Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“I already spoke to Gabriel. Warned him. They are keeping a close eye on Jake. No one is going to get to him,” Kai said in a hard, forceful voice that broke through the noise in Dev’s brain. He could suddenly breathe again. He managed to nod, and Kai continued, “They are prepared to scoop him up and take him to their place. We just have to say the word.”
Mother squeezed his shoulder again and then released him to sit in a chair opposite Kai. “Reaper and Chameleon on protective duty? That boy is safe.”
“Dev, Gabriel has offered their place to you and Jake. You’ve been there before. You know how safe it is. They are more than happy to protect you there until I locate and eliminate this person.”
“But for how long? Our lives were already turned upside down once. Jake has enjoyed one year of normal. He’s at camp like a normal little boy with his friends.” Dev shook his head, the sick feeling in his stomach growing worse. “I don’t want to take that from him, but I don’t want to risk his life. I have to keep him safe.”
“I don’t think you need to remove him from camp,” Mother interjected.
Dev quickly twisted around on the footstool to face her, nearly falling off the tiny thing in the process. Grumbling to himself, he stood and moved to sit next to Kai on the couch. The assassin was watching him with dark, worried eyes.
“I won’t risk Jake or Dev’s lives needlessly,” Kai said, but Mother was already shaking her head.
“You’re not. I think today was a warning. You tried to take Dev out of play, and this fucker isn’t done yet. You’re being warned to go back to Washington so he can finish his work.”
“What?” Dev asked. That didn’t make a damn bit of sense to him.
Mother leaned forward, balancing her elbows on her knees. “You’re both too close to this thing,” she muttered and continued in a firmer voice. “Think about it. If the goal was to get Kai’s attention and bring him to Washington, why dump that second body where you could find it?”
“The assassin got me to Washington with the body in the tub,” Kai replied.
“Exactly. But he places a second body in Dev’s path, not Kai’s. Why?”
“Because Kai has a better shot at catching this person than me,” Dev offered.
Mother shrugged. “Possibly. Or maybe he’s building toward something that involves you in some way. The key is that he needs you both in Washington to finish this masterpiece he’s building. When you took Devlin out of Washington, he got pissed.”
“And if I take Devlin and Jake completely out of play? Hide them away?” Kai suggested.
“He goes underground and waits. I’m sorry, but if you want to catch this bastard, you need to take Dev home and keep him there.”
Kai made an angry noise in the back of his throat. He tossed the bag in his hand onto the coffee table and crossed his arms over his chest. “I am not using Dev as bait.”
Mother chuckled. “But he’s the best kind of bait. Dev’s a smart cookie. You want to stop this fucker, you need a smart cookie.”
Dev turned to face Kai, wrapping his fingers around the man’s left biceps. “Come on. Let me be your smart cookie.”
“You’re not helping your case,” Kai grumbled.
“If Justin and Gabriel have Jake, you just have to worry about me. I can help you. My whole job is finding ways to fix problems.”
“Your problems aren’t typically shooting at you.”
“We’ve got this. You and me. We can do this.”
“I will never forgive myself if something happens to you,” Kai whispered. The words sent Dev’s heart soaring. He wanted to lean in and kiss this amazing man, but he could have done without the audience.
Soon. He was going to kiss Kai until the man’s toes fucking curled.
Mother cleared her throat. When she spoke, there was laughter in her voice. “When you get back to Washington, you might want to look into getting Dev a new phone. I’d wager this asshole is tracking Dev through it.”
Dev winced. He hadn’t thought about that. “Oops. Sorry.”
Kai smirked. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll show you how to be a ghost.”
Chapter 8
Dev was getting accustomed to Kai’s extended silences. The drive from Mother’s to town was spent in contemplative silence. Dev watched the trees speed past along the winding ribbon of road, lost in his own thoughts.
Against his wishes, his brain kept going to that moment when Kai had disappeared out the door, alone with the lunatic that was leaving Dev presents like an oversized cat. Fear had gripped him despite knowing that Kai was an accomplished killer.
There was a thought and a half.
Kai was an assassin.
There was no sugarcoating it. The man killed people for a living.