Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 47615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
“You keep sayin’ that, yet the men we saw moved like they know what they’re doin’. Wouldn’t surprise me if they’re watchin’ us right fuckin’ now.”
“No one saw me nab the bitch. I was careful.”
“Yeah? Did you search her before you tied her up? Because, while the woman has a fine ass, I was more interested in the phone in her back pocket.”
“So she has a phone?” Ran Man waved the guy off. “She can’t call nobody. I got her hands tied.”
The big guy snorted. “No, you don’t. She got herself free a good ten minutes ago.”
Rat Man spun to look at me and I froze. His face contorted with rage. Rat Man crossed the short distance to me and swung out with his hand, cracking across my face with enough force to snap my head sideways. The movement knocked me off balance and my momentum tipped the chair, and I fell to the concrete floor with a jarring thud. Pain exploded through my cheekbone, bright lights flashing behind my eyes. I tasted blood, copper-tangy and warm, filling my mouth where my teeth had cut into the inside of my cheek.
“What the fuck did you do?!” he screamed at me, leaning over to get in my face. “Who’d you fuckin’ call?!”
Pain made my eyes water. I spat a mouthful of blood onto the concrete between us. “Who are you afraid of most, Rat Man?” I asked, my words slightly slurred through my swelling lip. “Cain? Or Jag?”
With a roar of anger, Rat Man kicked at me. He missed my torso but connected with my thigh and I yelped out before I could bite back my cry of pain.
Something broke inside me then, a dam of terror and tension giving way to a strange, wild freedom. I started to laugh. The sound burst from me raw and untamed, echoing off the warehouse walls. If I sounded slightly maniacal, I thought I had a right to be.
Rat Man took a step back, momentarily thrown by my reaction. His confusion only made me laugh harder, even as tears of pain leaked from the corners of my eyes.
“You think this is funny?” he continued to yell, his face darkening. “You think I won’t fuckin’ kill you right now?”
I couldn’t stop laughing. The absurdity of it all, the terror, the pain, the way this pathetic man thought he could win against Jag, against Knight, against the combined force of Kiss of Death. My laughter grew wilder, verging on hysteria.
Rat Man’s face contorted with fury. His hand went to his waistband, pulling out a gun. He raised it, pressing the barrel against my temple. The cold metal dug into my skin, but somehow, I wasn’t afraid anymore. “Maybe I should just end this now,” he snarled. “Send your boyfriend your brains as a welcome gift.”
I smiled through the blood in my mouth. “Fuck. You.”
His hand trembled slightly, indecision flickering across his face. Before he could decide, a new sound cut through the warehouse air. The distant rumble of motorcycle engines, growing louder by the second.
Rat Man’s head jerked toward the sound, the gun wavering. “Fuck,” he whispered, then louder, “Fuck!”
He spun away from me, shouting to his men. “They’re coming! Get in position! Remember the plan!” He turned, intending to address the two other men, but we were alone in the warehouse. “FUCK!” His roar was nearly drowned out by the roar of bikes pulling up to the door of the warehouse.
“They’re going to kill you,” I promised Rat Man, blood dripping from my chin onto the concrete by my face as I smiled up at him. “And I’m going to watch.”
Panic flashed across his face, quickly masked by bravado. “Shut up,” he snapped. He hurried to set me upright. Despite my slight weight, this guy struggled to lift me. Granted, I was dead weight since my legs were still tied to the chair.
The motorcycle engines grew louder, then suddenly cut off. The silence that followed was more menacing than any threat. Jag and Knight were here, just outside.
Rat Man backed away from me, moving toward the center of the warehouse floor, gun still trained in my direction.
Through the broken windows, sunlight caught on chrome and leather as figures moved into position outside. The cavalry had arrived. My lips curved into a bloody smile as I prepared myself for what came next.
“Time’s up, Rat Man,” I said softly, the words meant as much for myself as for him. No matter what, I had no intention of being a passive victim. I would fight. For Jag. For myself. For the future I refused to let this man steal from us.
Chapter Thirteen
Jag
The warehouse door groaned as we pushed it open. I moved first, every muscle in my body coiled tight with rage as Knight, Cain and I moved inside the door with purpose. The others were behind us, but I only cared about Ada. My eyes adjusted quickly to the dimness. Then I saw her. Ada sat tied to a metal chair in the center of the room, her face bruised, lip split and bleeding. Something primal roared inside my chest.