Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
However, the comfort I used to feel isn’t here anymore. I feel so cold inside. Dylan knew the truth and didn’t tell me. I get that he didn’t know everything, but I could read between the lines that he knew more than I did.
“What do I do now?” I sob as I wipe the back of my hand across my face. “I know one thing. I can’t stay here.”
I take off jogging up the stairs. When I get to the bedroom we share, I rush straight to the walk-in closet I have called my own. Grabbing a duffel bag, I start to toss things inside.
The tears haven’t stopped, but I ignore them and keep packing. Vega has some things of her own going on. I’m not about to call her for help.
Ciarán and I could go back to our old place with Daliah. She hasn’t moved, but she was talking about getting roommates because she’s been lonely there all by herself. However, I don’t want to put her in the middle of all this.
I’m forming a plan in my mind as I toss the things I came here with into my bag. I refuse to take anything Dylan has given me. This is already going to kill me.
“Fuck me,” I sob as music starts to float through the house.
I thought I had more time to get out of here. As Benson Boone croons about beautiful things, I can’t stop sobbing. My life was beautiful for just a little while. Now I don’t know what to think.
I’m losing everything all over again. Too weak to deal, I slide to the carpeted floor of the closet and lie there in a heap. I’m completely heartbroken.
Dylan
Taegan and Ciarán pulled up right after Ciara took off in my truck. I had Taegan drive us home. The tracker I keep on my vehicle led us here. I’m so lost.
I never meant to hurt her. I didn’t want her to find out like this. Hearing movement inside our bedroom, I pause and pull out my phone. Connecting to the sound system in the bedroom, I play the first song that comes to mind to block out any arguing we might do.
Taegan and Ciarán went up to the rooftop to give us space. Taking a deep breath, I then walk into the bedroom in search of the woman I love more than anything. As “Beautiful Things” plays and Benson Boone begs for her to stay, for me, I move to the closet where the lights are on. I freeze when I find her lying on the floor.
Panic fills me. Seeing that she’s only lying there as she sobs and she’s not physically hurt, I drop to my knees and crawl over to her slowly. When I get about a foot away, I reach for her ankle and wrap my fingers around it, needing to touch her.
She jerks away, killing me. I move closer and hover over her small body. My own tears sting the backs of my eyes.
“Baby, come here. Talk to me, let me be here for you,” I whisper in her ear.
She curls into a tighter ball. Reaching for her back, I begin to rub it. She turns her head slightly to look at me.
So much hurt fills her gaze. I cup her face and press my forehead to the side of it. Ciara reaches for my shirt and fists her hand in it.
“You lied to me,” she says softly.
“Baby, I planned to tell you everything once I had all the details and the okay. Logan said it wasn’t safe to tell me everything while we were in Dublin. He asked me for some time,” I reply.
“How much did you know?”
“I knew how your parents died and that my grandda had something to do with their deaths. Not what or how. The rest I learned today with you and Cole.”
“Can you give me some time? I don’t know how to feel right now. I’m hurt, angry, and confused.
“I want to be mad at you, but if not for you, they would have killed me and Ciarán like our parents. Somehow, you’re always keeping me safe, whether you know it or not,” she scoffs.
“No matter what, I always will. I love you. I’m not going to allow anything to happen to you. I swear, I wasn’t going to keep this from you forever.”
“But what does it all mean? What’s the Alliance? How do I fit into that?”
“It means you’ve been the key to one of the most powerful movements in the underworld. The Alliance will be the future of the world. The power, the money, the change.
“It means my evil-ass grandfather is rolling in his grave because we’re about to turn the world on its fucking head … together.” I swallow hard as I say the last word, unsure if she’s still with me.