Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
I open the bag and pop open the pills I got, taking out two and swallowing them whole.
If I can’t feel even a little bit thrilled, then I won’t feel anything at all instead.
But what is up with Max’s detached attitude? Something’s not right, but I can’t pinpoint what. Outside, I stare at his motorcycle and think it over for a moment.
Maybe … just maybe…
I fish my tracker from my bag, stick it to the inside of his luggage compartment, and pull up the tracker app on my phone.
Then I hop into my car, chuck the bag on the back seat, start the car, and race off.
Fuck, this car is the only thing that makes me feel alive, makes me feel anything at all. Adrenaline surges through my veins, the fuel that keeps me going. I don’t know why I am this way. All I know is that I need the kick to survive. To feel something other than dead inside.
I pop open the bottle and take another pill, feeling the high slowly come on.
It’s not enough.
I need more, so much fucking more.
I turn on the heavy metal music and hit the gas to chase the darkness, nearly catching flight as I race down the mountains and head into the city. I know exactly where I’m going, and I don’t wait for red lights to turn green before I pass an empty street.
At the edge of the city is a giant mansion with a huge fence around it, and I park my car near the gates, pressing the button on the wall.
“Hello?” a voice calls out.
“Heath here. I’m picking up Silas.”
“Of course, Sir. I will send him down.”
Send him down? He’s upstairs? At his parents' house?
Frowning, I wait until Silas finally comes out of the house and walks up to the gate. “Just in time.”
“Looks like you had a great time in there,” I say.
His family waves at me from the distance, and I wave back with a fake smile.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he says. “Until Mom decided to force everyone to Melody’s room and gush about her paintings.” He rolls his eyes. “I’ve already seen them a million times.”
I look at his shirt, which is decidedly… pink. And has a unicorn on it. “Wait a minute … Weren’t you wearing something else?”
“This is the only thing Mom had that I could fit into. Don’t ask what happened.” He jumps into the car. “Did you bring an extra hoodie?”
“No, just the masks,” I reply.
He sighs out loud. “Fine. I’ll keep this on. Are we ready?”
I eye the bag in the back, and his wicked smile makes me grin too. “Let’s go fuck some shit up.”
Max
Ten minutes later
From my motorcycle, I look through her window, checking for any movement, anything out of the ordinary. I’m antsy, desperate to know if Silas and Heath planned on doing something to her tonight, but it appears they chose another target instead.
I have to admit, when Heath said he and Silas had planned something wicked, I was worried it would involve her. Not because I don’t like watching what they do, but because every time I talk to her afterward, there’s more hatred in her voice than before.
Hate is Silas’s business, and every time he touches her, he injects it straight into her veins.
I blow out a sigh, but the second the light comes on, I switch into hypervigilant mode.
She’s never awake at this time of the day.
I know because I’ve watched her do her routine with that little girl every goddamn night since I set my eyes on her.
What is going on?
I bring out my binoculars and watch her through the window. She’s putting on a hoodie and slings a bag over her shoulder that appears quite heavy.
The lights go off, and I tuck my binoculars away, then wait, and wait, and wait … And there she is, exiting the building to hop on her bike and race off.
Something’s not right.
She’d never leave that kid alone unless it was important enough. Unless it could put them in even more danger if she didn’t go.
I swiftly put on my helmet and race after her.
CHAPTER 19
Ivy
I check the kiddie monitor and make sure it works before I head out the door and hop on my bike. As long as she’s asleep, she’ll be safe. I won’t stay away for more than fifteen minutes, tops. I’ll just bike to the industrial side of the city and pop in and out of warehouse five hundred eighteen.
I count down the time it takes me to get to the location by checking my watch every now and then, and I push the pedals as fast as I can. No time to waste. The only one watching over Cora right now is Bagel, and if an intruder steps in, Bagel will flop down on their toes and ask for pets instead. Traitor.