Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
How hard could this be?
As I spray, scrub, and disinfect, I think about Arsen. I think about the man behind the horror. The big, strong, powerful mafia ruler, the leader of his family, under immense pressure and fighting a war against people he cares about. I’m still pretty freaked out about finding all this, but at least I’m starting to understand why a guy like him might keep a weirdo murder-shrine.
Or maybe I’m just as broken as he is.
Hard to say.
I’m on my hands and knees when Maud appears behind me. I look up at her and she frowns down at me before grabbing her own gloves and joining. We work together in silence for a little while, and even though the blood’s old and the stains are deep, we start to make progress.
“Arsen wants me to apologize,” Maud says.
“But you don’t want to?”
“I just don’t think I’ve got anything to apologize for. You were making a damn racket and if you kept it up, half the staff would’ve come looking. Imagine the trouble if anyone else saw that room?”
I laugh lightly to myself. “Right, good point. You don’t want the world to know about Arsen’s murder-shrine.”
“I don’t like that you’re making light of it, but I suppose joking’s better than screaming.”
“Arsen told me you were a poisoner.”
“In another life, dear.” Maud wipes her forehead and frowns at me. “I’ve been with the Brotherhood for a very long time. I’ve seen how the world has changed, and I’m telling you, Arsen’s the only man capable of navigating this mess. He’s a good man.”
“You keep saying.”
“I mean it.” She bends down and scrubs some more. White foam turns pink with blood. “But I promised him I wouldn’t drug you again, and I keep my promises.”
“That’s something, I guess.”
She presses her lips together and studies me. “You’re really going to clean all this yourself?”
“I’m going to try.” I climb to my feet, wring out the brush, and start on the wall. “He needs someone to start it, so why not me?”
“You don’t owe him that.”
“Probably not.”
“But you care about him.” She’s looking at me carefully and I definitely don’t like the scrutiny.
I keep waiting for a little prick in the neck followed by a very uncomfortable death.
“He’s a crazy person. We’re scrubbing old blood off his wall.”
“True, but you care about him anyway.”
I sigh and look away. She’s got a point, even if I don’t like it. I’ve been slowly falling for Arsen ever since coming here, against my better judgment.
Any normal person would’ve turned around and gone running the second they found those skeletons.
But me? All it did was make me wonder why.
It’s that curiosity-disease again.
“He’s going to need you,” Maud says, climbing to her feet with a grunt. She wipes her hands on her apron. “This war he’s fighting, it’s going to hurt him. And I don’t just mean the violence and the money. He’s going to have to kill members of his family, and that goes against everything he believes.”
“I know that.” I pause my scrubbing and look back at her. “I want to be here for him.”
“Good. You’re a good woman too, Lena. Maybe he got lucky, marrying you.”
“Doesn’t feel that way. He started a war.”
“All for that baby you’re carrying. Speaking of which, you probably shouldn’t be breathing in all these cleaning fumes.”
“I want to do this for him.” I touch my stomach lightly. “Just a little bit more, anyway.”
“I’ll let him know where you are.” She gives me one more look and smiles. “By the way—you shouldn’t eat my eggs anymore if you don’t want to be drugged at all.”
My eyes go wide and I nearly drop my brush. “What are you putting in your eggs?!”
She cackles as she walks away. “Just kidding!”
“That’s not funny!” I groan and lean my head against the wall. Then I realize there’s a big blood stain an inch from my face, nearly gag, and get back to cleaning.
The hallway looks almost presentable by the time I’m finished. My wrists and knees ache and my back’s a knotty mess from bending over. But the walls are clean and there’s only a vague outline of blood still seeped into the carpet.
“Maud told me you were in here.” Arsen’s leaning against the wall and watching me.
I toss my rubber gloves onto the floor beside the bucket. “She was helping out earlier.”
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to.”
He comes to me. A thrill runs into my stomach. He’s beautiful, and somehow, knowing that there’s a deep, terrible wound festering inside of him only makes me like him even more. I lean forward as he bends down to kiss me.
His lips are soft and his smell is earthy and fresh.
“It’s time for you to take a break,” he says softly, hands on my hips.
I nearly purr under his touch. How’s this man still have this effect on me? Even knowing what he is? I still want him anyway.