Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 156945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
His brain raced, but when he looked at Shadow, it became obvious he needed to act. “Go back to your body. But don’t let anyone see you like this. Can you do that?” he whispered.
Shadow gave a slow nod, and his solid form drizzled down Gray’s legs, creating a puddle on the floor. The way his shapeless shadow darted under the sofa, and then transferred its entire mass along a crack in the floor was the stuff of Sci-Fi.
Gray didn’t miss Elliot’s gaze following Shadow’s stealthy journey across the room without any fear whatsoever. No surprise since the guy was seriously creepy and loved all things morbid. Or maybe it was seeing ghosts on a daily basis that made Elliot so unbothered by freaky shit.
“That thing is dangerous,” Rev hissed at Gray, holding Angel’s hand while Nao disinfected the crying girl’s arm.
“What thing?” Angel asked, shuddering when Gray entered the common room again. Most of the chairs were down, and the places where bullets hit the wall—impossible to miss on the blood-red background.
Rev sighed, holding her hand. “Nothing. I meant something Gray brought with him. Everything happened so fast. You must be really confused.”
She nodded. “I am really confused. I could swear I saw a big man in a gimp suit!”
It wasn’t that far off from an accurate description of Shadow’s original form.
Rev pulled her close and stroked her hair as if she were a little girl in need of comfort, not a lover. His eyes narrowed as he glared Gray’s way. “Yeah, the mind can play tricks on us when adrenaline spikes.”
Shadow, back in his human body, slowly got to his knees. His eyes were clouded as he leaned on Knight, looking around until he spotted Gray. “My nose hurts.”
Rev pushed Angel off his lap and darted toward him like a tank about to fire a missile. “You disgusting animal! Look what you’ve done to my girl!”
Without thinking, Gray stood in Rev’s way. “Will you calm the fuck down?” In a lowered voice, he hissed out, “he acted while you were down on the floor.”
Rev leaned so close they almost butted foreheads, and he pointed to the corridor where another body was cooling. “Didn’t need to pull them apart like this was some fucked-up gore flick. What the fuck? That monster ripped a man’s head off like it was a bottle cap.” He spoke with fury, yet quietly enough for Angel not to hear him. Nao was getting the message, and guided Angel farther away under the pretense of having to wash her wound.
The air was so heavily charged no one else dared to say a thing, and in the face of silent agreement, Gray needed to be firm. “He obviously wanted to help. You can’t expect him to know how to do it tidily,” he said, even though the efficiency and ease with which Shadow ripped men apart freaked him out too. Then again, hadn’t Jake wrecked Laurent and Beast’s wedding not that long ago? They all forgave him, so why wouldn’t Shadow be offered the same courtesy?
“I think I know how those fuckers found us,” Fox said, and the moment he cut in, the tension dispersed. Information was way more important than the standoff. In his open hand, Fox held a small device with a glowing digital screen. He moved toward the table where the metal safe box lay between empty bottles, and the thing started beeping.
Beast let out a low growl. “Fuck.”
Jake licked his lips, approaching Fox in quick strides. “You deal with the bodies. I’ll take this thing far away. Just in case someone is still tracing it.”
Knight sighed deeply when he looked at the blood-stained wall in the corridor. “Fucking hell, what a mess…”
“Maybe he should be the one to clean it then!” Rev growled, pointing to Shadow.
Gray couldn’t fucking believe this. Shadow had literally saved him from death twice in the past few hours, and this was his own father’s reaction?
“How about you clean it, since you did nothing to help,” Gray shouted back.
Vars grabbed Rev from behind before he could charge. And thank fuck, because Gray didn’t want to know what Shadow’s reaction would be this time. Gray and his father had their differences, but Gray wanted Rev’s head to remain where it currently was.
“Enough,” Beast said loudly enough to stop the approaching fight, and he stepped between Gray and Rev to make his point even clearer. For a moment, Gray was sure he’d won, but when the prez’s cool eyes settled on him, he felt small like a scolded child. “Take him with you and explain the rules to him. If he is to remain here for the next few weeks, he needs to be socialized. And for God’s sake, give him a bath before we all puke from that stench!”
Gray sucked in some air and nodded, pressing his lips together. “Yeah. Sure.”