Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Like the fact that if I were this Vampire’s mate, I was suddenly the safest I’d ever been in my life.
“Keep it until we’re out of here,” the Vampire said, his gaze still roaming all over me.
I nodded and adjusted my grip.
I followed him across the room as his brothers started yelling from the main part of the garage where I’d been held.
“Shit,” he hissed as he picked up speed.
“Wait,” I called, jogging behind him. My legs protested as the muscles stretched and tightened, but I refused to acknowledge it.
“You okay?” he asked, jerking to a stop in the hallway.
“What’s your name?” I asked, pausing a foot away.
“Daniel Boucher.” His gaze was warm as he shot me a soft smile.
I barely stopped my mouth from dropping open. Everyone had heard of the Boucher brothers. Their names were legendary in certain circles, and I’d spent the past five years hearing about their exploits.
“You gonna tell me yours?” he asked as he started moving again.
“Rosemary Whitlock,” I replied, watching for any sense of recognition. None came.
“Nice to meet you, Rosie,” he said as we exited out of the hallway to find his brothers barking at each other.
Panic seemed to pulse inside the building like a living thing as I followed the group toward the doors. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but I would’ve followed the devil if it meant I could escape the four walls of my prison. Armed intruders breaking in to kill my captors was the perfect cover, and I nearly sighed as I took in a lungful of fresh air outside.
From what I could gather from the shorthand they spoke, their home had been attacked while they were away. No one said it out loud, but from their sharp movements and the speed at which we reached their cars, there were very important occupants at home.
Daniel threw open the back seat of a nondescript sedan and gestured for me to climb in. As soon as I was seated, he threw himself into the driver’s seat. Seconds later, we were speeding toward the end of the block and flying around the corner. I buckled my seat belt as I watched his brother in the front passenger seat, his body strung tight as a wire as he leaned forward, like that would make the car move faster.
“They’re really good drivers,” the not-brother said from beside me as he buckled his own belt. “Lots of practice.” He didn’t sound confident.
“I’m not worried,” I replied, watching as we sped through red light after red light and then swung onto the freeway.
“I’m Charlie,” he said, glancing at me and then back out the front windshield.
We were going so fast that it was nearly impossible to look away from the road ahead of us. It was instinct, the urge to see where we were going.
“Rosemary,” I replied.
“Pretty name.”
“Sorry I didn’t untie you back there,” I said distractedly. “That looked uncomfortable as hell.”
“How could you have?” Charlie asked skeptically. “You were tied to a chair.”
“Right.”
With a small jolt, I remembered hearing about the death of one of the Boucher brothers. The youngest one. That’s why he hadn’t been in the garage with the others. It had been pretty big news for a minute because the highly trained Vampire had been kidnapped and tortured. I tried not to look at Charlie again. I’d never met a human who had lost their mate before, and I didn’t want to stare like some creep.
Forcing myself to look away from the cars we were passing, I pulled the magazine out of the pistol in my hand and checked the ammunition. The weight of it assured me it was loaded, but I had a feeling that I’d need to know exactly what I had to work with. Whatever situation we were walking into was bad. The brother in the passenger seat—I couldn’t remember which Boucher he was—kept calling for a man named Sven through his comms.
Eventually, Sven stopped answering.
My stomach was in knots by the time we turned off a windy road onto a long private driveway lined with old growth. My skin was damp with clammy sweat even though the night around us was cool. I was pretty sure I had a fever, but I’d deal with it later.
Absolute carnage greeted us as we pulled up in front of a massive house.
“Oh my god,” I mumbled under my breath.
There were bodies everywhere. Lying in the yard. In heaps on the front porch.
“I’m coming with you,” Charlie announced. Bravely, I thought. His voice shook a little, but he’d still said it.
“No. Keep watch,” the brother ordered. He jumped out of the car while it was still moving.
“Fuck! Ambrose!” Daniel yelled in frustration.
Right. That was Ambrose Boucher. I should’ve known he was the oldest. Something about the way he carried himself indicated that he was used to being in charge of the others.