Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“Went bad,” I say then give him a quick rundown. “I nearly lost her.”
“Shit,” he says gently. “Lanzo, brother, you couldn’t have known it was a trap.”
“The guy was waiting for her. In that fucking crowd. I knew it felt wrong, and I still sent her anyway.”
“What are you going to do now?” He doesn’t absolve me. I don’t think he could, even if he tried. A man like Carmine has been through something like this before. He knows how much pain there is and how little anyone can do to alleviate it.
“I don’t know,” I admit, “but I need protection for her friends and family. I’ll pay for the time.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll have a few guys watching each of them. Just send over names and addresses. Descriptions if you have them too.”
“Thank you,” I say, feeling grateful. I lean my forehead on the cold glass. “I nearly lost her, Carmine.”
“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”
I grunt in reply. “For a long time, I kept a distance. The people I worked with, they were my employees, expendable, they knew the risks. When they died, I could keep going. But this is different.”
“You can turn around now. It’s not too late.”
“I’m afraid you’re wrong.”
“Lanzo—”
“I’ve got to go. Thanks for your help.”
I hang up and toss the phone onto the couch.
Turn around now? Stop when I’m within inches of catching Burian?
If I did that, dozens of people would die.
Burian is a nightmare. I haven’t told Ren even half the stories about him to spare her the worry. But that Russian bastard has left a long wake of gruesome murders and manipulations behind him over the years.
Including of some people I tried not to care about.
If I keep going and finish this, I can save people.
But it’s more than that.
Burian tried to hurt her. Another person that matters to me. The man that put his hands on my Ren’s throat is a corpse now, but Burian ordered it. He made it happen.
And he has to pay.
I find her still awake in the tub. She smiles up at me. “You look sad,” she says.
She doesn’t know the half of it.
“Just feeling guilty. That’s all.”
“You don’t need to.” She touches the bruises on her throat. “I made my own decisions.”
I grimace, glancing away. “Don’t give me an excuse to keep putting you in danger.”
“I’m not sure that’s an option anymore.” She laughs, an ugly sound. Raspy and painful. “He knows we’re working together. I’m sure he saw you.”
“Good. I hope he’s worried.”
She hesitates. “That guy. When he was strangling me, he said something about his partner. About doing it to save his partner.”
I rub my face. “That’s something Burian does. He likes to use people, force them to do his dirty work for him. I’ll bet anything I killed an FBI agent tonight.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re serious?”
“Very serious. And I’d bet anything Burian’s got another agent tied up in some dank basement near here. Probably missing his fingers. Assuming he’s not already dead.”
“What are we going to do?”
“You’re going to heal.” I kneel down beside the tub. “I’m going to find Burian and end this.”
“You still need me. You don’t know what he looks like.”
“Give me the best description you can.”
“That’s not the same and you know it.”
“Ren. I’m not risking you again.”
“He tried to kill me.” Her tone slips into passionate rage. “You’re not sidelining me.”
I stare at her and a strange emotion swells in my stomach. It’s desire, but it’s something more. I reach out and kiss her forehead before running my fingers over the bruises, already dark and ugly. “I’m not going to put you at risk again.”
“Lanzo—”
“No, Renata. You’re not a part of this anymore.”
Her face falls. “You can’t do that.”
I stand, moving back. I keep thinking, she’s not safe, she’s not safe with me. “I’m sorry, but I already did.”
“What now? I’m just a prisoner here?”
“If that’s how you want to think about it.”
Her jaw tightens. “You can’t keep me locked away until you’re finished.”
“I can and I will.” I turn my back on her and walk into the other room, hating myself with each step.
Chapter 27
Renata
I move all my stuff into the guest bedroom and sulk.
My throat hurts when I swallow. It hurts when I talk. It hurts when I move. Basically, it hurts all the damn time.
I keep seeing the look on that top hat guy’s face. The rage, the fear, the sorrow. Like he hated himself for what he had to do, but he was willing to do it anyway.
Willing to murder me.
I hide in there for a day. I’m not proud of my reaction, but I can’t face the apartment or Lanzo right now. I keep thinking about how close I got to dying, but even worse, I keep getting angry all over again thinking that Lanzo might not let me get involved anymore.