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)
“You’re a vile monster,” I spit, my chest heaving, “and now you’re gonna die like one.”
The determination is like nothing I’ve ever felt, but as I squeeze the trigger, Elias dives low, throwing himself at me as the bullet goes wide. His arms brace around my waist, and he slams me to the floor the gun flying from my fingers and skidding across the tiles just as the back of my head smashes against the hard Italian stone.
My head immediately spins; black-and-white circles dance behind my eyes as I fade in and out of consciousness, only as something grips my ankle and starts dragging me through the open living room, that fight-or-flight instinct comes soaring back.
My scrubs slide across the flooring with ease, and I try to flip myself over as Elias drags me closer to the kitchen. I reach for the couch, the coffee table, the heavy stone lamps, anything that could keep me from getting closer to that butler’s pantry, but it’s no use.
Elias is struggling with the bullet wound in his thigh, but he’s fucking determined, knowing that he won’t get another chance like this. He thinks he’s already won, but I’m not about to give in just yet. Not today. Not after everything he’s done.
Desperation claws at me, and I frantically try to kick out at him, my arms flailing as I try to grab onto anything to keep me in the living room, anything that could slow him down and buy me just a little more time.
“NO,” I scream, terror pulsing through my veins.
Elias glances back at me as he continues dragging me across the tiles, a wicked gleam in his eyes, seeing just how close he is to getting exactly what he wants. “You’re all mine, Harper,” he grunts. “Nobody will ever find you where you’re going.”
I scoff. “Everybody knows about your stupid fucking rape dungeon. You’re not the big mastermind you seem to think you are. You’re just a loser with a God complex.”
A surge of panic seems to flash in his eyes, realizing that his grand plan isn’t so grand after all, and if he were to somehow get me all the way down to the basement with a bullet hole in his leg, it’ll be the first place Knight searches for me.
He gets me to the entrance of the kitchen, where I’m finally able to grab the edge of the doorframe, giving me just enough momentum to twist my body around and bring my leg up in a brutal kick directly to his thigh, dropping him like a sack of shit as he roars in agony.
I quickly scramble away as he lunges for me, but I get to my feet and slam my foot against his nose, snapping it like a damn twig. “Not today, motherfucker,” I growl before running for my fucking life, frantically searching for the gun in the living room, only Elias recovers too quickly, coming after me with large strides, eating up the distance.
I have no choice but to run deeper into the mansion, glancing over my shoulder to watch the very moment Elias spots the handgun poking out from beneath the couch and collects it, a wicked grin on his face as he meets my stare.
“Oh, kitten. You can run, but you can’t hide.”
Fucking original. But he’s got another think coming if he thinks I can’t hide. I grew up with my mother. Hiding from her became a daily game of survival.
I sprint through the property, frantically searching for a way out, when two loud gunshots ring out behind me.
BANG! BANG!
“Fuck,” I scream, dropping to the ground.
I keep scrambling, trying to crawl and keep low to stay hidden. I’ve made my way into the grand dining room without even noticing. This room isn’t ideal. I have to keep going.
Elias’s thunderous footsteps follow behind me; pained grunts fill the air as he approaches the dining room, and I madly search for another way out, but the only other exit leads me directly into the kitchen, taking me far too close to the butler’s pantry for comfort. I have no choice but to stay, and hope like fuck he’s too clueless to see what’s right in front of his face.
I keep myself hidden behind the chairs of the dining table as he steps into the entrance of the grand room, his gaze scanning the room inch by painful inch. I hold my breath, terrified of making a single sound.
“Not so brave now, are you, kitten?” he chides. “Why don’t you come on out and play? I swear, it won’t hurt a bit.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
How did this go so wrong? I should have ended him when I had the chance, but I was too caught up, desperate for answers when I should have just pulled the trigger and put this shit to bed.