Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“What’s happening?” I ask.
“Does it matter?” Matteo’s eyes linger on Angel.
“Brent is my kill.” Angel sucks in a breath at my words.
“You’re going to kill him?” She stares up at me. “Why doesn’t he go to jail or something?”
“We can’t have any talkers. All three will die. It has already been set in motion.” Matteo checks his watch. “In fact, I’m on a bit of a timetable here. I can’t keep the new police chief waiting.”
He’s going to set this all up. Pin the killings all on each other. I’m sure it will have Brent killing his father and some murder-suicide for Ken and Barbie. It will clean up this mess without raising red flags. Everyone gets what they want. Except maybe my Angel. It’s a brilliant plan. I shouldn’t be surprised. This is how Matteo operates. It’s why he’s still the most powerful man in this city.
“Save the tears, Angel. You’ll need those for the cameras.”
“Matteo,” I growl, stepping in front of Angel to block her from anyone’s view. I ready myself just in case.
“Did you tell her?” Matteo keeps going. I take a step, but when Angel grabs the back of my shirt, I stop. With one touch, this tiny girl can control me and so many others' fates.
“Tell me what?” She pokes her head out from behind me.
“Don’t,” I order her, not giving a shit who Matteo is right now. Angel already has to live knowing a bunch of fucked-up shit.
“You don’t.” Angel elbows me, wiggling to try and get around me.
I let her, but I wrap my arm around her right above her chest, pulling her back flush to my front. I keep my arm firmly in place so she stays against me. Relief fills me that she doesn’t try to get away from me. That should be the least of my worries right now.
Matteo smirks at Angel, who is pushing and ordering me around. I don’t give a shit. All I care about right now is coming out the other side of all this with her in a better place.
“Tell her. She has the right to know,” Riley says softly.
“Your brother has a bit of an obsession with you.” My arm tightens around Angel, hating to think about that little fucker. The sick things he likely did all while thinking about Angel.
“He hates me. Brent has spent most of his life terrorizing me.”
“He is a fucking psycho, so that might be what gets him off,” Nikolai mutters, shaking his head. He’s still not over Brent and Becky, and I don’t blame him. He wants his revenge for what they tried to do to Riley.
“Some of the girls, the ones he picked, bear a resemblance to you,” I tell her, wanting it to come from me. She tenses. “He built a show shrine to you. Took pictures of you without you knowing.” I push down my temper to get the rest out. “In your home.” Angel turns in my arms. “In—”
She places a finger on my lips. “I get it. You don’t need to say any more.”
“If you want to say goodbye—” Matteo says.
“What?” Angel turns back toward him.
“He’s here.” Matteo nods toward the van. “We’ll be taking your brother and father back home.”
“I don’t want to say anything to him.” I hate how defeated she sounds. She’s too pure and innocent for any of this.
“All right, then. We need to get moving.” Matteo taps his watch.
“Come on, Angel.” She doesn’t stop me from leading her back up to our place. Nikolai and Riley follow behind us.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she asks as soon as we enter. Angel walks over, picking up the kitten, hugging it to her chest.
“I’ll stay if that is what you want.”
“You said it was your kill.” Angel repeats what I’d said downstairs.
“It’s my right, but no, I don’t have to take it.”
“But you want to.” I do. I want to snap the little fucker’s neck, but first I want to hear his scream. To torment him the same way he’d done to Angel all her life.
“I want to please you more.” A small smile pulls at her lips.
“Go,” she says.
“I’ll be staying too.” Riley sits down on the couch. Nikolai won’t be missing this. I may be the primary on this one, but I’ll make sure he gets what he needs out of it as well.
“Go,” Angel says again, but I don’t move. “I’m not going to run.”
“I was going to lock it either way.” I’m honest with her.
“I know.”
I walk over toward her. “Tell me not to go.”
“I won’t do that, Abel.”
Fuck me. Why is she doing this?
“Go. I’ll be here when you get back.” She licks her lips. “Then we’ll talk.”
Is this some kind of test? I don’t fucking know.
“Come on.” Nikolai's hand comes down on my shoulder.
“I’ll be back, Angel.” She doesn’t stop me when I lean in and press a kiss to her mouth. Then I follow Nikolai out and back down the stairs. This time, making sure to lock the door behind me.