Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
The furrows between his brows grow deeper.
“Secrecy is the first directive.”
And then he starts to pick up the bodies, one at a time, picking them up like they’re nothing and— Why is he carrying them into my bathroom?
I can only watch, dumbfounded, until he has all five bodies in the bathroom, two of which he has placed in my porcelain, clawfoot tub.
“What are you doing?”
“I am sorry, Juliet, but secrecy is the first directive.” His golden-brown eyes search mine. And then he closes the bathroom door in my face.
“What? Hey.” I bang on the door. “Open this door right this second.”
He doesn’t open the door. Instead I hear a strange, loud whooshing noise.
I drop to my knees and look through the keyhole. This apartment building is old, hence the clawfoot tub and the sort of key holes that you can look all the way through.
But I’m in no way prepared for what I see.
What the—?
I yank back from the door and fall on my ass. Then, my entire body trembling, I lean back in. And holy shit, my eyes weren’t lying.
A stream of bright orange fire is shooting from Shak’s mouth. He’s breathing fucking fire. And it’s incinerating the bodies he piled in the tub.
My heartbeat races as I continue to watch. I can’t be seeing what I think I’m seeing. This can’t be happening.
What the hell kind of super soldier can breathe fire? And the way he was moving earlier… That was… I mean, has our technology really advanced this far?
Or, is the more likely possibility true?
I fall back from the door, landing hard on my ass yet again.
Oh my God, I’ve gone insane.
I’ve lost it. I’m nuts. Totally Fruit Loops. There’s not a history of schizophrenia in my family that I know of but I never really knew my grandparents, so anything’s possible…
My eyes shoot back towards the bathroom door. The whooshing sound is loud as ever.
It’s official. My eyes drop closed. I’m so sorry, Mariah. I’m sorry that it ends this way.
But it’s time to cart me off to the loony bin and throw away the key.
Chapter Eleven
Shak
It takes longer than I would like to dispose of the bodies. I cannot imagine what Juliet is thinking in the other room. But if she is right and the law enforcement of this world will be coming to investigate, it will not do to leave these bodies behind.
So as much as I want to rush out and provide comfort to her, I finish the task at hand. Once all five males have been reduced to ash, I turn on the water spigot and wash them down the drain.
My heart all but stopped in my chest earlier when, after our date, I finally ambled back to my rooftop perch. I will never forgive myself for stopping in the flower shop to water the plants.
Because once I finally got to the roof and looked in Juliet’s window, it was to find five males in her apartment threatening her, one sitting on top of her with his hand covering her mouth.
I have never moved so quickly in my life. I leapt from the roof of the flower shop, landed in a roll and then fled across the street as fast as my legs would carry me. If only I still had my wings, I could have flown straight to her window. But I was limited to human legs, so I busted through the door at the bottom of the building, sprinted up the stairs, and then took care of those vermin who would dare threaten violence on any female, but especially my Juliet.
Once the tub is clean, I wash my hands, wipe my brow, and return to her. She will have many questions and I do not know how I will answer them.
But as soon as I emerge from the bathroom, I no longer care about secrecy or any of the directives.
Juliet does not look well.
She is sitting on the couch, her body scrunched in on itself, knees to her chest.
“Juliet.” I hurry and sit beside her. She flinches back from me and my chest tightens. Then, in the distance, I hear sirens.
We were warned of this noise.
I jump to my feet. “It is the law enforcement. Juliet, we must go.”
But Juliet just shakes her head. “None of this is real. You’re probably just a figment of my imagination.”
“Your words make no sense to me, Juliet. But if the law enforcement comes to inquire, I do not believe you are of good mind to answer their questions.”
I crouch down in front of her and offer a hand. I do not know if she is afraid of me now. “Juliet. Please do not be afraid. Will you come with me?”
She blinks hard several times. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she whispers.
Her blue eyes look so lost that the words come tumbling out of me. “I am sorry, Juliet. I will tell you all. But you must come with me now.”