Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
I pull the trigger. Zale’s head cracks apart, and the old man slumps to the floor, his blood running toward the drain.
The other two men stare at their captain’s corpse. His second-in-command, Giovanni, and his best soldier, Alonzo. They’re beaten within an inch of their lives, and a sad resignation falls over the pair.
They know why they’re here.
“Giovanni,” I say. “Final words.”
“Kazan family forever, even in death.”
I nod at the worthy idea and blow his skull to bits.
Leaving Alonzo alone. He’s young, early twenties, with a shock of thick, dark hair, and a skinny face. I crouch down and tilt his chin up with the warm gun barrel, splattered with the blood of his comrades. “What about you then, huh? Did you know about your captain’s plan?”
“No, Lord,” he whispers. “I didn’t. My life for the Kazan.”
I nod slowly. “Gather the remainder of your crew. You will lead them to my house, and the lot of you will swear new oaths to me. Any who refuse, you will kill them yourself. Do you understand?”
New hope blossoms in his eyes. New hope and new loyalty. “Yes, Lord. I understand.”
“Good.” I stand and turn my back on him. “Stay here and think about what happened to your captain and his second. Think hard on what it means to be Kazan.”
Chapter 37
Evander
I suck at the last of the whiskey. Exhaustion weighs me down as the sun rises outside of my office window. Birds sing in a nearby tree. I keep hearing the gunshots, the many gunshots from the night before as I went through my family and purged all of the traitors.
So many dead. So many wasted lives.
It would be easy to blame Camille, but she was only the catalyst, and a weak catalyst at that. This unrest had been simmering for some time now, and she was simply the most convenient excuse.
I’ll have to find a new captain to take over for Zale. I suspect Alonzo will be a good choice—I spared his life, and he’s intensely aware that he owes me his continued existence. I need strong men, loyal men, in positions of power.
I smell like alcohol and blood. I need to shower for an eternity to wash away the sins I’ve committed, but there’s no cleansing me.
There’s a knock at the door. “Come,” I say wearily.
It opens a crack and Camille steps inside. She’s wearing her work outfit, the diner’s uniform, with her usual vintage sneakers and a hard glare in her eyes. I note the lack of rings and rub my finger where mine should be.
“You’re up early.”
“I’m supposed to help with the breakfast shift today,” she says, expression hard. “Except none of the drivers will take me to the diner.”
“Strange,” I say with a sigh. “I wonder why.”
“You ordered them not to.” Her rage is hot and tense. Some part of me can’t blame her, but another part recoils at her speaking to me like that, without respect.
“I ordered them to keep you safe. You are not safe at that diner.”
“I would be safe if your family wasn’t filled with crazy people.” Her dig is sharp and maybe she didn’t intend for it to hurt, but it cuts me deep all the same.
I lean toward her. If she knew what I did the night before, she wouldn’t be pushing me like this right now. I stare at her, unable to muster the energy needed to fight with her.
“You will not work at the diner anymore.”
“Evander—”
“Enough, Camille.” I say her name sharply. “You were nearly kidnapped from there.”
“Send more loyal soldiers. Assign me a bodyguard to follow me around.” Some of her anger bleeds away as her tone shifts to pleading. “But don’t take the diner from me.”
I let that sink in. I planned on letting her work up until Hector nearly succeeded in sending her back to her ex. If I hadn’t been on my way to pick her up so she could get ready for the signing, I don’t know what would’ve happened.
That day plays in my mind over and over. The fear in her eyes, the wounds on her body. The bruises that still bloom on her cheeks.
It breaks me, seeing her hurt like that. And now she wants to return to that place.
I can’t handle the idea of letting her out of my sight. The thought of her there, at that place again—
Panic wells up in me. Panic at the idea of something going wrong, all because I can’t be everywhere at once.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I can’t let you.”
“I was waiting for this,” she says, crossing her arms. “Now that I’m your wife, you can start cracking down, right? You don’t have to wear your ring, but I do. You can stay out all night and do god knows what, but I can’t go work at a diner.”