Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
That scent intensified as I zipped it up and the thick fabric closed around me.
Leo smiled and this one was kind and loving. “Better?”
“Much better.”
But it was a lie because in the end, the chill in the air was nothing compared to the cold grip of fear that tightened around my chest as he watched me.
“Good.” Leo nodded at his men. “Let’s proceed.”
Song took the lead.
The men formed around us like a cloak, each leaving a respectable distance between us. They moved with the fluid grace of wolves. Their eyes were watchful. Their boots crunched on the gravel paths.
We walked past an apple tree beside a bench.
Leo remained next to me like he was more my bodyguard than my kidnapper.
DJ Hendrix’s music became muffled but I could still make out the thrum of the bass and the beat pulsing through the night like a heartbeat.
Somewhere, someone laughed—a high-pitched, carefree sound that seemed so out of place in the suffocating tension that wrapped around me.
Was that Chloe? I hope so. I want them to still have a good night.
I glanced back over my shoulder, just for a second, scanning the grounds half-expecting to see Lei’s figure emerge from the shadows, storming toward me with that look of rage and fear in his eyes.
But there was nothing.
Only the dark shapes of the trees, the flicker of distant blue lanterns, and the faint glow of the fairy lights.
Leo caught my glance. “Thinking about running?”
“Of course not.”
He chuckled, low and dark. “Good girl.”
The words grated against my skin but I ignored them focusing instead on the Palace that loomed ahead. The towering structure glowed faintly in the moonlight.
Thunder rumbled up above.
We all glanced up.
Next, lightning streaked the sky.
Song gazed over his shoulder. “We should hurry.”
I picked up my pace and Leo matched it.
Up ahead, a small wooden bridge appeared out of the darkness, spanning over a calm pond covered with lotus blossoms.
Moonlight reflected off the still water.
The air smelled sweet.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flicker of movement in the shadows—a shape darting between the trees, there one moment, gone the next.
Is that Lei? Or. . .Duck maybe? Someone to stop this?
I tried to convince myself it was just a trick of the light but a part of me knew better. Lei wouldn’t let me go that easily.
Or maybe that was just my hopeful imagination.
As we crossed the bridge, the party noise faded completely replaced by quieter sounds—rippling water, crickets chirping, and leaves rustling under the wind.
Continuing forward, I turned to Leo. “Where are we going?”
“To the Palace.”
“Why the Palace?”
“My son is smart but predictable.”
“Meaning?”
“Lei will barricade the gates making sure I can’t drive you out of here. “
I pursed my lips.
“So we’re going to take one of the Four Aces helicopters to avoid any further confrontation.”
Of course, Lei would do everything to stop me from leaving the East. He’d already been desperate when I said goodbye.
His face flashed in my mind—the sadness in his eyes, the tears.
Stop it. You can’t think about that now.
I shoved the vision out of my head and kept on moving.
Further away from Lotus Blossom, Leo's men fanned out into a loose formation.
I’m really about to be hanging with Leo tonight. Holy fucking shit this is going to be terrifying.
Trying to calm the tremble in my hands, I shoved them into the pockets of the jacket.
Huh?
In the right pocket, my fingers brushed against something strange—small, stiff, and oddly familiar in its texture.
What the hell is this?
My heart skipped a beat.
Slowly, I pulled the object from the pocket, praying it was nothing more than an oddly shaped crumpled piece of paper, or maybe a long, thick trinket Leo had forgotten.
But when I brought it into the moonlight, the breath froze in my throat and I stopped walking.
Everyone paused with me.
Oh my God.
It wasn’t crumpled paper.
It wasn’t a trinket.
It was a finger.
A human finger.
My stomach lurched. I stumbled back, dropping the severed finger. “Ah!”
Leo caught the finger before it hit the ground. “Oh. I forgot that was in there. My apologies.”
You forgot a human finger was in your pocket? Jesus, is that really how you roll?
A knot formed in my throat, so tight, it was as if someone had wrapped their hands around my neck squeezing until every breath felt like a struggle.
I swallowed hard but the tightness remained.
What is wrong with him?
I stared at the finger in his hands and could barely process the image. A sapphire ring wrapped around it. The gold band glinted in the moonlight. My mind refused to fully comprehend what I was seeing.
It felt unreal, like a scene from a horror movie.
But this wasn’t fiction.
This was real.
Song frowned. “Are you okay, Monique?”
I touched my chest. “Me?”
“Yes.”
“Uh. . .”
Motherfucker, you need to be asking if Leo is okay. He’s the one with the finger!!