Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“Afraid of my own fucking shadow?” I yelled, catching up to her before she’d left the kitchen. I ignored the spectators around the table. “Do you have any idea what they did to my baby brother?”
“Danny,” Chance said softly, rising from his seat.
“They tore him apart,” I barked, ignoring him. “They cut off his arms and legs in pieces before they took his head.”
The color drained out of Rosemary’s cheeks.
“Yeah, baby. That’s who we’re dealing with. That’s who had you tied up for a week in their little safe house.” I took a step forward, then stopped myself. “So if I’m careful with you, I apologize,” I said mockingly. “So fucking sorry that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that I don’t have to identify your mangled body piece by piece.”
“Trust me to take care of myself,” she replied tentatively, taking a step toward me.
“They managed to take down Zeke,” I argued. “A fully grown and fully trained Vampire, and you think you’d have a chance?”
“Your mom and sisters-in-law—”
“Got lucky,” I roared. “That’s all it was! Pure fucking luck.”
“All right, Danny boy,” Chance said. I jerked when his palm rested between my shoulder blades. “Time to take a step back.”
“I’m a fucking horrible mate, right?” I asked the room. “I’m such a monster for leaving Rosemary behind for a few hours at a time. I better pull my head out of my ass, because I’m really fucking up!” I let out a laugh. “I’m a real motherfucker because I don’t want to find my mate in pieces.”
“And now is when we take a little walk before we say something we can’t take back,” Chance said, shoving me back toward the door.
“That’s rich coming from you,” I huffed.
“That’s right, take it out on me,” he crooned, still shoving at me. “Your brother, who loves you.”
“You’re such a fucking prick,” I replied, jerking my shoulder away from his hand as I stepped back outside.
I walked to the far edge of the barn and let the cool air roll over me. I fucking hated all of it. I hated that Zeke was dead. I hated that Rosemary was pissed at me, and everything was going sideways. I really hated that I’d found my mate in the middle of such a clusterfuck, and it was ruining the beginning of our story.
I hated that I had to leave her. I hated that she was in pain when I did. I hated that I had no other choice.
Of course I wanted to stay with Rosemary. For fuck’s sake, if it were up to me, we’d never leave her bed—no, we wouldn’t even be in her bed. If it were up to me, we’d be in my bed, where we had some room to move. If it were up to me, we’d be in our own little bubble, talking and fucking and getting to know one another without all the rest of this shit hanging over our heads.
None of this was fair.
“So…she’s pissed,” Chance said, leaning against the barn.
“You think?” I replied sarcastically.
“Don’t blame her. It sounds like the symptoms are pretty bad when you leave.”
“It’s not like I want to leave her.” I shook my head. “I’d rather have my fingernails pulled out.”
“Beau, Ambrose, and I could take care of things.”
“How would that be any different? Beau and Ambrose have mates too.”
“Fine, then I’ll take care of it myself.” Chance shrugged.
“Not going to happen.”
“What? You don’t think I’m capable of handling it?”
“I don’t think any of us are capable of taking on this group alone.”
“Well, we need to figure something out because, by the looks of your face, your mate might just tear your throat out with her fingernails the next time you leave the house,” Chance said, his lips twitching.
“You think this is funny?”
“I think it’s refreshing seeing little easygoing Danny with his feathers ruffled because his mate isn’t a doormat.”
“I don’t want her to be a doormat.”
“No, but you want her to listen to you,” he said in amusement. “And I think that ship has sailed.”
I turned when the back door opened and waited as Dalton crossed the yard. When he reached us, he stopped, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Looked over the information you’ve collected.”
“You’re welcome,” Chance said, popping a piece of gum in his mouth. “You got the organized version. We had to search through piles of bullshit to find those gems.”
“You’ve convinced me,” Dalton said with a sigh. “Edgar Adamson looks dirty as hell.”
“Told ya,” Chance replied.
“Is he always this fucking annoying?” Dalton asked me.
“Always,” I confirmed.
He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Adamson is at his house on the coast this week,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Arthur mentioned it a few days ago.”
Chance perked up like a dog on the scent.
“I’m not sure how long he’ll be there,” Dalton said grimly. “I know the timing is shit, but we could get out there and back within a few hours.”