Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Talon’s voice is a low growl, and I barely hear it over the noise. “They’ll take the bait. We move now.”
I nod, trying not to shiver from the chill in the air, or the chill in his words. He heads towards the back fence, and I follow, my feet moving through the darkness, my heart a wild, uneven mess in my chest. I know he said he wouldn’t kill me, but that doesn’t stop the fear from creeping in as we slip away, leaving the noise and the chaos behind.
We reach the fence, and he pulls it open, the gate creaking softly. I look back, just once, to see the bikes roaring out, a blur of metal and noise. Then, they’re gone, and I’m alone with a man who has made it abundantly clear how he feels about me. This should be an absolute blast.
The bushland is thick and dark, and I stumble over roots and rocks as we make our way through the trees. Talon says nothing, the silence between us growing deeper, more oppressive with every step. I want to speak, to explain, to try and make him understand, but I don’t know how. I don’t know if he’ll ever hear me again.
The walk is long, the night stretching out in front of us, endless and cold. I focus on the ground, on putting one foot in front of the other, on not thinking about how goddamned angry I am that nobody is listening to me. They won’t even try to understand. I know what I did, but damn, it was for a child. A damn little girl who can’t fight for herself.
I am going to attempt to make him hear me. “Talon—”
“Don’t,” he cuts me off, his tone flat and hard.
I hold my breath, frustration bubbling. It isn’t worth arguing with him right now, but God knows I want to. I want a fight, a screaming match, a chance to get it all out, but he is refusing to give me that. It’s like he knows I have so much to say, so he’s ensuring I can’t say it.
“You ever done this before?” Talon asks, his voice breaking the silence, unexpected and sharp.
“Done what?”
“Betrayed the only people who gave a shit about you.”
“You know what, fuck you, Talon. You’re not even trying to understand.”
He pauses, turning towards me. “Understand what? That you’re a fuckin’ liar and were willing to let us die for what you needed.”
“Never once would I have allowed that to happen. Never once did I tell them they could hurt you. I would have found a way, I would have told you before it ever got to that. I never planned on anyone dying. I would have given them information, just enough to get her out, then I would have told the club.”
“Bullshit.”
I’m done with him refusing to listen. I lose it to the point I feel my entire body shaking with rage. “They have Lily, and they were going to kill her. I had no choice, Talon. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I only wanted to get her out. She is a child, a fucking little girl, does that mean nothing to you?”
He doesn’t answer, just turns away, his silence more cutting than any words he could say. It’s too much, and it boils over, my heart pounding and my mind a tangled mess of desperation and anger. I shove his back, my hands flat against the rigid muscles as his body jerks forward, then he pauses, his entire body going rigid. He turns to face me again, his face stony.
I can’t take it anymore.
I slap him hard across the face, so hard my hand stings. “Say something. Anything. Stop acting like I don’t exist. Stop making out like you don’t give a fuck about me.”
His eyes blaze as he grinds out, “You don’t fuckin’ want me to say anything.”
“I do. I need to know what this is. I need to know why you’re torturing me like this.”
“You’re the one who’s torturin’ yourself, Nia. You and your fuckin’ choices.”
“God, you’re so heartless! You don’t care about anyone but yourself. Not me, not her. Nobody.”
He’s a breath away from me, his face a mask of rage. “You have no idea what I care about, and you have no fuckin’ right to put words in my mouth. You made this choice. Do you fuckin’ hear me? You did.”
I shove him, hard, my hands on his chest. “I thought you cared about me. I thought we had something, Talon. Was that fake, too?”
He grabs my arms, and before I know it, I’m pinned against a tree, his body pressing into mine, his arm a tight band across my throat. The breath rushes out of me, and I feel the hard bite of the bark against my back. His face is inches from mine, his eyes pure fury, his voice a low, deadly growl. “Don’t you ever fuckin’ touch me again.”