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)
And there she is. My sweet girl.
Aria’s at the center of it all, terror stretched across her face as she stands immobilized, pinned against none other than Lux Valen’s chest, the barrel of his gun pressed hard to her temple as she visibly trembles with fear.
My heart races, and I don’t bother looking at the men surrounding me, only Aria, silently letting her know that whatever happens here, I’m going to make sure she’s okay. Just like I always have.
“Give it up, Stone,” Lux says, the leader of the Bone Reapers gang, and the man who personally oversaw Ash’s downfall. “We’ve got you cornered. There’s nowhere to run. Hand yourself over, and I won’t put a bullet through her head.”
And just like that, I submit, dropping straight to my knees.
25
STONE
Ice cold water splashes over me, and my eyes spring open, finding myself dangling from chains in a dark cell, bars lining one wall of what could only be described as a cement block.
Just fucking great.
Talon Wilder, second in command of the Bone Reapers, stands before me, the empty metal bucket dangling from his fingers before he tosses it aside. The sound echoes through the building, or maybe I should say basement. My guess is that I’m in some kind of underground prison system. I wouldn’t be surprised if multiple cells lined each wall, probably filled with men just like me—assholes who dared to step against their precious little gang and light a fire under their asses.
Three men hover behind him, smirks on each of their faces. Two of them being more than familiar. Collaroy Munroe and Nico Vega. Fuck, I almost catch myself smiling. What are the chances that three of the men on my kill list are standing right before me? It’s almost like an offering. I might currently be dangling from chains connected to an oversized meat hook, but that’s a temporary situation.
Now all I need is for Lux to show his worthless face, and I’ll have the full set.
Collaroy stands to Talon’s left, the four Polaroids clutched in his worthless hand. “What’s this?” he spits, looking at me as though I’m the piece of shit in the room before tossing the Polaroids on the ground below my feet. “Why have you been carrying our pictures around? Been jerking off to them the past seven years?”
A wiser man would know exactly why I’ve held on to these pictures, but unfortunately for Collaroy, there’s nothing wise about him. He’s a moron, and I hate that he reminds me so much of Ash. They were two peas in a pod before they fell into the Bone Reapers. It was all downhill from there.
I don’t bother responding; it’s not necessary. Instead, I turn my attention to Talon, and seeing the scrutiny in his stare, it’s clear that he’s the wise one in the room. He knows exactly why I’ve carried those pictures around, knows exactly why I submitted back at the warehouse, and knows exactly why I haven’t tried to make a move yet.
“Where is she?” I say, my voice level. Calm.
Talon watches me a moment longer, his dark gaze narrowing as though trying to figure out my game plan. “Oh, you’ve got much bigger problems than the whereabouts of your little girlfriend,” he says, a filthy grin stretching across his face as he attempts to bait me. “But don’t worry, we’re taking real good care of her.”
Rage cuts through me like a serrated blade, and as my blood boils from within, I keep a calm exterior, not letting him see how his words have gutted me. If they’re hurting her . . . fuck. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but one thing is for sure, I’ll be the only motherfucker walking out of this shithole alive.
“Where’s Lux?”
Talon scoffs. There’s no way in hell he’s about to hand over that information, but his little sidekicks clearly can’t read the situation as well as he can.
“He’s around,” Nico says with a smirk, as though that’s supposed to intimidate me, but clearly an idiot like him doesn’t understand what’s truly intimidating to a man who’s spent years in a maximum security prison. Nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. There’s only one thing on this earth that has the potential to intimidate me, and she’s a fiery redhead, but she’ll never know that.
Talon shoots a hard glare at Nico, a silent message passing between them, and if I were a betting man, I’d guess Talon is warning Nico that he’s about to have hell to pay for that. And judging by the look on Nico’s face, he’s got no idea why.
While Nico can’t see how letting me know that their boss is close by is a threat to their whole operation, Talon sure as fuck can. His gaze roams over me with a deep suspicion. “Whatever you think you’re going to achieve here, Blackthorne, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”