Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
“Hi, ladies,” someone behind us says.
We both turn our heads, but the sound of something clicking makes my heart stop.
“Don’t turn. Don’t make a sound.”
A man hiding his face behind a hoodie and a mask has pointed a gun at her head.
But I definitely recognize the symbol on his mask.
The Bones Brotherhood.
“Lana …” I whisper, ice cream dripping down my hand.
She shushes me.
“That’s right, you’re gonna be real quiet, and you’re gonna get up and walk to that van,” the guy behind her growls.
“And what if I don’t?” she says.
We can’t win from a gun … and especially not one owned by a Bones Brotherhood guy.
Slowly, the man hovers the gun to my head instead, and I quake in place. “You really wanna try me out?”
Tears form in my eyes, and one of them trickles down my face at the thought of facing death again.
“Move,” the man says.
Have they come for me?
We get up, and Lana immediately grabs my hand. “It’s gonna be okay.”
It won’t be.
They know I killed Wayne Ferry with Ares, and now they want revenge.
The ice cream drops from my hand as we slowly make our way to the gate toward the approaching van. Two guys wearing a hat and fake hair grab us by the arms and drag us inside.
And I nearly choke on my own saliva as the shadows swallow me whole.
I’m terrified.
“Please, don’t kill us,” I yelp.
“Shut up,” one of the men says, and he directs his attention toward the guy in front of the wheel. “Drive.”
The van races off so fast I can barely hold on, but something in the dark finds its way to my fingers, curling around in a warm embrace …
Lana’s hand.
The one thing I don’t deserve.
My only lifeline as we’re headed toward hell.
CRYSTAL
My whole body shakes as the van veers from left to right to whatever destination these guys are taking us. We’re chained to the van like cattle, and I’m deathly terrified.
But when Lana squeezes my hand, I break under the weight of what I’ve done.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault—”
“Yes, it is,” I say, my voice cracking. “I took you to the park for some ice cream.”
“Oh, girl …” Lana leans into me. “You don’t need to apologize.”
“Yes, I do.” My whole body erupts into goose bumps from knowing the truth she’s about to learn. “When I heard about the fight from Brooke, I got too scared to tell you the truth. I was afraid you never wanted to talk to me again.”
I swallow away the lump in my throat. “That picture that got shared around … it’s my fault.”
She looks startled.
“Nathan gave me his passcode once, so when I saw he left his laptop at the library, I figured he wouldn’t mind if I used it to look something up for my course. But then I saw that picture of you and them. I thought he’d taken that picture without your permission and wanted to send it to you so you’d know about it. But I didn’t understand how his email worked and accidentally sent it to the entire school.” Tears roll down my cheeks. “It was too late to un-send it. The damage was already done.”
When she doesn’t respond at all, I continue. “I’m sorry, Lana. I’m so sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. Please, don’t be mad at me.”
“Shut it!” the driver growls at us.
Lana looks at me like she doesn’t even know who I am, and I don’t blame her for it.
When the van finally comes to a stop, my whole body feels like it’s about to get crushed. The van doors open, and some guy steps inside to unlock the chains around our wrists.
Lana immediately throws a punch at a guy’s face, teeth flying left and right before she punches him in the abdomen. He nearly vomits while she kicks him to the side, fighting her way through the men while they try to hold her back.
But all I can do is shiver in the dark.
Lana turns to me, compassion riddling her eyes.
“Jump! Now!” she yells at me.
My eyes widen in shock.
She actually wants me to be safe?
I jump out of the van and run off as fast as I can, but one of the men swiftly grasps my arms and flings me to the ground, pinning me down.
“No! Let her go!” Lana screams.
And it hurts my fucking soul.
“Give it to her,” one of the guys holding her down says.
Another one brings out a needle and shoves it into her neck, making her go limp.
“Bring them inside,” he growls.
I try to shriek, but the man holding me stuffs a dirty rag into my mouth, and then the needle hits my skin.
The pain and subsequent energy loss are almost instant, as though something drains me of my life until I can no longer keep my eyes open, and everything goes dark.