Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
I’m glad he found happiness with her. But on days like today, it only serves to remind me there’s no happiness to be had for someone like me.
“Kaiser.” St. James is at my side. He’s such a quiet fucker. Always has been. He was smaller than the rest of us as a boy. We protected him because some people are giants, even though they’re small. And his intellect has saved us all.
“St. James.” I lift the bottle in a mock toast. We have him to thank for all of this—the Lodge, the wealth, the power. But I’m not feeling grateful.
“Come with me to the library. I have something to show you.”
“What?” I grunt, but I follow him to the room lined floor to ceiling with old books. I never come in here, but it’s nice. I don’t read, but I like the smell of leather and paper.
I set the bottle down on a side table. St. James drifts over and repositions the bottle on a coaster because he’s civilized like that.
“I have something for you.” He takes a square piece of paper out of his pocket and sets it on the table.
“What’s this?” I ask without looking at it.
“A job.”
I need a job. I need something to take my mind off everything.
The piece of paper is a photograph of a girl with a backpack, smiling shyly at the camera. Her hands are tight on the backpack straps like she’s nervous, but there’s a wistful light in her eyes.
Her face stops my heart. I’ve never seen her before, but I feel like I’ve known her forever.
Behind her is a sign that reads ‘Unitas University.’
“What’s the job?”
“Her.”
Her. Her.
I stare at her face, barely hearing what St. James is saying.
“It’ll be complicated, but that’s why I need you. You can pull it off.” He taps the photo, making sure I hear the next part. And I do. I hear it loud and clear.
“And when the job is done, there will be a reward.”