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)
Lost in a fit of laughter, I turn back to the road and hit the volume up.
The moment we pass the farewell sign as we leave Riverside, I drop it into third and floor it. The deeper you drive on this highway, the clearer it is how very little people come down it. It would have been years since cars drove this road, since the only place it leads to is an abandoned town, and the one town that we have a treaty to never set foot in. The simplistic straight road with bumps of hills and nothing surrounding us but woodlands on either side.
I’m laughing at River and Stella lip-synching “Low Life” for whatever TikTok trend is happening right now, when something runs out in front of my car. My skin prickles and I scream, slamming on the brakes so fast the tires skid to a halt.
Evie hits the radio off as seconds pass in silence, and I turn, checking them briefly. “You’re all okay?”
Stella has her hand over her chest. “Yes, but what the fuck was that?” It didn’t help that there are no streetlights or road lights, so all that we could see was directly ahead of us through the headlights.
“I don’t know…” I whisper, leaning back in my chair. “I’ll check.”
I move to open the door, but Evie’s hand comes to my arm to stop me. “Be for fucking real right now. This is how everyone dies in every movie.”
“This isn’t a movie. It’s Riverside. Which means it’s worse.” I open my door and my Jordans hit the pavement. I walk around the front of my car, where headlights beam toward the endless road of darkness. Someone is curved to the side, clutching his stomach. “Shit.” I drop beside him, squeezing his arm to roll him onto his back.
Wearing nothing but a pair of ripped jeans and boots, there’s a deep gash over his ribs where blood weeps from. He’s clearly unconscious. I pause when I notice the Scream mask.
“Jesus… did we hit him?” Evie asks, her eyes wide on his body.
I scan the front of my car. “If we did, he would have done damage. Old cars like this wouldn’t take to it very well. No. I think he ran out for help.” I push up, pointing to his body. “Stay here with him. I need to call my dad.” I run back to my car and lean in through the door.
River clears her throat from the back seat, flicking her nails. “You and I both know what this is.”
“I know. But Evie is here, and I don’t want to have to have that conversation with her. Ever.”
“I think it’s about time.” Stella sighs, resting her head on the window. “You kept our world from her long enough, and she knows the Elite Kings Club exists and that our families are crooked. This is just a hey, yeah, so on top of that, we also—”
“—Halen! He’s moving!”
“Well, at least he’s not dead,” River mumbles. I know they’re right. I know that beneath it all, I’ve kept Evie away from the drama of our world, not because I didn’t trust her, but because I didn’t want to put her in danger. Maybe doing that was placing her in the direct line of it. Priest has been on my ass for years about telling her everything so we don’t have to tiptoe around her. She is with me eighty percent of the time. It makes things difficult.
A loud howl vibrates through the trees in the forest on either side of the road as I make my way back to them. Evie jumps, turning from left to right. “What the fuck was that?”
“A werewolf?” I joke, leaning back down to the guy on the road. Abs ripple over his torso, his skin naked of tattoos. I tear off my jacket, ignoring the cold bite that leaves teeth marks over my skin, and rest it against the wound on his ribs. He groans beneath the mask, so I slowly peel it off.
Jesus. Please don’t know this guy. Please tell me these idiots haven’t finally taken their shit too far and they’ve actually killed someone on land. Though he is moving…
“Hey…” I slap the guy’s face, around his high cheekbones and larger set lips. There’s a bump in his nose from being hit one too many times, and a dusting of a beard over his jaw.
His eyes peel open, resting on me. “Damn…”
I raise a brow. “Okay, playa. Where’d you come from?”
He coughs, keeping his hand on his tanned stomach as he tries to lift himself off the road.
“Hey! Stay there.” I force him back down with a shove.
He clears his throat. “I—I must be lost.”
I bring his face back to mine by his chin. “I’m Halen. Halen Hayes.”
His face pales. “I’m lost.” Clearly. What the fuck is going on?