Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
I freeze when I hear Kai’s tone change. We’re standing in a gas station in the middle of the night, with nothing around us but darkness and the lights of the road leading into the distance. We’re in the desert, almost back home.
My legs carry me behind Kai’s back before I can think about what’s happening. I don’t think about why as I do what he says, instincts guiding me, the Titan on his jacket staring. When I turn, I see the reason. The gas station attendant makes a moaning noise of terror. She’s an elderly woman whose voice cracks in a specific way as if she’s witnessed men fight before and doesn’t want to see the brutality again.
It’s the man from Vegas, the one who was following me. He wears a leather vest to show off his inflated arms purposefully. His blond hair is loose around his face, as though framing it, framing him. He looks angrier than the last time I saw him. He strides right up to Kai until Kai raises his hand.
“Close enough, Randall.”
“My old friend.”
Randall smiles, thin lips spreading across his face. Or maybe his lips seem thin because he’s got such puffy features. I’m not judging, but heck, he’s freaking me out big time.
“If you don’t let me get the women clear,” Kai says, “things are going to end very fucking bad for you. If you force me to fight while knowing Kayla or this innocent lady might get injured, it will end in death. I don’t give a damn anymore. My brother is bleeding out in the hospital.”
His voice shakes on my brother, and something stabs into my heart. It’s a vicious and unfair instinct, the reflex to tell him he and Ryan aren’t brothers, just best friends. Even as a figure of speech, it grosses me out, but this isn’t the time or place.
Randall waves a hand, shakes his head, and laughs coldly. “The old bitch can go. The fat bitch stays.”
I turn to the elderly lady. “Run, ma’am. Run right now.”
“L-let her come with me,” the old lady says, staring bravely at Randall.
Randall reaches into his pocket and takes out a pistol. In a flash, Kai has done the same. The men aim their guns at each other.
“Kay, take the lady and leave.”
Randall smirks and laughs again. He sounds unhinged. “You’re both coming with me.”
“You’re an idiot, Randall. Showing yourself like this. If you really wanted to get us…”
Kai trails off. Randal’s laugh becomes even more crazed.
“What is it?” I whisper.
“There’s someone else.”
Suddenly, somebody sprints at me from behind the counter. They must’ve been crouched there ever since Randall walked in. Maybe they came through the back. They shove the old lady out of the way and then leap at me. I see a flash of denim. A denim shirt, nearly blood-stained, the world ending, my poetic, pointless mind pulses. Then, a solid arm coils around my middle, crushing across my chest. I shift against the person, registering the situation way too slowly.
Randall takes a few steps forward. The man with his arm around me is panting, his breath hot against my ear, but nothing like Kai’s when he breathes over my skin.
Kai walks off to the side, keeping his gun trained on Randall but looking at me. Pain streaks through him. His green eyes are grim and focused, his chest rising and falling calmly.
I can’t see the man holding me, but I can feel the sharp object pointed against my back. It’s a cold, hard edge jabbing me and making me feel useless. The door whines open and closed as the elderly lady pushes into the night.
“She’s going to call the cops,” I say, struggling to keep my voice steady.
“Maybe,” Randall says, “but we’ll be long gone by then. Get the bitch in the car.”
“Nobody has to die here,” Kai says, keeping his gun firmly trained on Randall’s head even when the man paces back and forth. There’s something like desperation in Kai’s voice. “I don’t think either of you are good men. You wouldn’t be doing this if you were, but I don’t want to kill you. I’ve killed men before, but I’ve never wanted to do it, never enjoyed it. Don’t make me do it again.”
Kai’s voice cracks, and I think about the kid in the forest, the feral kid they forced to fight, and all the hell he had to endure.
“Don’t be stupid,” Randall says. “We’ve got you beat.”
“You’ve insulted my woman. I was going to beat you badly for that. I wasn’t going to kill you, but now this—putting her life in danger. I can’t let that stand. Last chance.”
“Your woman?” Randall says, sneering. “You know this is Ryan’s little sister, right? I’m just checking. A second ago, you said you were his brother.”
Kai stares bleakly.
“Enough games,” Randall goes on. “The cops might be here soon. If you don’t move, I’ll have to ask my friend here to motivate you. That motivation might involve certain things being done to a certain fatty you might not like.”