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)
I make my way over to the door, stopping and glancing back at her. “I came only to check on the baby, and now that there’s no longer a baby to check on, I suppose there’s no reason for me to bother coming back,” I tell her, reaching for the handle. “I hope you and Elias are very happy together with your piles of money and your broken ribs.”
Making my way back out to the hallway, I close the door behind me and immediately collapse against it, the overwhelming grief finally breaking free as tears begin streaking down my cheeks.
“Fuck,” I say to myself, swiping at the tears.
Hunter gets up and awkwardly stands by me, not knowing what to say or how to act, and while I appreciate the effort, I’d prefer to be alone. “Should I . . . Uhhh . . . Should I call Knight?”
I shake my head. “Thanks, but I just need a second,” I tell him before crossing the hallway and slipping into the women’s bathroom, not even waiting for a response from him. Hell, I don’t know if he followed me to the bathroom door or if he’s just awkwardly hovering in the hallway outside Mom’s room. All I know is that my baby sister is gone.
I stand at the basin with the water running, my head dropped between my shoulders, and as the seconds tick by, it becomes harder to catch my breath.
Elias did this. He took her away from me. Just like he took Dr. McKullan and Anders. Just like he tried to take my life, too.
He’s a cancer, an infection that’s never going to go away, and he will continue to destroy lives until somebody physically removes him. And just like my masked stalker said, it has to be me. I have to do this. An eye for an eye. That baby was mine to protect, and now she’s mine to avenge.
He won’t get away with this.
Splashing water over my face, I lift my chin to meet my reflection through the mirror, but the woman I see staring back at me isn’t anybody I know. She’s wearing my face, but the person reflected in her eyes is unrecognizable. She’s dark and dangerous, a woman scorned who’s been thrown down one too many times, a woman who’s had her world crushed, and now somebody’s got to pay.
Letting out a shaky breath, I let the darkness swallow me whole, and as I straighten my back and rise to my full height, I turn my attention to the door. I’ve gotta lose the protection detail, but how the fuck am I supposed to lose a highly trained SWAT officer?
An idea takes root, and before I even get a chance to work out how this is supposed to go down, I open the door and stick my head out, cringing as I meet Hunter’s stare across the hallway. “Hey, uhhh . . . I’m really sorry about this. I have a bit of an issue.”
His face scrunches, already not liking where this is going. “What?”
“Aunt Flow kinda came a little early, and I don’t have any supplies on me. Anyway you could ask one of the nurses for some supplies?”
There’s literally nothing behind his eyes as he stares back at me. “Huh?”
“My period,” I clarify, standing directly next to the tampon dispenser that’s stuck to the wall. “One of the women down at the nurses’ station should have a tampon or two in their bag. Just ask. Oh, and maybe ask if you could get a fresh pair of scrubs too.”
“New scrubs?”
“Oh yeah. It’s a massacre in here,” I say. “I’ve been representing the heavy-flow girlies since the eighth grade, but if you could make it quick, that’d be wonderful.”
Hunter nods his head so fast I fear it might bounce right off his spine. He hastily begins hurrying down the hallway, and with his back turned, I slip out of the bathroom and make my break, almost feeling sorry for the guy. Knight is going to kick his ass for being so easily manipulated and letting me get away, but perhaps he could look at it as more of a learning experience. After all, it’s not as though he was told I was a flight risk. Hunter has no reason not to trust me, but that’s going to change after today.
Not having a car here after Hunter drove me this morning, I quickly start trying to book an Uber as I hurry through the hallways, knowing it won’t take long before Hunter realizes I’m gone. With any luck, he’ll assume I’m desperately searching the hospital for tampons, which should buy me a few minutes before he realizes something isn’t right.
It takes only a minute before my feet hit the pavement outside the hospital, and by the time I reach the roadside, my Uber is pulling up. The moment I get in the back seat, I give the driver a pleading stare. “Please hurry. It’s an emergency.”