Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“Dante Savage will use you just like every other man from your past, and when he’s bored, he’ll discard you.”
“The thing is, you don’t know him like I do,” I tell Bane, and leaning in, I press the tip of the blade that’s been dipped in rat poison against his cheek. “He isn’t like any other man I’ve come across. He’s not evil, he’s not sadistic, and he’s not a coward.”
I grab the bottle from the small trolley one of the guards has brought in for me, and I dip the blade in the solution once more.
“Open wide,” I order as I slide the sleek metal past his lips, slicing into them. The pain I see written on his face is enough to bring me pleasure. But I want more. I want to see him suffer. “Open wider,” I command as the blade slides over his tongue. “When you used my mouth like this,” I shove the blade deeper, and his eyes bulge as the poison stings its way into his system. “I’d cry and beg for mercy. But I don’t want to hear you do that, I just want to enjoy seeing your agony.”
I rip the knife from his mouth and dip it back in the clear liquid. When I turn back to him, he’s fighting against the restraints. But he’s not going anywhere. I’m going to watch him take his final, gurgled breath, and then the guards will burn his body.
“Today is the last day you get to live,” I tell him. He can’t talk anymore, but I don’t feel any guilt. I thought I would, but thankfully, all I feel is relief. This is much more cleansing, than I expected. “All those years of evil deeds, and it’s come to you being poisoned by one of the girls you used like a fucking toy.”
I shove the tip of the poisoned weapon into his left eye, and as it bubbles and blood spurts from the socket, I smile. The gloves I’m wearing protect me from the poison. Dante made sure I was able to exact my revenge and walk away unscathed.
I feared I might not be able to do this. I thought I was too broken to face the man who tortured me. But as I watch Bane suffer, I know I am strong enough, and I’ll walk away even stronger.
Finally, I step back, and as the heaviness that’s been weighing on my shoulders, for so many years, finally lifts, I watch as he struggles to breathe. I’m enjoying this, and I’m not sure what that says about me. His body convulses as the poison takes its toll, and moments later, there’s only silence.
I’m finally free.
Even though I escaped my father and Bane, I’ve been living in constant fear ever since. I’ve always known Bane would would find me one day, but when that day arrived, I thought I’d be the one to die.
Instead, Dante saved me and gave me a new beginning. I’ve discovered I can have a normal life. Well, my version of normal.
It’s time to walk away from my past and into my future.
No more holding on.
No more revenge.
Only happiness.
18
DANTE
Fear hasn’t been an emotion I’ve allowed myself to feel for years. After Malcolm was killed, I left all my fears behind, but seeing both my girls in the lake and realizing Harper was under the water had ice racing through my veins.
I’ve known for some time I love them. I’ve fallen and there’s no way to stop it. The thought of Harper and Rayne being killed sent pure agony and rage coursing through me. I never want to feel that way again. Ever.
I found it easy to walk away from the life I’d known since I was a child, but it will always be a part of who I am, no matter where I run. No matter how hard I try to make amends for my sins, my soul has been tarnished. There’s no way for me to go back to being the innocent boy who wanted to protect his brother and escape his father’s clutches.
Drake has found happiness, but I know I will never be as at peace as he is. I sheltered him from most of the atrocities our father subjected me to. I didn’t want my brother to see the pain and mental torture I suffered, so I hid it away. I locked it up in my mind and kept it there until the day I saw the lifeless body of Malcolm Savage.
Bane was right about me in his cryptic message. I am my father’s son. I only need to look in the mirror to see his face. The Devil. My father was evil, and even though he’s dead, there’s a lingering ghost of his presence that still haunts me.
I close my eyes, and he’s there, reminding me of what I am.