Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
A low laugh rumbles through the mansion, and ice shoots down my spine, chilling me from the inside out as I whip around and find Elias standing in the entrance of the kitchen, probably having come from his torture chamber hidden within the butler’s pantry. “I am a lot of things, Harper, but weak is not one of them.”
“Cowardly, I suppose.”
He scoffs. “I am no coward.”
“You had a tantrum and beat my mother until her lung collapsed. You murdered her unborn baby because you caught her with another man. You are the pure definition of cowardly. You are vile and sick, and I can’t wait to watch you pay for the things you have done.”
Elias smirks at me. “Is that what she told you? That I beat her because she was fucking another man?” he says. “That’s amusing, but truth be told, beautiful Harper, I couldn’t care if your mother fucked her way through every man in Blackstone. She is nothing to me. A means to an end. An access road directly to you.”
Bile rises in my throat, and I ignore his comment about having access directly to me, because it’s never going to happen. “That doesn’t explain why you beat her.”
Elias takes a few casual steps toward me, and I whip the gun out from the back of my pants, aiming it directly at his chest. “Don’t even fucking think about it,” I growl. “That’s close enough.”
He looks at the gun as though it’s nothing more than a child’s toy that needs to be kicked aside. “What do you think you’re going to do with that?” he asks, his dark gaze dancing with excitement. “Do you even know how to use it?”
A deep rage ravages through me, and without a second of hesitation, I squeeze the trigger, the bullet shooting from the chamber as the blowback threatens to dislocate my shoulder.
BANG!
Elias roars in agony as he drops to the ground, clutching his thigh, and all I can do is stare in shock. I actually did it. Holy fucking shit. Knight’s going to have a real reason to use those handcuffs on me now.
A wave of confidence booms through my chest, and as he writhes on the ground, spilling blood onto the expensive Italian stone floor, I begin to move toward him, keeping the gun trained directly at his chest. “How’s that for not knowing how to use it?”
“Little fucking bitch,” he spits as blood seeps through his fingers, though unfortunately for me, it looks more like a flesh wound. There’s not nearly enough blood pouring from that wound. “You’re going to pay for that.”
“You know the thing I’ve noticed about men with too much money? They don’t have the ability to see when they’ve lost,” I tell him. “They’re so used to getting whatever they want, whatever the price, that they can’t even tell when someone can’t be bought. And you are no different. I have you exactly where I want you. I could take your life with the slightest twitch of my finger, and you still think you’re in control.”
He doesn’t respond, but I don’t need him to. It’s not as though he’s about to admit that I was right, so instead, I get on with it, knowing my time is limited.
I step in closer, my foot slamming against the bullet wound on his thigh. “Remember when you stabbed me and left me for dead?” I ask, a smirk resting on my lips. “It’s pretty nice now that the shoe is on the other foot.”
Elias spits at me as he clenches his jaw, trying not to let on just how much pain he’s in before attempting to get to his feet. Stupid move if you ask me, but whatever. If he wants to die on his feet, then so be it.
“You still haven’t answered me. Why did you beat my mother?”
“Is it not obvious?” he questions. “She knew too much and was going to use it as a means to take everything from me. She’s a fool for assuming I haven’t got that shit locked up. Even if I were six feet underground, she’ll still never get her grimy hands on it.”
“And so you thought you’d beat her?”
“Means to an end, Harper. It was not my intention to leave her breathing.”
I suck in a breath, gripping the gun tighter as he clutches the railing of the stairs, trying to keep his weight off his bloodied leg. I knew killing her was a possibility. I warned her of that much, but she was so sure that she could make it work. So sure that he’d be carted away in chains before he got the chance.
As I level the gun between his eyes, my thoughts are solely on the baby sister I’ll never meet and get to love, the retirement Dr. McKullan will never get to spend with his wife and grandkids, and the full life that Anders had ripped away from him. All of that agony and heartbreak was caused by this horrendous man before me, and I can’t let it go on, even if it means sacrificing whatever’s good inside my soul. I have to do this. I have to end it before he gets the chance to hurt anyone else.