Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 116263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Had already taken hold.
Pax suddenly lurched, and his hand slipped from Aria’s as he was shocked awake.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Pax
I bolted upright, jarred as I was tossed between two worlds.
Disoriented as I was swamped by the darkness of the room.
But my heart pounded at a million miles a minute. Each harsh beat battered at my ribs.
Awareness crawled over my flesh, and the sweat that drenched me was thick and sticky.
Evil coated the room.
There was no missing the stench of it.
Squinting, I tried to adjust to the dim light as I listened for what had pulled me from sleep.
Aria’s breaths were long and shallow as she continued to race through Faydor. Her body vibrating and ticking beneath the covers on her bed.
But the rest of the room was too still.
Too quiet.
It was then that I saw the shape move out from where it was hidden in the shadows against the wall.
Rage clouded my vision, and I could barely breathe with the adrenaline that dumped into my system. With the rage that careened through me.
The man was tall and thin, his light hair shaggy and unkempt. His hands were in fists at his sides, and all his attention was trained on where Aria slept.
It was the trucker from earlier today. The one we’d seen outside the diner. The one who’d sent a cold dread skidding down my spine.
Bloodlust seeped from his pores and infected the oxygen.
Deranged.
Half-mad.
In that moment, I realized the man didn’t possess half his senses.
He didn’t even notice I was there.
Brainwashed, his spirit sold on destruction.
His entire intention was on Aria.
He took another step forward.
Nausea churned in my gut and fury blistered just under my skin, but I forced myself to remain still.
To calculate.
To use his oblivion for my benefit.
Keeping as quiet as I could, I slowly shifted, and I climbed to a crouch in the middle of the bed. I cringed when the springs creaked, but he didn’t flinch.
Didn’t turn or observe.
No self-preservation.
No survival instinct.
Because the Ghorl had convinced his feeble, wicked mind this was the only thing that mattered.
His sole purpose was Aria.
The hammering in my heart intensified and became a thundering in my ears, and I swore silently when I realized I’d been stupid enough to leave my gun in the duffel bag tucked on the floor at the foot of my bed.
Sweat slicked my skin as each second stretched on.
A bated eternity.
Waiting for the perfect moment.
Ensuring the monster was completely distracted and unprepared before I struck.
He edged forward again, and the soles of his boots scuffed on the thin carpet as he tried to keep himself secreted as he came to the side of her bed.
The sick motherfucker stared down at her, but he had fully turned his back to me.
A mistake he was going to regret.
The second he reached out with his grimy hand to touch her face, I attacked.
Springing forward, I jumped onto his back, and I wrapped my arm around his throat and squeezed.
That was all it took to snap him out of the trance he’d been under, and he roared, clawing like a beast as he raged and grappled to take hold of my arm, the asshole spinning around in an attempt to knock me off his back.
Chaotic energy spiraled through the room.
A cloud of frantic desperation.
“She’s mine.” His voice was dark. Cloaked in wickedness.
I only squeezed tighter, cinching down, refusing to let go. “You disgusting piece of shit. I will end you.”
The words hissed out of my mouth and into his ear.
A scream pierced the air.
Aria.
She scrambled onto all fours as the commotion jarred her awake. Her pale eyes were wide, close to glowing in the night as she struggled to process where she was and what was happening.
A lecherous groan rolled up the bastard’s chest.
“Yes,” he grunted. “You’re mine. He gave you to me.”
Shocked horror blanketed her expression.
Disgust.
Revulsion.
Fear.
“Get to the car, Aria!” I shouted as I fought the fiend who reared, bucking like a bull. “Hurry!” I gritted, hanging on, knowing I couldn’t give a fraction.
The fucker was strong, and the bloodlust made him stronger. Delirious with the thirst to hunt and destroy.
She gasped, croaking as she slid off the side of the bed and onto her bare feet. “Pax.”
Her voice acted as a lure, and he stopped spinning and fighting me and instead fumbled in her direction.
Only three feet of space separated the beds, and it boxed her in where she stood in front of the single nightstand. Panic roiled through her being, and she backed farther against the wood while I yanked my arm tighter around his neck.
I wanted to end him. To reach through his black soul and find the Ghorl on the other side and squeeze until neither of them existed.
“Aria, go. Get to the car. You have to get out of here. Hurry!” It wheezed from my lungs, and I drew up a fist and started pummeling the bastard on the side of the head, crack after crack landing at his temple while I held on tight with the other, trying to buy seconds so Aria could get around us.