Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 78487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
And for me too.
“It was all real, Rory.”
“Someone could’ve set him up.” But even as I say it, I know what I saw and heard in that video were the cries of a terrified young woman.
“It was found on his cell. The video is real.”
I start to pace again, wringing my hands frantically.
I hadn’t seen Joey in four years before he disappeared. His drug use had created a huge rift between us.
When I had tried to talk to him about my concerns, he’d made it abundantly clear he didn’t want my opinion.
The Joey I knew died a long time before Ares got to him.
But I didn’t know he’d become something so dark.
Then it hits me like a truck.
Feeling a rush of horror, I turn to Ares. “How many were there?”
His shoulders stiffen, and he takes a tentative step toward me.
“Don’t do this—”
I grit my teeth. “How many women did he hurt?”
“Rory—”
“Tell me, goddammit!”
“That my employer knew of… five.”
Five.
“No…” I gasp, but the word gets lodged in my throat like a lump of fiery coal and kicks the air out of my lungs.
He hurt four more women.
I want to puke.
“You think there were more?” I barely manage to talk.
“There were five videos, Rory. I don’t think he saved all his depraved acts for the camera.”
Meaning there could be many more women who suffered at the hands of Joey.
I’m breathless.
My shoulders slump, and I break, and I don’t even care that I am falling apart in front of Ares. I have no strength left because I am broken. Straight up split in two. And it doesn’t matter that he might kill me in revenge for my betrayal.
I sag against the wall and begin to sob.
Everything I’ve held on to since the day I found out he was murdered was a lie.
Joey was a fiend.
Across the room, Ares’ anger seems to dissolve.
He walks over to me and crouches down so we’re at eye level.
He touches my chin, so I’ll look at him. The anger is gone from his eyes, but the hurt is still there, and I can’t stand it.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.
He rakes his gaze over my face but says nothing. Then he gathers me up in his arms and carries me over to the bed. I wind my arms around his neck, sobbing as I press my face into his neck. “I’m so sorry.”
He lays me down and climbs onto the bed behind me, securing me in the heat and strength of his arms as they hold me to his broad chest.
And in the silence, he lets me fall apart until I eventually fall asleep.
When I wake, the sun is dying, and long shadows fill my bedroom. In the distance, storm clouds bruise the sky. There’s a blanket over my legs and a glass of water on the bedside table.
I’m alone.
My apartment is still.
He’s gone.
My heart drops to my stomach.
Has he left for good?
I sit up. “Ares?”
He appears in the doorway, and a wave of relief washes through me.
“I thought you had gone,” I say softly.
In the dusky light, he looks big and powerful, but he’s stiff and quiet, his jaw tight.
As he moves toward the bed, I can feel his pain.
Guilt washes over me.
Oh God, what have I done?
He sits on the edge of the bed, and I ache to touch him. But he sits far enough away to tell me he doesn’t want that.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
He’s talking about Joey.
“Like my world has crashed around my ankles, and I only just realized.”
It’s a bitter pill to swallow to realize you’ve been played by your mom.
There was no hit.
She knew why Ares did what he did.
She just didn’t want to admit what her son had done all those years ago, and because of the cover-up, she would never have to. But by God, she was going to have her vengeance for her son being taken from her.
And I was her perfect little pawn.
She never got over what I did to Donnie. She never forgave me for taking her husband from her. Just like she couldn’t forgive Ares for taking her son from her. So she set me up. She used my emotions against me and rolled the dice in her new game by begging me to take vengeance on the man responsible. And what better time to draw me into her web than after watching my brother’s coffin lower into the ground? Emotional, I was ripe for the picking and stood no chance against her manipulations.
“I didn’t know he had become something dark before he died.” I lift my gaze to his. “Was it quick? Did he know?”
His jaw clenches. “It wasn’t quick.”
“Was he scared?”
“Yes.” His voice is cold and clipped. Detached. “I told him why, and then I killed him.”
Despite knowing what Joey had become, it’s still fresh, and Ares’ words hurt.