Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 42128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Fear flickered across his carefully maintained expression. The look of someone who was finally coming to understand the reality of what awaited him.
I was a little taken aback when he tried once more to reason with me.
“You misunderstand what I’ve tried to do,” Magnus began softly, his voice steady despite the tension in his posture. “This is about preservation—historical reverence. It was never meant—”
“You took women,” I interrupted him. Each word deliberate in my ice-cold voice. “You treated them as objects. You convinced yourself it was preservation, but all you’ve done is twist history to serve your own obsession.”
Magnus opened his mouth because he truly believed that he could convince us that he was anything other than a monster.
“You’re finished.” I cut off his words before they could gain momentum. “You made your choice when you targeted Delaney, and tonight your mistakes have caught up to you.”
He drew in a shallow breath, the truth finally settling heavily across his face as he realized there was no room for negotiation and no way to talk his way out of the fate he’d earned.
Justice arrived swiftly. I’d prepared to drag it out, make him suffer, but in the moment, it turned out that all I wanted was for this shit to be done. To get back to Delaney and finally move forward with our future.
I nodded toward Edge and Gauge, who stepped forward and began securing him for final transport. Edge glanced toward me. “We’ll handle the rest.”
I nodded once, trusting them implicitly to finish it. Without another glance at Magnus, I turned away, exhaustion finally seeping into my bones as I moved toward one of the showers at the end of the hall. I stood beneath the hot spray, letting the water wash away every trace of the journey and the tension, as my muscles slowly unclenched under the pounding spray. When I finally stepped out, I dried off and changed into clean sweats and a fresh T-shirt, feeling more human, more controlled, and far more ready to see Delaney again.
The clubhouse was quiet with the late hour, though a couple of the single guys always hung around. I walked through the halls toward my room, anticipation rising steadily within me as I reached the door and stepped inside.
Delaney sat up immediately in bed, her eyes finding mine as I shut the door softly behind me. I saw the relief wash through her expression, the tension she’d been holding finally easing at the sight of me.
“It’s done?” she whispered, her voice soft and hopeful.
I crossed the room without answering yet and climbed into bed beside her. She reached for me, her arms wrapping around me without hesitation as I pulled her into my chest. Her body relaxed fully against mine, her breathing softening as the warmth of her skin sank into my own, anchoring me completely to the present.
“Yeah, angel,” I murmured against her hair, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as I felt the last of the day’s tension fade. Her fingers slid gently across my shoulders, pulling me closer.
She didn’t ask questions or demand details. She simply held on to me, trusting that I’d handled whatever needed to be handled. I drew a slow, steady breath, feeling as if I could breathe freely for the first time since I’d found her on that dark, isolated road.
Magnus was no longer a threat. Delaney was safe, protected, and exactly where she belonged.
Finally, I could rest.
And for the first time since she stumbled into the road and crashed into my life, the future felt wide open.
18
DELANEY
As I woke slowly in Soren’s bed, the compound felt lighter. And filled with hope.
For the first time since I’d been taken, no heavy weight of fear pressed on my chest. Peace washed over me because I knew when Soren walked in that door late last night, it was going to be okay.
I didn’t have the gory details, but I didn’t really need them. I had no doubt that I never had to worry about Dr. Kinghorn again. He was gone. Whatever kind of justice Soren dispensed was fine by me after all the atrocities he’d committed against innocent women. The nightmare was finally over.
I stretched beneath the sheets before turning in his hold, and the tension I’d been living with was completely gone. The fear that had ruled me for so long had finally loosened its grip. I no longer felt like I was hiding from the world.
I was exactly where I belonged. Right here, with this man I’d fallen completely in love with. Who’d most likely killed to keep me safe.
Almost as if he could sense me thinking about him, his pale eyes opened.
When he’d come back last night, he’d looked tired but whole. I had only gotten a little time with him before exhaustion pulled him under. I’d quickly followed, sleeping more peacefully than I had since my ordeal.