The Fortunates (Unfortunates #2) Read Online Free Page A

I previously felt seeps back into my bones and muscles, and my anger slams into me full force. Screw Kade. Screw all of these people.
    “Now tell me I care too much about what everyone else thinks.”
    I frown at him, the subtle movement causing my entire body to ache. “If I remain an Unfortunate, they’ll kill you for that.”
    He shrugs his broad, powerful shoulders. “Then I look forward to doing it again in the afterlife.”
    My heart stutters, causing my lips to quiver. “You’d hold on for that long?”
    “Longer.” His intense stare softens, his eyes filling with compassion. “I’d hold on to us until this world fades into the next.”
    “And when that world dissolves into another?”
    “Eternity is a long time, but it’d never change how I feel about you.”
    I open my mouth, but the sudden, cold tip of a rifle presses against my temple. In the blink of an eye Kade’s arm is outstretched, his face pinched into an angry glare. I let my gaze follow the length of his long, thick arm. At the end of it, held tightly by his clenched hand, is a gun.
    A scary, silver gun.
    Panic rushes over the crowd, but they don’t run. Almost immediately, I feel their adrenaline crackle in the air as their fear converts to excitement.
    “The results are being read. I’m following orders.”
    The voice sends familiar shivers down my spine and I hate it. Out of all the Moderators to bury a bullet in my skull, why does it have to be Soyer?
    “Follow orders when she’s condemned. You’re putting the tip of your gun against something a hell of a lot more valuable than your miserable life. Remove it before I paint the wood with your brain.”
    “You wouldn’t,” he states, the smile in his voice deafeningly loud.
    Kade flicks his thumb over the top of his gun and pulls back the hammer. As it clicks into place, his jaw tightens. “Try me.”
    I keep my stare on Kade’s face. Too scared to turn and face Soyer.
    “Lower the gun, Soyer, before my brother embarrasses my family any further.”
    I shiver at Vince’s dark, empty tone and when the cold metal of Soyer’s gun falls from my temple, I turn to look at Vince. In his large hands, he toys with the corners of a piece of paper—a piece of paper that will determine how the rest of my life will go.
    His black, soulless eyes lock with mine and I can’t fathom why there’s a curve on his lips.
    He holds me in place for what feels like an eternity before switching his attention to Kade.
    “For your sake…” he states, opening the piece of paper. “She better be one of us.”
    A sharp pain shoots from the nape of my neck and down my spine as I look to Kade. He swallows hard, but he doesn’t lower his gun. I force my attention back to Vince. His eyes scan over the simple piece of paper, but they give nothing away. There is no smirk, no scowl, not even a twitch of his eyebrow. Guilt swirls in my stomach…because the name I hope he reads off the paper isn’t mine.
    Because I’m not finished here…
    Because I need more time with Kaden…
    Because I can change the world…
    I frown, not knowing where the last thought came from. It sprung to the front of my mind with vigor, inciting newfound passion in my body.
    A small eternity later, Vince lifts his eyes. My stomach falls, bile rises, and my heart splinters in half as Vince shouts the verdict with a loud boom.
    “Kill her!”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     

     
    Kade
     
    A deafening bang cracked through the air, vibrating the wood underneath his feet, and a shrill squeal pierced his ears. His stomach cramped, tightening itself into a painful knot. His first reaction was to shoot forward and as he slid the palms of his hands over her body, he expected blood. Her body shook as if she was in pain, but there was no evidence to show him she was shot. Her shrill scream chilled his blood. The icy vessels cut through his veins and carved their way through his heart, making it twist in his chest. Without a