Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 176345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 882(@200wpm)___ 705(@250wpm)___ 588(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 882(@200wpm)___ 705(@250wpm)___ 588(@300wpm)
Not a chance in hell.
A smug grin spreads on my lips. “No… that privilege belongs to you.”
She smiles back and steps into a side room. “You can come out now, Ro. It’s safe. But don’t open your eyes.”
Little Rory steps out, shivering and all.
Nathan’s face visibly relaxes when he sees her alive and well, and he immediately runs toward her to pick her up and wrap his arms around her. “I’m here, Ro. You’re safe now.”
“Are you coming or what?” Lana asks us.
Blaine winks at me, and we both run through the hallway, hopping over the bodies as we make our way to the exit near the curtains. Everywhere I look, blood cakes the walls and floors, Bonesmen bodies covering the area. It’s like a giant massacre took place. Only one girl responsible for nearly half the dead.
And when I look at her, confidently striding through the building, I realize I have fallen madly in love with this cutthroat god of a woman.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
We all look over our shoulders, but Lana pushes us farther out the door. “Go!”
BANG!
She shoots her shot, but after fighting so long, she misses the vital points, and the bullet hits the Bones Brotherhood guy in the shoulder instead.
“You … What the fuck is a Rivera doing here?” the guy yells before she seals the door shut.
“RUN!” she yells, and we all bolt through the street, Nathan with Rory in his arms while Blaine offers backup. Adrenaline shoots through my veins, sweat rolling down my back, my lungs dragging in the oxygen as I run as fast as I can.
The guy slams open the door behind us, but we’ve already jumped into the vehicle, Blaine beside me on the passenger’s seat, and I start the engine and race off. He runs out onto the street, and with ragged breaths, both Lana and Nathan look out the rear window from the back seat to see him swear and raise his fist.
But we’ve made it out alive, and he’s not fast enough to catch up.
“Can I open my eyes yet?” Rory asks.
Nathan slowly pulls away his shielding arms and says, “Yes. You’re safe now.”
She opens her eyes and blinks as she looks around.
Lana’s blood-smeared face strikes fear into her eyes.
“Don’t be afraid,” Lana says, holding out her hand. “I’m still me. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
She rubs her lips together but still lets Lana touch her shoulder. Rory begins to smile. “You saved me.”
Rory jumps into her arms, and Lana stays frozen to her seat for a moment like she doesn’t know what to do with all that love.
“Cute,” Blaine muses. “If we forget all the dead bodies she left.”
“Hey,” Nathan warns, making a gesture near his lips. “Zip it.”
“I’m just saying.” Blaine shrugs. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“True,” I say, glancing at them through the rearview mirror.
“I heard so many bangs. I was so scared,” Rory mutters.
“But you got through it,” Lana replies. “You’re a big girl.”
“Because I had you,” Rory replies. “Will you be my new Auntie?”
Nathan bursts out into laughter. “Whoa, hold your horses, Ro.”
“What? Can’t she be? Can I have more than one?”
“If you want to call me Auntie, I’ll be Auntie for you,” Lana says. “But my name is Lana. Lana Rivera.”
“That’s a beautiful name,” Rory says, making Lana blush as she tucks her bloodied hair behind her ear.
But something gnaws in the back of my mind that I just can’t let go.
“That guy back there … he said it too.” I look at them all through the rearview mirror, but in particular Lana. “He knew who you were.”
She swallows. “We all knew the risks when we came here.”
“You should’ve run with Rory when you could,” I say.
“And leave you all to die?” she retorts, her eyes as stern as her voice.
My lips part, but I don’t know how to respond.
Something about the idea alone that she killed all those people without a single scratch on her gives me chills.
“You killed all of them yourself?” I ask after a while, curious if she had any help.
She looks right back at me. “You’ve only seen me kill for sport. But this? This was personal. And I don’t take that lightly.”
Nathan glances at her, his neck turning red as his eyes slide over her bloodied clothes and face, inspecting every inch as though it’s the first time he’s really seeing her for the enthralling, powerful woman she is.
“But that guy … he saw your face,” I say.
Nathan glances at me through the mirror too now along with Lana.
“We destroyed their chance of getting more money,” I add. “And they’ll put the blame on her.”
“Let’s worry about that later,” Lana says, clearing her throat. “I just want to get home and have a nice, warm shower.”
Blaine laughs as he shows off his bloodied outfit. “You and me both.”