Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 150546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 753(@200wpm)___ 602(@250wpm)___ 502(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 753(@200wpm)___ 602(@250wpm)___ 502(@300wpm)
Priest laughs coldly. “Like you didn’t know?”
“It’s nothing like that.” I bare my teeth, agitation wavering too close to my final straw.
“She’s going to be a King after this weekend, War.” Priest holds my stare, and I watch as the cloud from ganja pillows around his face. “Which means she’s an equal. You can do whatever the fuck you want, you know.”
The corner of his mouth twitches, just as the front door cracks open and I watch as River pauses at the threshold, her eyes finding mine instantly.
Her face drains of color. Good. She’s fucking lucky that’s all that is being drained from her tonight.
But then I notice the bloodstains on her clothes, splattered all over her white dress.
She backs up, almost tripping on her feet as she makes her way back the way she came.
I fly up from my spot on the couch, without so much as telling Priest and Vaden, though by the sounds of their heavy footsteps they’re not far behind me.
I catch the door before River can shut it, just as Halen climbs out of the GTR with Stella.
River clears her throat, most likely thinking of some bullshit explanation. “Um, what are you guys doing back?” She quickly steps into me and closes the door, her eyes bouncing over the three of us with disbelief. The door opens from behind her and she closes her eyes in defeat, cussing beneath her breath.
“Why the fuck are you all covered in blood?” I point to all three of them.
Halen blinks down at River’s dress. “I told you not to wear white—”
Fuck my sister, I go straight for Halen and grab her by the chin to force her eyes up to mine. “I’m fucking done dancing around the teen angst, Halen. Now, why the fuck are you covered in blood?”
The makeup under her eyes is smudged, her cherry red lipstick smeared down her chin. “Someone died.”
“Oh?” I raise my brows. “I gathered that. And?”
Her mouth closes, so I slip my thumb between her lips. “Keep going, Halo.”
“And I killed him.”
My jaw tightens to stop myself from doing something stupid like fucking yell at her. “I didn’t sign up to be your peace, Halen. You want peace, go to your daddy. What the fuck do you mean you killed someone?”
She reaches up to touch my arm, forcing my hand away from her mouth. If I want, I could ignore it, but I don’t. I need the distance from her before I lose it completely and we have two murders to clean up tonight.
I point to the car. “Get the fuck in.”
“War!” She spins to follow me as I round her GTR. “We can’t go back there!” Her eyes widen with panic, but it does nothing to simmer my rage. If anything, it fuels it.
“We’ll follow you both out.” Priest snatches the keys from River as we ignore the protesting of the tantrum-throwing, bloodstained brat.
“Wait!” Halen yelps, and I find myself stopping with the car door slightly open. She starts pacing up and down the length of the car, combing her fingers through her hair. You could snap the anxiety coming off her like a rubber band.
“Halen…” River whispers. “This time, we need them.”
I glare at her from over the car. I’ll touch on the ‘this time’ another time. “What did you do?”
Halen comes to a halt and the silence rings through my ears. We’ve always thought the girls lived somewhat of a normal life. They were sheltered from the majority of the shit that goes on.
Well… we thought so, until recently. So this could mean anything.
Halen blinks between Priest and me. I know she’s battling internally with whom to address. On one hand, she’s always had an unorthodox bond with her brother. Not the conventional kind because you can’t with someone like Priest, but Halen showered him with love. Affection. Everything. Priest took it, even though he hated it. If it came from anyone else, he’d have killed them.
She settles on me and my stomach coils around itself in a blaze of ember. “We need to take one car. An SUV. And this one needs to go to the cleaners.”
I slam the door closed so hard she jumps. “How the fuck do you know about the cleaners?”
She rolls her eyes, her hands flying out to her sides. “I’m a fucking Hayes, War! Shut the fuck up. Yes, you all may have protected us from the creepy high school boys, but I was born in this, and you need to not forget that!”
My mouth closes because…
Well. She’s right.
It’s really as simple as that.
She closes the passenger door. “We need to take the Range.”
I scan her from head to toe, before looking to Priest. He holds my stare, his finger tapping his bottom lip. Can’t get shit from him on the best of days, let alone when he’s trying to figure out how they managed to off someone on a night they were out racing.