Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 248926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1245(@200wpm)___ 996(@250wpm)___ 830(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 248926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1245(@200wpm)___ 996(@250wpm)___ 830(@300wpm)
Think. What was she trying to tell me?
Lunita had been around long before the Tinder Killer murders. Did Maxwell and Xavier know that?
Perhaps, Lunita appeared when she was first being abused. What was the moment that split my mouse’s mind in half?
And. . .were there more personalities?
That very thought triggered chills within me. This was not what I expected today, but I would deal with it.
I would figure this out, and control it.
I carried cut-up legs to the corner and began working on a new corpse.
The whole time more thoughts spun through my head.
What would Emily think when she heard this? And would she be able to deal with this horrific news, plus navigate everything that was going on here?
We were in the center of a war between the Mancuso Family and Fela. That meant Black Axe would be coming for us soon as well as hundreds of ‘Ndrangheta soldiers.
More Italian families could join the fight—the Vizzini Family, Sicilians, and others—just on the principal that the Brotherhood was causing chaos on Italian territory.
What am I going to do?
Minutes passed filled with cutting body parts and organizing. Every now and then, I attempted to ask Lunita a question. Always she remained quiet, playing with the dead pieces and cutting them off.
Sometimes she hummed.
However, never did she answer me again.
Once everything was organized, I went to Lunita, eager to get more answers out of her. “What else do you want to do?”
She looked around. A dark chuckle left her. Then, she turned her view to me. “I should go now.”
“Wait.” I reached my hand out to her.
She blinked and edged back.
“I just. . .want to understand a little more.”
She held her hands out. “There is nothing to understand.”
“Lunita, there is a whole hell of a lot to understand.”
She leaned that head to the side and had it laying on her shoulder. “Why?”
“Emily doesn’t know about you. Or does she?”
“She doesn’t, and don’t tell her.”
“Why not?”
“Max, Daryl, and Uncle Xavier never said anything, and they’re smart.”
“But, she should know.”
She raised her head back to normal and whispered, “It might make her so sad that she leaves for good.”
“But I can’t keep this from her.”
“Sometimes you will have to keep things from her.” Lunita raised her hands up over her head. “It’s this big. She can’t handle it all.”
“I could help her figure this out—”
“Impossible.”
“Why?”
“To fix her would be to. . .” Lunita made a circle with her arms. “It would be to make everything disappear.”
“How?”
“Gone.” She clapped her hands hard. “Just like that.”
“Can she see us?”
Lunita frowned. “She doesn’t watch the television.”
“Where is it?”
Lunita touched the side of her head.
My heart ached. “How do I help my mouse, Lunita?”
“You don’t. Leave it alone.” She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “You’re so silly.”
I put my arms around Lunita’s waist. “I have to try.”
Lunita leaned her head against my chest. “You’re good for her.”
“I want to be good for you too.”
“But I don’t deserve it.”
I frowned. “You do. You both deserve everything and more. I wish. . .”
A soft whisper left her. “What?”
“I wish I could go back in time and kill the bastard that hurt you.”
“There were more than just one. They never wanted me to grow.”
“Then, I would have killed them all.”
“Silly Lion.” She chuckled. “I killed them myself. Every last one of them that was mean to me, but. . .don’t tell Max. It would make him so sad.”
I quirked my brows. “Doesn’t he already know?”
“Not about all of them.” She swayed. Then, her body went limp in my arms. She began slipping down.
“Lunita?” I caught her before she fell to the ground. Her eyes closed. Her mouth hung open. Her breathing grew shallow. “Lunita?”
I lifted her body up in my arms and carried her over to the center of the floor. “Mysh?”
Come back to me.
I lowered us to the bloodied floor and studied the breathtaking enigma that was my mouse.
I was stunned.
I was terrified.
I was out of my element and desperately losing control.
I had no idea what to do or what would come, but there was one thing I understood with every ounce of confidence.
I loved Emily and I would protect her, forever, even if it meant, keeping her safe from herself.
Chapter 4
Blue
Another Day with the Lion and Mouse
What are they doing? And how long will they take?
I stood on the left side of the suite’s shut door.
King David flanked the right side and had his arms rested behind him.
Giorgio had been out here with us for a few minutes. Tension rose in the air. The space between them was charged with unspoken threats.
In the past days, each had hinted at fighting each other in Paris. Giorgio had even mentioned that he slept with King David’s maid. Then, David slept with his.
I didn’t know what all of that was about, but they clearly weren’t buddies.