Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
I could hear Oz talking to Forge, and I hoped he would be okay. One of us needed to be, and it would never be me.
Forge Savelle had been the cause of my greatest joy and the reason for my complete shattering.
Forty-Seven
Forge
I could hear the sound of someone putting in the code to the door above the ground where I was currently being held. It must be Kash with food. He was the one I saw the most. I’d lost track of time or even the day. I dozed off some, but I didn’t know how long I slept, and I didn’t fucking care. The stupid ass mattress they’d hauled down here for me to use didn’t get much use.
The heavy footsteps drew closer, and I laid my head against the concrete wall and turned it to see who was coming for a visit. The sight of Oz wasn’t welcome, and I snarled angrily.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, not caring if I ever saw his goddamn face again. Traitorous bastard.
He sighed. “Mom found out that we had you locked up down here and is not happy.”
“So, they sent you to free me?” I asked, surprised.
He cut his eyes at me as he went to get the key to the locks around my wrists. “Yeah, what? You think you can hurt me? You need to grow a little more first.”
I hated him. Motherfucker had let her go. I didn’t even get to talk to her. Explain, apologize. She’d have stayed with me.
“Your order is to go to the house, stay with Mom. Dad is in charge of making sure you don’t take off and go kill Mom’s only nephew.”
That was what had gotten me here, wasn’t it? Trying to kill the fucker because he’d touched her. Rage simmered under my skin, and I tried to tamp it down. I had to if I was ever going to get her back.
“You can seethe and hate me all you want, but if you’d killed him, you’d have not only lost her, but destroyed her. He’s her best friend. Her parents were fucking murdered, Forge. And she almost witnessed you murder the only family she has left. He is all she has,” Oz said and shook his head. “But you fall in love and turn into a lunatic psychopath who has to be locked up underground to keep you from going on a damn killing spree.”
The sound of her sobbing sliced through me like a constant torture device I couldn’t stop. It was relentless. I didn’t need a goddamn reminder of it. I would never forgive myself for what I had done to her.
“I just needed to talk to her, and you kept me from her,” I snarled.
He nodded. “Yeah, because I couldn’t be sure Calvin wouldn’t move the wrong way and your blade wouldn’t go through his throat. I saved the woman you love a lot of fucking pain. One day, maybe you will see that and thank me.”
“I never said I was in love,” I spat at him. I was obsessed to the point of insanity.
Oz let out a laugh that only fueled my fury. “Brother, seriously. You still going with the you don’t love her shit? You had a knife at Calvin’s throat because why? Huh? Why did you do it? Answer me that, and I’ll unlock the damn chains.”
“Because he …” I paused, pissed off that he was making me admit anything. “I don’t have to explain myself. Mom wants me unlocked.” I held out my wrists as I stood up from where I’d been sitting.
Oz shrugged. “Yeah, but I can prolong it. I might need to go check and see if Winslet is feeling okay.”
Fucker.
“I hate you,” I sneered.
He chuckled. “Sure you do. Now, answer my question.”
“HE TOUCHED HER!” I shouted, getting as close to his face as the damn chains would let me.
Oz didn’t flinch. “Yeah, and you tried to slice his throat because, hell, that seems sane.”
When he said it like that, it sounded unhinged. Fine.
I blew out a breath and stepped back. “I didn’t like his hand on her.”
Oz nodded. “I got that. Trust me. We all got that. But why, Forge? Why didn’t you like it?”
“Because she’s mine! I need her, and you let him take her! I can’t … I can’t breathe. Without her, it hurts so goddamn bad that I can’t fucking breathe.”
“And that is what love feels like. Except it also makes you a crazed lunatic, but I get it. I did shit I’m not proud of because of my feelings for Winslet. I didn’t almost kill a family member and traumatize her, but I get it. Give me your wrists,” he said.
I held them out, letting his words sink in. This was it? This was what he felt? What Bane, Than, and Ransom felt like? It made sense. Fuck. It made a lot of sense.