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)
Even Penelope stops shooting and homes in on me.
“Stop fighting!” I scream. “Enough!”
“Give me one good fucking reason, Lana,” Felix says through gritted teeth, throwing every ounce of his rage into his voice. “They extorted you!”
My eyes widen.
How does he know?
Jason swiftly hides behind a pillar at which Kai just shot, and my pupils dilate at the sight of him.
“You …” I grit when our eyes briefly connect. “You told him?”
“He did his fucking job,” Felix replies. “Jason cares about you.” Felix narrows his eyes at Nathan. “Unlike those fuckers.”
Nathan still points his knife at Felix. “I’d be real careful about your words if I were you. You don’t fucking know us.”
“You’re Phantom scum who hurt Penelope and her sister, and now you’re trying to hurt my sister for revenge,” Felix says.
“This isn’t fucking revenge,” I explain. “It’s more than that.”
Penelope approaches and places a hand on Felix’s shoulder. “Felix, maybe we should listen to her?”
“You’re delirious,” he tells me, ignoring her.
And I’m so goddamn tired of this that I just give him a hard slap.
He stares at me in disbelief while Penelope steps back to let us fight it out.
“Listen to me! I want to be here.”
He just stares at me for a moment before his hand slowly rises to touch his cheek.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I don’t want to hurt my own damn brother. But for once in your life, can you please listen to me instead of what you think is supposed to happen?”
“Lana,” he mutters.
“All of you, stop and come here,” I bark at Dylan, Kai, Alistair, and Ezra.
After a few seconds, they all stop pointing their knives at each other and make their way to their friends, keeping a keen eye on their enemies, like they’re ready to be at each other’s throats again.
Phantoms on one side, Skull & Serpents on the other.
What a mess.
Nathan and Kai clutch their knives tightly as if they’re ready to strike, but I hold up my arm, and they finally back down. “Let me take care of this.”
“I trust you,” Nathan says.
“You trust her?” Felix parrots like he can’t believe his ears. “What the hell is this? You’d better explain fast.”
“Jason didn’t tell you the full truth,” I say, setting my gaze on him. “Or did he not tell you he literally told me to my face that he believed it was my fault I was being extorted?”
Felix’s brows furrow, and he snaps his fingers. A Skull & Serpent grabs Jason and drags him to the front.
“Is that true, Jason?” Felix asks.
Jason stammers, “It’s not like that. I tried to tell her, but—”
“No, you didn’t want to support me, you made that very clear.” I interrupt. “And then as icing on the cake, you literally came at me when I told you to leave me alone. You kept running after me and cornering me, forcing Kai to intervene.”
Penelope’s jaw drops. “Jason? What the fuck, is that true?”
“Kai?” Felix says through gritted teeth. “So you’re on first-name basis with them now?”
“Oh …” Penelope folds her arms. “So this is why you asked me about those boys.”
“She asked you about them?” Felix snarls at her.
She raises her brow at him. “You made her a list.”
“Because I didn’t want her to even talk with them!”
“Talking isn’t all we’ve done,” Kai muses.
Felix raises his fist, but I grab it and lower it. “Don’t. He’s baiting you.”
“So what? I don’t care. He deserves a fist to the jaw for that comment,” he growls back.
“I get that you’re protective of me. You care about me, just like I care about you,” I say, looking him in the eyes. “But I don’t need your protection. Not on this one.”
“So what, you’re just hanging out here with these Phantoms?”
“Hanging out is an understatement.” I turn my head as Milo casually strolls down the stairs. “We’ve been having a lot of fun with her.”
“Fun?” Felix reiterates, his face almost turning red with rage. “You’ve had sex with my sister?”
Felix raises his gun again, pointing it straight at Milo’s face.
LANA
“Not just him,” Nathan grits.
Felix takes off the safety, but I still grasp the barrel and shove it away.
“It was my choice, Felix,” I reply.
“You can’t be serious,” he says. “They’re the fucking enemy.”
“Yours,” I retort. “Not mine.”
His jaw tightens, but Penelope drags his arm farther down. “Felix, stop, please. She asked you to for a reason.”
“I told you not to associate with them, and you’re going behind my back?”
“It’s complicated,” I answer, swallowing away the lump in my throat. “But they understand me, unlike Jason.” I throw him another wicked glance, and he looks away in shame.
“Jason scared the living shit out of her,” Kai says. “I would’ve put a knife in his brain if it wasn’t for the fact that Lana wants him to live.”
“I tried to make it right!” Jason exclaims.