Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
The goon’s footsteps seemed to thunder behind me, and I knew it was all in my head, but I still rushed to press on the bar that should have released the catch, but it seemed to be stuck. I slammed my hands on it repeatedly until it finally gave, and I stumbled into the alley. It was small, with only a couple of dumpsters on either side and a single lane for traffic.
At the moment, it was filled with a line of black SUVs and a small army lined up like toy soldiers. None of them reacted to me charging through the door, and that dreaded feeling that this was all for me returned swiftly.
“Oh, um. Sorry.” I wasn’t about to turn myself into a witness, so I kept my eyes on the ground as I tried to back through the door again, only to find my way blocked by my giant shadow. “Excuse me,” I said with a huff to the goon.
He didn’t move or respond as he magically turned into a statue once more.
I was getting ready to make a fucking scene when a wet cough and a groan had me glancing over my shoulder to the one happening in the alley.
That’s when my legs nearly buckled from beneath me.
My brother was kneeling on the ground in a pool of his own blood. He was clutching his ribs with snot dripping from his nose and a wet crotch. “What the fuck? Shaun?”
Hearing my voice, his head shot up, and I could see from here that his eyes were swollen. “Coby—” He released another cough that had me taking a protective step toward him. “You’re here.” Cough. Cough. “Good.”
Good?
I rushed to help him but was arrested by the sight of a hand wearing black leather gloves curling around my brother’s shoulder. It squeezed a warning meant for me while Shaun winced and groaned.
Seeing my brother in pain did the trick and brought me to a screeching halt before I could get too close. Instantly, I recognized the pull demanding my attention, but I couldn’t. Looking away from my brother for even a second felt a lot like the morning I woke up and found out that my parents had died in a car crash. Bile rose in my throat from the fear of Shaun disappearing, but I knew I had no choice if I wanted to save him.
And when I met familiar dark eyes, I was shattered with the betrayal of seeing the man I fooled myself into thinking I wanted to marry standing over my brother like an owner would a dog on a leash.
And now that day would never come because Ocean had chosen another path—to stand between my only family and me. Already, I could feel the illusion slipping further away.
Usually, Ocean wore tailored suits.
Tonight, he dressed for war.
And his eyes…
I should be used to them watching me, studying me, slowly breaking me down with the promise of someday. One day, he’d put down the drink he always nursed for the sake of the ruse. He’d hold my gaze forever instead of watching me in secret, and then he’d walk down the long length of the bar and take me home with him.
I’m such a fucking idiot.
Shoving my disappointment away, I dismissed Ocean and focused on my brother instead. “Shaun, what did you do? What’s going on?” Everything about my brother’s posture was wrong. His light brown skin was even paler now, and he was hunched over and sweating profusely. Roshaun looked moments from death.
“Coby, I need you to…” He grunted and inhaled deeply, but the simple act cost him dearly. “I need you to listen to me very carefully. It’s important that you don’t…” My worry quadrupled when he seemed to search for the right word and then settled on, “Resist.”
Like a magnet, my gaze flew to Ocean as I did the exact opposite. “What the fuck happened to my brother?” I snapped. Fuck my stupid romantic heart. And fuck Ocean too. For my brother, I’d take on the heir to the mafia. Shaun had given so much for me already.
“His ribs are broken,” Ocean stated bluntly and without feeling.
His ribs are broken, my mind echoed to me. It was the first time he’d ever spoken directly to me, and those were the words fate had chosen.
The dominating force of Ocean’s steady gaze took every ounce of will not to drop my own in submission. “I’m no doctor, but I think he might have punctured a lung, too.” My brother was dying a foot away, and all I could think of was how smooth and cultured Ocean’s voice sounded.
Shaking my head, I lifted my phone, then dialed 911 without replying.
No one stopped me. Ocean even looked…amused.
“Hi, yes,” I greeted when the dispatcher answered. I kept my gaze on Ocean while he casually slid his hands into his pockets and cocked his head. “Could you please send an ambulance to The Diamond Lounge? My brother, Roshaun Perry, he…” My gaze flicked toward Ocean, who lifted his brows as he waited for my answer. “He fell and broke his ribs.”