Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 66503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
A knife is a weapon, a tool to achieve a goal, murder. Specific. Effective. Nothing more, nothing less. But it almost seems like he enjoys the violent part a little too much.
“You could get yourself caught if you keep going like this,” he says.
“And what do you care?”
“I don’t. But…” He suddenly opens the door to the back seat and jumps inside. “I do care what happens to my father.”
I glare at him through the rearview mirror, wondering if this guy has a death wish.
“So if you wanna kill him, I’m your guy.”
Trusting this sly fox was the worst decision ever.
I park the car at a diner and exit the vehicle.
“Why are we stopping?” he asks as he hops out too. “I thought we’d agreed to go to my place.”
“Change of plans,” I reply.
“What the fuck do you want to do here?” he asks, trailing me as I go inside the diner.
“Neutral grounds,” I reply.
The server inside looks at us like she’s seen the two worst-looking guys on the planet. Maybe it’s the scars on my face … or the fact that Luca is still spinning that goddamn knife around like a shuriken.
We sit in a booth far away from the entrance, where no one will hear us.
“For a dog, you sure know your way around negotiating,” Luca mocks.
“I’m not a dog,” I reply.
He perches his hand underneath his jaw, casually leaning onto the table. “Then what do I call you?”
“Beast.”
A smirk grows on his face again. “So you don’t have a name? You just casually call yourself ‘Beast’? That’s what my father calls you, isn’t it?”
“It’s what she calls me,” I reply.
He narrows his eyes, almost as if he’s waiting for more, but I don’t have anything to add.
“Weird.” When I don’t respond to this obvious taunt, he adds, “You’re surprisingly short of answers.”
Just because he’s now suddenly interested in helping me doesn’t mean I intend to be friendly.
“You wanted to negotiate. Now talk,” I growl, almost ready to lunge at him across the table.
“All right, all right,” he says, blowing off steam as he leans back. “I’m just saying, maybe we should get to know each other. Before we die fighting together.”
“Together?” My lip twitches. “No fucking way.”
“What, you wanna go in there all by yourself?” He snorts. “Way to get yourself killed in a second.”
“I know how to kill,” I retort, my hand turning into a fist just from the thought of getting my hands on Lex. “And I will fucking gut that son of a bitch and everyone on his side.”
He laughs. “I like that attitude.”
“You mentioned a side entrance,” I say, cutting to the chase.
“Before I tell you all about that, I need to have some assurances.”
“What do you want?” I ask in a low, monotone voice.
“His money and the house,” he replies.
Of course. That’s all this was ever about.
All of those fuckers are the same.
“Done.”
“Well, that was easy.” He snorts again.
“I don’t care about any of that.”
“What do you care about then?” he asks. “Revenge?”
“Aurora.”
There’s a moment of silence.
“You really want her that badly, huh?”
I don’t answer. The look on my face speaks volumes.
“Every minute wasted here with you is another one stolen from her,” I growl.
His brows rise. “And eloquent too. Charming.”
I’m so done with this motherfucker. “Don’t act like you know me.”
“True, I don’t,” he says. “But I’d like to.”
“Not a chance,” I spit back. “This is a one-time thing only. I take her, and we disappear.”
“Okay. Deal.” He cracks his knuckles. “Anything else?”
“Her father. Fat blob, hairy chin. Don’t touch him,” I snarl. “He’s mine.”
“Fine. Don’t care. Next.”
“That’s it.”
“That’s it?” he parrots.
I tilt my head at him.
“All right … well, that was easy.” He flicks the knife again, almost like it gets him fired up. “I’m ready to beat the shit out of whoever needs some ass kicking.”
Something about his eagerness to fight makes me wary. “Why do you want your father dead?”
“He hurt my wife,” he replies, staring me dead in the eye. “And no one touches her.”
I see.
So we aren’t that different after all.
“Satisfied?” he asks.
I nod.
“I’ll deal with your father,” I say.
“Good. I’ll provide backup.”
“When this is all done,” I say, shoving my finger so deep into the table that it bends, “I never want to see you, your family, or your guards ever again.”
“Fine by me,” he says, shrugging again like it’s no big deal. “I already have most of his business. All I need is that final nail in the coffin.” He clutches his knife firmly. “Then his empire is mine.”
He fishes a small booklet from his pocket along with a pen and slams it down on the table. “Now let’s get to the nitty-gritty part.”
CHAPTER 23
Aurora
I scream and pounce against the railing of the cell until my hands start to bleed. There is nothing to see, but I can feel the warm blood drip down my fingers. An awful reminder that there is still life among these concrete walls.