible idea.”
“Yeah,” I say and let out a breath. “Well, we know Gia is safe. That alone makes me feel like ten times better.”
“Same,” Antonio says. “Good job and keep me up to date.”
“Will do,” Leo says and ends the call. I didn’t expect him to email me a file with Vivian’s exact plans, but I was hoping for a bit more, I’ll admit. Really though, I am so fucking thankful Gia is in Florida with her grandmother, who is retired from hunting but still knows what to watch out for.
Wide awake now, I go back to bed with Xavier and spend the next hour or so wearing myself out. Multiple orgasms are definitely my preferred sleeping pill. I sleep soundly for a good seven hours, waking up from pain in my right hand. I sit up, inhaling and wanting to go back to sleep but the center of my right hand fucking burns. The blinds are still drawn, making the room pitch black. I grab my phone, using it for light.
“Fuck,” I grumble, opening up my palm. Holy shit. The little pin-prick is bright red, and there’s a red line extending from it, making its way up my arm, reminding me that I don’t have much time left.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
The bathroom door leading into the bedroom opens. Xavier comes out, wearing only a towel. Light spills into the room, giving me a better look at my hand. The line pulses along with my heart beat and then fades. I blink a few times, staring at my hand.
“You okay?” Xavier asks.
“Yeah, I, um, I…” I hold my hand up. “Do you see a line?”
He speeds over. “No.” He puts his finger on the center of my palm, right over the little red dot. “Did you see one?”
“I thought I did.” I let out a breath. “Maybe I was still half asleep.”
“Or maybe the demon is reminding you that you’re on the clock.” He closes my fingers into a fist and puts both hands around mine, kissing my hand before turning on one of the bedside lamps. He brings my hand close to his face. “I don’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean you imagined it, Wren.”
“I know.” I sigh. “I think it’s just the demon reminding me that I’m running out of time.”
“You’re not. We are going to figure this out.”
“Yes,” I agree, not wanting to voice my doubts.
Sighing, I lay back down. Xavier drops his towel and gets in bed with me, his naked body still warm from the shower. The heat will only cling to him for so long, and it’s both comforting and odd to have a warm body next to me.
Unable to fall back asleep, I get up and change into workout clothes. It shouldn’t be hard to get Antonio to agree to go for a run with me, and we really should get back to training like we used to do.
“You made quite the impression, brother,” Theo says when Xavier and I go downstairs. He’s sitting in the front living room, clearly positioned there so he could see us as soon as we came down.
“As did you,” he adds, his eyes landing on me.
“Me? What did I do?”
“Well, according to the tabloids, you’re having an affair.”
I laugh, waiting for him to laugh, too. “With who?” I ask, unable to help the humor in my voice. Accusing me of an affair is the most absurd thing I can think of.