Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
* * * * *
An awful high-pitch buzzing jerked me from paradise.
Like a beetle in my ear. A bee in my brain.
I groaned and tried to shove it away.
Something held me down.
Something grew hot around my throat.
The noise grew louder, insistent.
“You’d think after removing it from the others, you would’ve gotten quicker at this.”
“The metal is hardened steel, Q, with a locking mechanism that was never made to come undone. It takes time.”
“Just get it the fuck off him.” My brother’s voice hissed far too close to my ear. His fingers flexed on my shoulders, keeping me pinned.
I was aware but…unaware.
Awake but not.
Dust scattered over my chest, itchy and sharp as the buzzing reached its crescendo, then stopped.
“Finally.” Q huffed. “Now remove it.”
A metal cracking.
A sudden draft around my neck.
“There.” The unseen man sniffed with pride. “His collar is off. Now, if you’ll hold up his left wrist for me.”
Q shifted and stole my arm.
I tried to steal it back.
But the tentative hold on reality slipped through my fingers, and I fell again.
As the darkness wrapped me in its web, Q muttered, “I want him scanned for tracking implants. I’m not making the same mistake as I did with Tess. I want all of them scanned. Do you hear me?”
“Of course. Now, hold him steady, please.”
I was gone.
Chapter Twenty-One
………………………….
Henri
I WOKE FOR THE THOUSANDTH time, but this time…coherency woke with me.
I didn’t hover in an in-between world.
I didn’t fall back into convoluted dreams of star homes, hell realms, or champagne breakfasts in the sun.
I wished I did.
I longed to return to my fantasies because at least I got to see her again. Be with her. Love her.
My chest compressed with agony.
My heart fissured, and I couldn’t breathe.
My soul tore itself into shreds, searching for that missing piece that’d existed in Ily.
Now, it would always be missing because…
She’s dead.
Choking on terminal sorrow, I trembled in a large, comfy bed. Tucked up beneath warm blankets and surrounded by luxury I didn’t recognise, I hated every fucking thing.
What right did I have to be lying here?
What right did I have to be free from that island, that pain, those collars and cuffs and nightmares?
Ily wasn’t free.
She’s gone.
Peter was gone.
Far too many jewels had died on that godforsaken shit-fuck island, and…I couldn’t fucking survive it.
“It’s been six days, esclave. The doctor says if he doesn’t make the choice to wake and stay awake, we might as well plan his funeral.”
I froze.
Icy tears rolled down my temples and soaked into my pillow as Q sucked in a breath and whispered, “Merde, I failed him so badly. I left him to be tortured. He was barely recognisable. He wanted to fucking die. W-What if I hit him too hard? What if I permanently damaged him?”
Twisting my head a little, I spied Q standing in the doorframe. A woman stood in front of him, leaning against the other side.
The room I lay in remained shrouded in darkness. Black drapes drawn across a huge bank of windows. A fireplace crackled with warm flames, and emerald damask wallpaper gleamed subtly in the glow.
“You told me he tried to make you kill him when he noticed that girl on the ground,” she said softly. “You didn’t have a choice but to punch him. You said he was millimetres away from shooting himself. If you hadn’t acted as quickly as you did, he would’ve died—”
“It was the fact that he wanted to die that’s haunting me. He wasn’t joking around. You didn’t see his eyes. He’s not waking up because he still wants to die. Perhaps I should have let him do it.” Q curled over her, his tall height slouching with weariness. “The things he’s endured, Tess. The bruises covering him. The marks on his back.” He swallowed hard. “Some of the lacerations cut right down to his bones. His fucking shoulder blades were visible, for fuck’s sake. No wonder he’s got a full-blown infection. No wonder he lies there mumbling in his sleep about stars and hell and twin flames. What the hell is a twin flame? Did they burn him too? Did they make him hurt the other slaves like those sick bastards did to you?”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he groaned. “His body is destroyed, but his mind…that’s in ruins. This is all my fault. I should never have sent him there. I should’ve known he wouldn’t be a match for Grand. I—”
“Ah, Q.” The woman stepped into him and cupped his cheek. “You can’t beat yourself up. You found him eventually. He’s here now. All those poor slaves are either recuperating or have already been sent back to their families…because of you.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Because of him.” He pointed at me. “I’ve liberated thousands of slaves over the years. I’ve seen the sickest shit and slaughtered the vilest people, but what Franco keeps reporting on that island?” He shuddered. “The fire couldn’t erase the truth. It didn’t destroy the dungeons, the caves, or the walk-in freezer full of body parts. Body parts, Tess. He was fucking harvesting them! There are hundreds of skulls below that despicable place. The things the other prisoners have told me. The ones missing pieces and yet are strong enough to actually recount what they’ve endured…merde.”