Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 114551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Then with the paper knife, the main key for the heavy door of Empire, and my room key right here beside me, I crawl into the shitty excuse of a bed and close my eyes before allowing the exhaustion of today to claim me.
Chapter 5
ZADE
“Where the hell is the girl?” Hartley Scott demands, trying to sound as though he actually has a set of balls as we stand in a closed meeting, the twelve members of The Circle somehow all alive and well after tonight’s explosion at Cara’s initiation ball.
“What’s it to you?” I throw back at Hartley, wishing I could put a fucking blade right through the center of his spine and watch him crumble. “Oakley Quinn is of no concern to you. She’s my sacrifice.”
Hartley scoffs and steps toward me, getting too fucking close for his own good, especially tonight when Oakley is gone, and I have no fucking idea how to get her back. She’s disappeared off the face of the fucking earth, and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do about it until this bullshit meeting is done.
“Witnesses place Oakley Quinn fleeing the scene following the explosion. Her presence is required for questioning,” he spits. “If that bitch had something to do with taking all of those lives, then she will be executed without hesitation, your ritual be damned.”
My hand shoots out, locking around Hartley’s throat as I slam him up against the wall of the conference room, Cara’s shocked gasp the only noise in the big room. “If you even think about touching a fucking hair on her head, you’ll be the one who finds himself in a shallow fucking grave,” I growl, leaning in closer and lowering my tone. “Don’t think for one fucking second that I have forgotten your connection to my mother. Your crimes and betrayal against this institution should have you locked in a prison cell. If it weren’t for the requirement of needing a full circle for my ritual, you’d already be dead.”
Hartley swallows hard, and I feel the movement beneath my palm when Cara steps into my side, her hand on my arm, forcing me back. “Let him go,” she says. “This isn’t helping anything.”
I reluctantly release Hartley and step back, needing my fucking space, when Cara turns to Hartley. “You’re full of shit if you think Oakley had anything to do with the explosion. She would prefer to sacrifice her own life than be responsible for killing so many others, and the fact that you’re trying to push this narrative that Oakley did it is ridiculous. Every last person in this room can see it’s nothing but a power play on your part, wanting to take her out before Zade can complete his ritual.”
Ira Abrahms nods from across the room. “The girl has a point, Scott.”
I scoff. “Less than twelve fucking hours ago, you stood in Cara’s initiation and claimed she wasn’t fit to stand as a member of The Circle, and now you have her back?”
“I do not change my mind,” he spits, unable to keep from hovering his hand over the bullet wound at his shoulder. “Cara Thorne is not fit to stand at the head of our organization. She is a weak woman who has not been trained for this position. She’s still a child, however, that does not mean I cannot agree with her logic. Hartley Scott has been a thorn in my side for far too long, and it is clear that his attempts to see Oakley Quinn executed before the ritual is nothing but a play for power.”
“Whether you think my intentions are pure or not, the fact of the matter still stands—Oakley Quinn has escaped Zade’s hold. She knows too much of our world and is a danger to our very existence. She needs to be brought in immediately.”
“Remember your place,” I spit. “You do not make the orders around here.”
“And you do?” he throws back at me. “As far as I am concerned, you are nothing but a child playing dress up. You are incapable of completing your ritual and will never be my leader. And with Oakley now missing, that is becoming even more clear. Forfeit your position at the head of Empire, Zade. Admit that the great DeVil legacy ceased to exist when you slaughtered your father in cold blood.”
“You’re fucking brave when you think you have protection at your back,” I tell him. “But look around you. There’s nobody in your corner, nobody fighting to see you succeed. Whether I ascend Empire’s throne or not, you will still fail, and when your protection no longer needs you, you’ll be discarded like the trash you are.”
Hartley narrows his gaze, not fucking man enough to admit he knows what the fuck I’m talking about in front of the other Circle members.