Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 159500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 798(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 798(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Isaac is like the fuckers who saw a fourteen-year-old on the run and demanded sexual favors for rides, sandwiches, a blanket to sleep under. Actually, no, he is way fucking worse.
I try not to think what could have happened to me had I not fought off the guy who tried to force himself on me, and who then left me at the side of the road, knocked out, because this hits unsettlingly close to home.
“I can’t believe you ever thought you deserved what happened.” I swallow as the smoke from the fire raging inside me makes my eyes itch. “Clyde, I love you, okay? That’s what you deserve. For someone to fucking follow you into the line of fire and keep you safe.”
I let out a deep sigh when Clyde’s hands move over my back in tender strokes. “I don’t want to tell anyone else. But I can’t stay around him. I’d kill him, and ruin your whole life here.”
A low chuckle escapes my lips.
As if I’d let that vermin stay here, now that I know what happened.
We won’t be the ones fleeing from home while this bastard enjoys the privilege of a good life at Vulture Hollow. I’m craving blood.
“I’ll handle this,” I say, leaning back to meet Clyde’s damp gaze as I brush his tears away with my fingers. “Do you want to come with me or stay here?”
He watches me with new lucidity, and I’m so glad to hear his breath evening out. “I’ll go with you. What about your club?”
I pull my fingers through a strand of his hair, and then twist it. “They’ll complain, maybe tell me to oust him. But that’s not enough.”
I don’t think any punishment would ever be enough for what that bastard has done. My family home was hardly an example of good values, but despite growing up there, I would never ever imagine attacking someone like that. Hell, Clyde started out as an enemy, and I would still never fucking hurt him in bed. He was still a person, something Isaac did not see in him. Just thinking about it has me in a state of unstoppable rage.
Clyde leans in for a gentle kiss. A peck on the lips. He’s lived with this secret for ten years, not daring to approach another man, sure he’d never find the fucker who hurt him. No wonder he was such a ticking time bomb.
“I’ll follow your lead.”
I cup his face, and my heart flutters when he leans into the touch. Like a feral cat finally trusting I will never hurt it.
But now’s the time to deal with the fucker who broke him, so I pull him with me. “I know talk is cheap, but I’m on your side. I will always fight for you.”
Clyde takes my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles, but then we go.
I don’t need a gun. I’ll rip the fucker apart with my bare hands.
Chapter 44
Road
The compulsion inside me grows more unforgiving with each stride down the hill. Clyde’s presence makes me feel like we’re a two man army, but while I can hear each of his steps, every single sound is muted, as if my ears were full of wax. Someone waves at me in passing, but while they open their mouth, saying something, all my thoughts are on the man poisoning this entire community with his presence. The unsettled feeling I had after that conversation earlier today? I could have let that go, but not everything else I just found out. I need to see this bastard suffer, and so does Clyde.
I will get Prophet to grab Isaac and bring him into the clubhouse. With the party going on, nobody will hear him scream. I will make him confess something, and then he will be mine. There is no place for rapists in Vulture Hollow.
So many emotions tangle inside me as I approach the fire, scanning the crowd for Isaac. Fury, the need to keep Clyde safe, a thirst for vengeance all battle inside me. It’s hard to keep my head cool when the image of a fresh-faced young Clyde keeps popping into my head. I met him not long after. Even with that don’t-fuck-with-me look in his eyes, he was so boyish still. I imagine that grown-ass man punching him to the ground, getting on top of him… and I can barely see through the wrath clouding my eyes. I’m hungry for his blood like a dog salivating in front of a juicy steak.
That’s when I spot Isaac’s grinning face. He’s having a beer and laughing about something with one of the women working in the caves, without a care in the world.
Something inside me cracks, and I head straight for him, all of my plans forgotten. The flames dance over wood, reaching toward the dark sky, but all I can think of when I walk past their warm presence is that I want Isaac to burn forever. I hope Hell does exist, because if it does not, then there is no justice in the world. There’s a steel pipe the guys have been using to move around bits of wood at the bottom of the bonfire, and I collect it on the way, pleased with how sturdy and heavy it feels. Like a good crowbar.