Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Eric gurgled something unintelligible. His hands were completely red now as he tried futilely to stop the bleeding. His struggles grew weaker by the second.
“You ready for me to call the police?” Knight pulled out his phone. Eric’s gaze shifted to Knight, a pleading look on his face.
“Please,” he begged. “Call an ambulance. I don’t want to die.”
“News flash, fuckwit,” Diesel growled. “No one gives a good Goddamn what you want.”
Jade knelt beside Eric’s dying body just beyond the spreading pool of blood. His eyes locked onto hers with a desperate intensity. Even now he tried to exert control. To intimidate. To make her feel small.
“Sucks to be you, huh?” she said softly. She didn’t smile or act like she gloated over him. “I’m not sad you’re dying. But I’m sad you let things go this far. And I’m sad you hurt all the people you hurt.” She shook her head. “But I’m glad you won’t be able to hurt anyone ever again.”
His lips moved silently, trying to form words but falling short. Sweat ran off him in rivulets and his skin was practically translucent. He trembled continually. Whatever final poison he tried to spew did not matter. His eyes began to lose focus. His chest rose and fell in irregular stuttering movements.
I watched Jade carefully. Her face showed a complex mix of emotions, relief chief among them.
Eric shuddered once more, then went completely still. His eyes remained open, fixed on Jade’s face in death as they had been in life. Predatory. Possessive. But now empty of the malice that had animated them.
Jade sniffed, wiping her nose on the back of her wrist. “Fucker. Good riddance.”
Hannah stepped closer, pulling Jade into a tight embrace. When they parted, Jade looked up at Hannah with new understanding. “Have you done something like this before?”
Hannah shrugged. “A few times, but only after someone demonstrates a clear pattern of violence that will not stop any other way.” She glanced toward Gunnar, who stood silently by the door. “My brother went to prison for killing a man who tried to rape me when we were sixteen,” Hannah said quietly. “He took the blame for something I did because he wanted to protect me. When he got out, I swore I would keep his secret. But to pay for what he did on my behalf, I turned myself into a predator.”
Gunnar cleared his throat gruffly. “You done talkin’ about me like I ain’t here?”
Hannah snorted a laugh, the first real emotion she had shown since entering the room. “Just giving Jade a secret. Figured it was only fair since she’s family now.”
“Yeah, well.” Gunnar shifted uncomfortably. “Someone make sure to call Lana and Ethan. I have a feeling they’re going to get some serious overtime for this.” As if on cue, the sound of sirens wailed in the distance, faint but growing louder.
“Ethan just pulled up,” Knight called from the hallway. “He’ll handle the police.”
Hannah stood, offering her hand to Jade. “Come on. You do not need to be here for this part.”
Jade took her hand and rose unsteadily to her feet. I moved to her side, immediately slipping my arm around her waist to support her. She leaned into me gratefully.
“Let me get her out of here,” I said to Knuckles.
He nodded. “Take her to the back buildings. Ethan will want to talk to her later but not until he has the scene under control. Leave it to us, brother. We got this covered.”
I guided Jade toward the back door away from the pool of blood and the body lying in it. She walked beside me in silence, to the small section leading from the shelter to the main Kiss of Death compound.
The cool night air felt like a blessing after the oppressiveness inside the building. I felt Jade take a deep breath beside me.
“Is it really over?” she asked.
I pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “Yes, baby. It’s over. Ethan and Lana will take care of everything. You’ll never have to worry about Eric or anyone associated with him ever again.”
She turned into my chest, stopping me on the walkway to wrap her arms around my waist. “Thank you. For letting me be there. For not trying to shield me from it.”
We stood there for a long moment just holding each other as police lights began to flash against the walls of the surrounding buildings. The sirens grew closer, then cut off abruptly as they reached Haven’s entrance.
“Take me home, Rip,” Jade said quietly.
“Where is home?” I asked carefully.
She looked up at me with clear eyes. “Wherever you are.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jade
I leaned into the final curve as we thundered through the gates of the Kiss of Death compound, my body moving in perfect sync with Rip’s as his bike roared beneath us. Six months ago, I’d learned to love riding with Rip. It had been my freedom when I’d felt so trapped I couldn’t breathe. Now I threw my head back and laughed as the wind whipped through my hair. The vibration of the powerful engine between my thighs felt like freedom and personal power.