Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91029 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91029 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“I helped save you. Guess that should contradict your own statement,” he says with a ghost of a smile.
I bristle in the bed. No one has elaborated yet on how they found me or how I got here. No one seems to want to either.
I continue staring into Rush’s cold blue eyes, and he finally rolls those eyes while glancing at the door then back at me.
“I hate Herrin. Everyone knows it and they know why. I’ve hated Drex for being Herrin’s obedient little bitch for years. You were just a means for me to fuck with Drex. Now you’re the reason Drex is off his leash. Life is about to be fun because of you, so no; I don’t have a problem with you. Never actually did. I didn’t trust you, but don’t take the trust thing personal. It’s rare I trust anyone. Occupational hazard.”
I’m not so sure what he means by all that, but Axle tenses beside me before cutting his eyes toward Rush like he’s saying too much.
“Why do you hate Herrin?” I pry.
“Because he’s the kind of man that causes those trust issues. In this life, having a president you can’t trust is like living in paranoia central. I’ve seen what he’s capable of doing to his own flesh and blood—”
“Lips are getting too loose, Rush,” Axle interrupts, glaring at him.
“Drex told her our secrets,” Rush tells him with a cold smile. “I think she deserves to know his.”
Bile rises to my throat for reasons unbeknownst to me. Whatever is so secretive can’t be good. It’s really, really not good, judging by the look on Axle’s face and his tense jaw.
“We don’t even know the truth,” Axle growls. “She almost put us all at risk when she went against him.”
Me? Are they talking about me? No. They can’t be. I haven’t done anything.
“We only know Herrin’s version of the truth, since she didn’t get to talk to any of us. Hell, she’s been in hiding for years. You still trust him? Still believe he’s telling the truth?” Rush drawls, acting like this is casual, but I notice the subtle way his fists clench.
Whatever is going on is really pissing him off.
“I hate Herrin too,” I admit when the tension seems to get suffocating between the two. “He’s an asshole.”
Axle’s glare melts into amusement, and Rush laughs lightly as the tension starts to ebb.
“Don’t let just anyone hear you say that,” Axle says with a puff of laughter, shaking his head.
“She can just blame it on the trauma for a while,” Rush snickers.
The door opens, and my breath lodges in my throat when Drex walks in, looking freshly showered. Drex’s eyes drop to the empty bowl of soup I had earlier. It was the best taste in the world, and Sarah left to go buy more.
“You still hungry?” Drex asks quietly, looking over at me. Four days has wreaked havoc on my appetite. I was starving, but had a hard time eating. I finally managed to get it all down. I also know my body isn’t exactly lovely to look at just yet, considering I lost the weight in weird places, such as my legs and arms. Not so much anywhere else.
Rush speaks before I can say anything. “Anything left for me?” he asks Drex.
Drex smirks while cocking an eyebrow, and Rush curses while running a hand through his hair.
“Fucking knew you shouldn’t be the one going in. Did you at least find out anything?”
Drex shrugs. “Sledge can fill you in. Anything happen while I was gone?”
“Your girl called Rush out,” Axle says with a grin.
Rush rolls his eyes while standing and walking out, and Drex cocks his head in question… toward Axle. Yeah, he’s still acting like I’m not in here.
“You don’t want to know,” Axle says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I need to go check in on Drake. They’re going to take him off some of the painkillers today.”
“Is it common to keep him so drugged up?” I ask Axle, ignoring Drex like he’s ignoring me.
I feel like I’m on the damn elementary playground.
“We pay for abnormal care. No one wanted Drake in any pain, and the doc said it was unlikely he was conscious when they took you due to the trauma he suffered.”
“He was definitely unconscious,” I confirm.
Drex sucks in a sharp breath, and I look over at him. It’s almost like he looks relieved.
“Good,” Axle says softly. “The one time they tried to wake him up, he was crying out in a lot of pain. It was right after the first emergency surgery on his right leg. He couldn’t really tell us anything, and the doc was worried about his blood pressure from the stress of the pain.”
I grimace at hearing that, and Axle frowns.
“He’s been mumbling ‘that fucker’ a lot in his sleep. We thought he knew who took you.”