Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Utter. Fuckin'. Betrayal.
19
ZARIAH
I slowly come to, my eyes burning and dry.
It takes me a moment to focus on my surroundings, but I realize I'm rocking when I do. Not the gentle kind, but rather rough. Like I'm on the ocean. Panic grips me, and I try to jerk upright, only to find I'm tied down. I let out an agonized bellow when the realization that I'm on a fucking boat hits me.
I'm on the ocean.
God knows where.
With fuck knows who.
"Oh, good, you're awake."
My head whips to my right, and I see Steven sitting on a chair beside the bed I'm currently strapped down on. We're in a room, timber walls, filled with old barrels and rickety furniture. The boat rocks again, and my stomach twists. This is so bad. There is no way Alarick will find me here, not when one of his own will be feeding him false information.
I keep it together.
I'm a cop.
I'm smart.
I'll find a way out of this.
I will.
"Why?" I rasp, meeting Steven's eyes.
I truly believed in him. I honestly thought there was absolutely no way he could be involved. I was wrong. So incredibly wrong. If I had listened to Alarick from the start, I wouldn't be in this mess.
It's my fault.
"Why not?" Steven shrugs, his voice as scarily calm as it always is.
He's so good at this, terrifyingly so.
"You have the most incredible career. You're willing to throw it all away for this?"
"I'm not throwing anything away. It's my career that allows me to get away with this. Don't you think I've covered every angle? Nobody knows, nor will they ever know what I'm doing. It was and will remain a secret operation."
"You fight to put criminals away," I shake my head, horrified. "You fight for justice. You're selling girls like they are nothing. How can you live with yourself?"
He smiles. "Quite easily. You see, I do fight for justice. I balance it out. I do bad, but I take down bad. It's a win-win. The perfect balancing act."
I scowl at him. "You're sick if you think that's how it works."
He crosses his legs and leans back in the chair. "Say what you will, it's you tied to the bed and not me. I'd be careful about my actions."
"What are you going to do? Sell me?"
He laughs. "Obviously. I have some rather large overseas buyers that will love you. Nobody will ever find you. I can promise you that."
"I'm a cop. I'm not a broken woman from the streets. You think they won't find me?"
"No, because I'm the best there is. Nobody is going to find you because I know how to cover everything. You went missing, oops."
I feel sick, mostly because I know he's right. He is the best at what he does. He's so god damned good, which is why he has gotten away with this for so long. He can make me disappear and ensure nobody finds me.
"The club will find a way," I say, my voice scratchy.
"The club is being dealt with. You don't need to worry about them."
Samson.
My body recoils at the very thought that he's been in on this the whole time. He's the reason we haven't been able to get anywhere, the reason Dax got away, the reason I'm here right now. He's the reason that everything is happening. Alarick doesn't know. He has no idea. He's going to search for me, and Samson will ensure he is led in the wrong direction. By the time they get close, I'll be gone.
I'm going to vomit.
I groan and look away.
"Samson is my brother."
I look back at him, horrified. "What?"
"He's my brother. He knows not to cross me. I have something he wants. He'll do anything for it, even take down a club that means the world to him. Don't doubt they mean everything to him, Zariah. They do. But I have something that means more. Blackmail, I suppose you could call it. I was happy to leave him be, let him play with his little club until you all started getting involved. Then I had no choice but to have him play the game. I had a card up my sleeve for a long time, and I knew that I'd need to use it against him one day. You could say he didn't see it coming, but he also had no choice but to believe me."
Samson didn't do this intentionally?
Why did he do it then?
What does Steven have against him, that could possibly make him turn against his club?
"What did you take from him?" I ask, my voice low.
Steven stands, stretching his arms. "Wouldn't you like to know? I'm sure they'll find out when he leads them on a wild goose chase. He'll never risk going against me. He'll make sure you're never found."
Samson. The man who is always so nice and so quiet?