Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“On it. See you in ten.”
I start my bike and glance back at the mansion once more, before riding toward the club.
And fucking praying it isn’t too late.
~*~*~*~
AMALIE
I spit blood from my mouth, and my ears are ringing. My left leg has been hit four times with that crow bar, and his boot has connected with my ribs another five. He’s hit me countless times on the face, thrown me against walls, and done anything he can to damage me. It’s worked, my body feels like a bomb has exploded right in the middle of it. I can’t hear, I can barely see, and mostly, I can’t move.
Any hopes of escape have gone out the door.
I’ll never get free now. I’m already too weak.
“Think that’s enough damage for the day,” Treyton says, dropping one last kick into my ribs.
I cry out in pain; there are no tears left, they’ve been dragged from my body along with all my hope. He’s going to kill me, Charlie too. He made that clear. But he didn’t want to send us back clean, he wanted Malakai and the club to know we’d suffered first. He wants our bodies bruised and battered, something that will stick in their minds forever.
I roll to my side, spitting more blood. The ringing in my ears has turned to a loud roar after Treyton slammed my head against the wall. Blood trickles from one of them. The pain of that is worse than anything else. If I lose more of my hearing, I’ll never ever recover. He knows that, it’s exactly what he wanted.
“As soon as I’ve checked the perimeter, I’ll be back. I’m going to kill Charlie first,” he tells me, making sure I can read his lips.
I tried to close my eyes against it earlier.
I quickly learned that was a bad idea.
He doesn’t take too kindly to ignorance.
“I’m going to make you watch,” he smiles. “Then I’m going to gut you, and send it all to your boyfriend on a pretty platter. Can you imagine his face?”
I can, and my heart twists and clenches. The fear in my body is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. No nightmare could ever compare. It’s a desperation, crossed with horror. The thought of dying scares me to no end, and I’m frantic to try and stop it, yet helpless because there’s nothing I can do. It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced, and even the pain can’t mask the fear consuming my every thought.
“Enjoy your last few minutes, I’m going to sharpen my knives.”
Him and the other two men leave the room, and I turn to see Charlie, tears running down her face, watching me. They made her watch the whole thing, and I know that what she sees is terrifying. She drags her equally beaten body over to mine, and places a hand on my face, trying to wipe some of the blood away from my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Amalie. I couldn’t do anything.”
I reach up, crying out in agony, and take her hand. “It’s okay,” I rasp. “You’re here now.”
“They’re going to kill us.”
Yes. They are.
Her eyes swing to the piece of wood I started loosening on the wall, and with a cry that makes my heart rip in two, she pushes to her feet and hobbles over. Then, she starts crawling at the wood, her fingers bleeding, her body limp and weak, but she pulls and tugs, scratching until the wood is covered in her blood, until finally the two top nails are free.
I take a deep, shaky breath and scream out in pain as I push to my hands and knees, crawling in pure agony over to the hair pin I stashed away. I pick it up and slowly make my way over to the wood, and with a strength I never thought I could find, I start loosening the bottom two nails. Tears roll down my cheeks, and my body begs me to stop, but the need to save my own life far outweighs my pain.
Charlie pulls, and the wood makes a loud snapping sound, breaking in half. She topples backward, crying and gasping in pain, but she has the wood in her hands. It’s a jagged, broken piece, with sharp edges. So sharp they’d pierce someone with enough force.
“This is all we have,” she croaks. “And it’s probably still not enough. He won’t come back alone, but at least we don’t go down without a fight.”
It isn’t enough.
We both know it.
But even if we ended Trey’s life before ours was taken, it would mean our death was worth something.
I shuffle closer to Charlie, a different kind of understanding and respect for her. I reach over, and take her hand. She looks at me, eyes glassy, fear as strong in her gaze as it is in mine. “I’m so afraid,” she whispers.