Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 107118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
I sighed. “They once saved me too, kid.” I glanced back out the window. I could accept that if it weren’t for the Hangmen I might not be here today. And I knew Ky was right. It was only because of who my brother was that I was saved. The Hangmen were powerful. But my poppa had soured me too much to truly accept this club. I walked a shaky line. I both loved and loathed this place. Like the men it housed, it was both good and evil.
“We would save you again if you needed it,” Ash announced confidently, melting my bruised heart.
When the truck stopped, I stared at my brother’s cabin and the piece of happiness that resided within its four walls. Then, leaning over the console, I pressed a kiss on Ash’s cheek. “Whatever you do, Ash, don’t lose that sweetness you still got within you. Don’t let Hades pollute it with the kind of darkness he can bring.”
He seemed confused at my statement. So I asked, “You got a girl, Ash?”
I didn’t understand why that question had Ash gripping the wheel like it was the only thing keeping him grounded. But I added, “Don’t fuck sluts. Wait for a girl you love. A kid like you is worth so much more than the whores that infest this place.” I didn’t wait to hear a response. Didn’t think he’d even give me one. Instead I exited the truck and went into the empty cabin to pack before Lilah returned with Grace.
Suddenly, my anxiety calmed.
I was going home.
*****
“Michelle!” I stumbled around the dark room I had woken up in. I searched for my best friend. My head was thudding. I had never had a migraine before, but I thought maybe I was having one now. “Michelle?” My heart beat an insane rhythm in my chest as I tried to clear the fog from my brain. I fell against the wall and put my hand to my head. I tried to search through the memories of last night. Of what I had seen . . .
Michelle . . .
My eyes snapped open, and I released a strained groan. I slumped down the wall, my ass hitting the floor just as the door opposite me opened. I flinched at the sliver of light that escaped from outside. Cold shivers broke out along my skin even though the room felt like a hotbox, the air thick and stale from the stagnant heat.
“Mi rosa negra,” a deep voice said affectionately as someone walked through the open door and into the room that was my jail.
I pushed the mental cloud far enough from my head to utter one word: “Juan.”
“Si, bella.” Juan—or as his men and everyone in this small village knew him, Garcia—came toward me. He stopped, towering over me, and then lowered down to a crouch. His incredible looks still took my breath away . . . but they soured to an ugly facade when I thought of last night, or whatever night it was when I found out who he was . . . what he wanted from me . . . from my friend.
“You want to sell us,” I whispered, my throat closing on that horrifying truth. “You lured us in, pretended to be our friend, but you were lying . . . You sell women for sex . . . to be slaves.” A sob became trapped in my throat. “Why have you done that to her?” I swallowed. “Will you do that to me too?”
His beautiful brown eyes softened, as though I had said something sentimental and sweet. He lifted his hand and, with a gentleness I didn’t expect from him, pushed back my hair and kissed my forehead. Sighing, he said in English, “I had no choice but to sedate you, bella. You were hysterical at what you saw, and that is never a good look on one of my females, my black roses.” I bristled at being called that. But he kept talking. “I am Juan Garcia, my Elysia. I do not tolerate over-emotional women.” He smiled and ran his finger down my cheek. “Especially from the woman I have decided not to sell, but instead have chosen as my own.”
My lungs ceased breathing at his words.
“Si, bella. You are mine. I have never had a woman as my own before. But I am breaking all of my rules for you.” He kissed me then, his soft lips leaving an invisible stain on my dry mouth. “And you will be happy by my side. The empress to my emperor.” He lifted me off the floor and guided me from the room. Too weak to fight back, I walked into the sun, all the time wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into. And how the hell I was going to get us out . . .