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)
His nostrils flare, rage firing up in his eyes. “Fuck no.”
“What?”
He shakes his head. “You can’t have her.”
I snort. “She’s not yours either. She has a boyfriend. I just saw him sit on that same bench.”
He squints, annoyed I’d point it out. “Like I don’t fucking know that.”
“I’m just saying … if you’re gonna enjoy something that ain’t yours, then let me feast too. Otherwise, what’s the point? Where’s the fun in me keeping a secret without having the benefits too?”
He mulls it over for a second as if it finally dawns on him that he’s put himself in a difficult position before he releases me again. “Fine.”
I pat his chest. “Good choice, partner in crime.” A broad smile forms on my face. “So when are you planning on ravaging her again?”
“What are you guys talking about?”
Kai’s eyes widen at Nathan’s voice, and he casually tucks his hands into his pocket before turning around to face him. “Class. Money. The usual.”
“Speaking of money …” he repeats, tucking his hands into his pockets. “We still don’t have enough.”
“What do you mean? We stole loads of stuff,” I say.
Kai smacks his hand in front of my mouth. “Do you have to be so loud all the time?”
Nathan lifts his mobile phone and shows us another text he got.
“Another threat?” Kai asks.
“They want more,” Nathan replies, the nerves on his face bulging. “It’s never gonna be enough.” He runs his fingers through his crisp blond hair. “What the fuck am I going to do?”
“We’ll fix this,” Kai says. “Don’t give up.”
“You know, we’re here for you,” I say.
“If my fucking parents could have just done their job correctly,” Nathan grits, “I wouldn’t be in this shit.” His fist balls. “I have to protect her. I don’t fucking care what it takes. If I have to shoot a million more men, I’ll do it.”
“Okay, let’s do it, then,” I say.
Kai sighs, but he eventually agrees and nods.
“You got any more of those targets from that site you were on?” Nathan asks.
“Let’s talk about it after class,” Kai replies. “We might be able to do another hit tonight.”
“Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about,” I say, grinning from ear to ear.
LANA
Yawning, I stumble through the hallway looking for the bathroom. It’s the middle of the night, and my throat is dry. But the darkness makes it hard to see, so I touch the walls, looking around for the door. Light spills from the room to the left a few feet ahead of me.
My brother’s room.
But it’s so late at night. He can’t still be awake, right?
I creep up to the door, yawning into my hand. I wonder what he’s doing.
Some squeaky noises and a definite groaning sound are coming from up ahead.
What is it?
When I push the door open and peek inside, I notice a big lump on his bed. Like a monster growing inside the blanket, pushing, shoving, moving around.
But I don’t believe in monsters.
I frown and call out my brother’s name. “Felix?”
The lump abruptly stops and then moves up, the blanket slowly lowering. Two eyes connect with mine.
But they aren’t my brother’s.
Even though I can definitely tell two people are in that bed.
I swallow, but the dryness in my throat doesn’t go away.
“Mom?”
Shrieking, I sit straight up while drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.
I gather my bearings for a moment and check the time. 1:00 a.m.
Jesus Christ. I haven’t even slept two hours and already that fucking nightmare came to visit me again.
I throw myself back on the bed and relax on the pillow, trying to get the memory out of my head, but nothing I do works.
Nothing ever works to quell the rage inside my heart.
Mother.
A word I despise so much even though I used to love it so much.
Before I knew how twisted that word could become.
Now all that’s left is a remnant of my family.
Broken. Shattered into pieces.
I turn around in bed, squeezing my pillow like I’m choking someone, but nothing will eliminate this anger.
So I throw my blanket off, groaning with annoyance, and get up.
Sleep is not going to work tonight, and only one other thing can calm my raging heart.
Violence.
So I go on to the laptop and check the same website as before, the one I’ve visited so many times, to see if I’ve got my next bait.
A smile forms on my face when I find out multiple people have replied to my posts.
All of those people are abhorrent, vicious monsters who deserve to die.
Just like my mother did.
I grab my outfit and my bag filled with tools and weapons, and I make my way out of the door and the sorority building, ready for my knives to meet my next victim’s blood.
When I finally get to the shoddy place in the middle of the city, I park my motorcycle out front and check out the neighborhood before I put on my mask and head toward the house. A big yard in front is filled with all kinds of bushes and trees tightly cramped together like a mini jungle. It looks like a pretty piece of nature, but a wretched monster hides within this place.