Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 150546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 753(@200wpm)___ 602(@250wpm)___ 502(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 753(@200wpm)___ 602(@250wpm)___ 502(@300wpm)
“I owe you.” Priest’s jaw tenses as if it physically pained him to say the words, but I know that’s not all that he’s pissed about. It’s that we didn’t know whoever the fuck these people are.
“Actually, yeah, you do, but not for this.”
I lean forward, ready to ask him what the fuck he means, when the phone goes dead. “Well, fuck. How’s that gavel feeling now?”
“This is how it’s going to be from now on, right?” River surveys us all, clipping a bottle of water when Amber strolls past with the cart. “I guess we won’t have to throw parties when we’re bored anymore.”
“We threw too many when we should have been doing this.” Priest is cold when he answers her, and I know that from this moment onward, everything is about to change.
Now
As soon as we’re all in the Jeep, Baylee floors it forward and we zip over the valleys of greenery, back the way we came.
Just as we’re passing a line of trees near one of the huts nestled away, a flurry of white glows from between the bushes.
Priest taps at the back of the driver's seat. “Stop!” The Jeep skids to a halt as Baylee turns over his shoulder just in time for Priest’s door to swing open.
He reaches for the girl and I half expect her to run.
“Hurry up, bruh! We gonna be cooked damn meat if we get caught!” Baylee complains, his eyes flying all over the place.
The girl doesn’t move. She peers up at us all through wide eyes and dark eyelashes. I don’t give a fuck much about her right now, but Priest forces her into the back seat with us, even though she almost got in willingly. Baylee resumes as the tires rip up the grass. We fly back through the dense forest and onto the track we created to get here.
Shit.
As unsatisfying as that was, our point was made. Don’t fuck with ours or we’ll fuck with yours. Only now, we need to review just who these Bakers are and how the fuck they’ve been hiding the whole time. They’re not just bored young idiots dealing drugs on the street.
There’s so much more to who they are. For the first time ever, another organization has surprised us. This isn’t fucking good.
Halen
I stare down at my phone that was plugged into my charger when I got home last night. I woke up feeling like I had slept for days, but it has only been hours.
Shutting the screen off, the glass of rum on the counter finds its way into my hand as I swirl the liquid around the rim. My head should be clear, especially after yesterday and the close call with Deacon, but the more I’m around them, the more I need to drink.
Storm clouds roll in from behind the woods of the backyard, as a cackle of thunder growls through the sky. Tonight will go smooth. I will make sure of it. Pop will too.
“I’m not drunk enough for tonight.” Stella steps down the platform that leads into the main family room, where large glass doors are opened out onto the back patio. The gardens are so well manicured that I sometimes wonder what my mother would do if I ruffled them. Fucked with them. Messed them up a little.
My bare feet touch the marble patio and I hold the glass to my chest. “Well, you better hurry then.”
“There’s something I need to tell you before the boys get here.” Stella brushes up quietly behind me. It’s the first time she’s used her gentle voice.
I turn slightly over my shoulder, the silk of my gown parting when the hint of winter teases my skin. “They’re suspicious?”
Movement behind her steals my attention and the smile falls from my lips when my eyes land on them. I scan their bodies quickly, noting the bloodstained clothes, but it’s War that stops me.
With dried blood smeared over his face and a small cut on his chin, the room spins around me.
The glass is back on the table and my feet are moving forward without thought.
He stumbles drunkenly, his eyelids heavy. We hadn’t spoken at all since the party two nights ago, and somehow, all that delayed time did was piss me off even more.
My fingers are on his chin, forcing his lazy eyes down onto me. “What the fuck happened?”
His teeth chase my hand, but he misses.
I shove him back slightly when he laughs. “Priest!” I summon my brother while keeping a close distance to War. If he falls… I’ll catch him.
His shoulder brushes mine when he passes, removing his shirt by the back of his collar and heading to the alcohol cabinet in the corner of the room. The open flames burning from the large open fireplace do nothing to soften my twin’s hard features when he looks down at me.