Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Stone glares at me again. “You better hope like fuck you never find yourself wandering these halls without your little backup.”
I shove at the table, pushing it back toward him, not that it goes far under his impressive weight. “Who the hell are you protecting?” I demand, my chest heaving with heavy breaths.
Stone moves like lightning, pushing the table so damn hard the welds holding it to the ground break. My chair slides back with the momentum until I’m pinned against the wall.
“WHY THE FUCK DO YOU CARE SO MUCH?”
The guards race in, pulling back on his strong arms, just enough that Doug and Andy can help free me from the confines of the table. There’s no doubt that there’ll be a nice bruise plastered across the front of my chest come morning.
“Time to go,” Jensen spits, clearly not impressed with how I’ve wound up his prisoner, but I can’t find it in me to care. Maybe it’s time I move on from Stone Blackthorne. He put himself in this position, so perhaps it’s time I stop trying to help him when he clearly isn’t somebody who wants to be saved.
“Fine by me,” I say, getting back to my feet and hating how shaky my knees are as I watch the four guards try to get Stone restrained again, chains jingling as they’re wrapped around his waist, along with the ankle cuffs.
And all the while, he still stares at me.
“I will discover your secrets,” I tell him. “I’ll find out who you’re protecting, and when I do, nothing will keep me from working out what really happened that night.”
“Try all you like, Menace, but there are graves for those who dig too deep.”
I just smile, despite the fear pounding through my veins. “You don’t scare me, Stone Blackthorne,” I lie. “Good luck ending me from behind bars. I truly hope that you thoroughly enjoy your next hundred and eighty-five years here.”
And with that, the guards start dragging him out of the conference room.
5
STONE
Ipull against the guards’ hold as they try to drag me out of the conference room. I fucked up. I let her get the best of me, and if this door closes behind me, I’ll never get another chance to get my hands on her. Because if she digs for answers, if she pushes just hard enough . . . fuck.
My world would crumble.
My head spins with more questions than she came here with. Surely she knew I wasn’t about to sit down and swap war stories with her. Is she fucking delusional? But what’s really troubling me is the fucking act.
Aria Ashford is a fraud.
That woman has been at the top of my kill list for seven long fucking years. Her betrayals go far beyond anything that could ever be forgiven, and she has the nerve to show her face here? To parade that fine ass around me, pretending she doesn’t have a goddamn clue what’s going on while asking me questions about that night?
What kind of angle is she working? And why the fuck is she here?
A blaring alarm sounds through the prison, cutting off any and all thoughts streaming through my mind, and the door in front of me slams closed. The deadbolts automatically slide into place with a loud bang, locking me in the conference room with four guards, two morons, a soon-to-be-dead boss, and Aria fucking Ashford.
Lockdown.
It’s like poetic justice. No timing could ever be so perfect, and that right there is karma. When you resist killing people, the world offers its thanks, and who am I to deny a gift horse as it’s staring me in the face?
A grin pulls at the corner of my lips as I slowly turn to look at the woman who has done nothing but drive me insane for the past forty-five minutes, her face draining of all color.
“Sit your ass down,” Jensen bites, one hand on his gun as all four of the guards watch me closely, waiting for me to make the move they know is bound to come.
“Security breach in C-block. All available officers respond immediately. Repeat, security breach in C-block. All officers respond,” a voice roars across the guards’ radios. “Door malfunction on all C-block cells. Repeat, all cells are open, proceed with caution.”
Aria’s gasp fills the air as Rourke grunts. “Fuck.”
As for me, I can’t help the laugh that tears from the back of my throat. “It seems this interview wasn’t a complete waste after all.”
“Make one fucking move, and I’ll put a bullet through your brain,” Jensen spits, and I don’t doubt that he’d try. The only problem is that he couldn’t reach for his gun quicker than I could snap his worthless neck, and he damn well knows it. I won’t lie, I almost feel bad that I’m going to have to kill Rourke. Perhaps I could just knock him out for a while.