Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 106292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Dalton mentioned Zade’s father kept old books, Empire’s by-laws. I know Dalton’s been working hard on trying to find another loophole, but I can’t help but wonder what other kind of information would be hidden in the depths of those dusty old pages. What I really need are blueprints of the Empire prison system. Hell, the whole underground system would be good. If there’s some way I can get back down to my father and save him, I’ll take it. We could disappear after that and have the life we were robbed of.
Shit. It’s now or never.
I go to slip away when Dalton’s tone cuts through the silent room. “Yo, Firefly, you coming or what?”
My head snaps up to find Dalton hovering by the elevator, holding the door open for me, making me wonder just how long I was standing there thinking about searching through Zade’s office rather than actually doing it. Fuck, I’m such an idiot.
Grabbing my drawings, I hurry after him and slip into the elevator, suddenly not so excited about wasting another day drawing. I move in beside Dalton, and the door closes us in. He presses the button for the rooftop, and we quickly sail up. “So, umm . . .” I start, suddenly feeling very awkward. “What’s Zade’s deal?”
Dalton glances down at me, arching a brow as he narrows his eyes, extremely suspicious. “What do you mean?”
Sheepishness sweeps through me, and I can barely maintain eye contact. “You know, like . . . does he have a girlfriend?”
Dalton laughs, a breathy scoff tearing from deep in his throat. “You spend one night with the guy, and you’re already fishing for details?”
I purse my lips into a hard line, not liking what he’s insinuating, but I can’t deny that he’s right. My curiosity about my future killer is doing my head in. “You sound jealous.”
He shrugs, not denying it. “Not gonna lie, I’m a little curious as to why you’re so curious.”
I shrug right back, willing the elevator door to open. “I just wanna know what makes him tick.”
He scoffs again. “You make him tick.”
The elevator dings as the doors finally open, but I suddenly find myself way too intrigued. How could I possibly make him tick? I mean, I know I frustrate the shit out of him. I work extremely hard to make his life a living hell. I mean, why the hell wouldn’t I? It’s the least I can do for the man who’s going to take my life. But I have a feeling that’s not exactly what Dalton is referring to. “You didn’t answer the question,” I remind him, following him over to the basketball court and watching as he scoops up a ball. “What’s his deal?”
Dalton shoots, and the ball sails in a perfect arc toward the hoop before dropping straight through it and bouncing back into his waiting hands. “He’s got a casual hook-up, just like we all have. Well, at least had. I don’t know about the guys, but I’ve only been interested in your sweet little cunt since the second I tasted it.”
A strange jealousy pounds through my chest, one I don’t quite understand. After all, I don’t have the right to feel jealous about the guys having other women in their lives. It’s not like our weird little gang-bang relationship is going to go anywhere past day sixty. “Who’s this chick Zade’s been seeing?” I question, getting back on track, nervous that diving into the other guys’ love lives is going to send me flying right over the edge just as Zade feared.
“Seeing isn’t the right word for it,” he tells me, getting chatty as he moves around the court, more than ready to share all of their little secrets. “She’s more of a casual fuck, simply out of convenience. Not sure if she’d look at it that way, though.” Dalton smirks and glances back at me, his eyes sparkling as the ball comes to a stop in his hands, looking as though he’s about to give me the best gossip this world has ever seen. “It’s Sawyer’s sister.”
My mouth drops open, my jaw practically smacking against the court. “Bullshit,” I gasp, sucking in a deep breath. “You’re shitting me, right? Does Sawyer know?”
Dalton grins. “Yeah. He’s not too thrilled about it, but this is Zade we’re talking about. If he wants to fuck her, he’ll fuck her, no matter how Sawyer feels about it. He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.”
“Yeah. No shit,” I mutter, unsure why I still feel this pang of jealousy in my chest. Must be nice being able to get close to a guy like Zade without him wanting to kill you.
Noticing the hesitation in my tone, Dalton glances back at me again. “What’s up?” he mutters, a smirk playing on his lips. “You want us all?”