Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 154882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“Good night, boss.”
I kept my head up, strolling through the warehouse like I owned the place—because I did.
I caught the first cab that rolled up, ringing up Sienna in the car.
“Did you get it?” she asked by way of hello.
“Got it. Where are you and Bane?”
“Ten minutes from Cooper’s. Are you sure we can pull this off? Vito isn’t a choirboy to begin with and we’re about to walk in with seven million reasons for him to betray us.”
“I’ve got it worked out. Just remember what we talked about.”
“This could all be over tonight, Kenzie.”
“What will you do if it is?”
“I believe a bookstore is my reward. Although, this tough-girl, beating-jackasses-up thing is fun. What about you? Moving into the compound permanently and becoming a mob wife? I admit, wealth and power look good on you.”
“It’s weird to think about. I know what he does. I’m doing what he does, but everything I’ve learned about good, bad, right, and wrong goes out the window when I’m with the guys. All I see is the man who fought to get my daughter back, painted fairies with me, and took me to see the stars. They’re not guys you walk away from—legitimate day jobs or not.”
“Kenzie, you dated a bunch of guys who pretended to be good and turned out rotten. The natural move was to fall for men who are as bad as it gets, with golden hearts on the inside.”
“So, you don’t think I’m crazy?”
“Remember when I told Sunny that he had a long, interesting life ahead of him that isn’t meant to be cut short by hairless assassins?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, that’s true... as long as he’s with you. That’s why the visions stopped. As dangerous as the Merchants, their life, and their enemies are, you’re safest when you’re with them.” Sienna clicked her tongue. “I couldn’t tell you this earlier, of course, because you’ve got a mile-long stubborn streak and would’ve ditched Sunny just to prove me wrong.”
“That’s not true,” I cried.
“It is. Thankfully the forces that govern my gift had everything under control.”
“It’s so comforting to know I never had any control over my life.” I checked the street signs. “I’ve got to go, Sienna. See you in a bit.”
“See ya.”
The cab dropped me off directly in front of Cooper’s. Sunday night, the crowd thinned out, leaving a few patrons clinging to the last hours of the weekend and a couple guys at the bar drowning their sorrows. Sienna waved to me from her booth toward the middle and beneath the television. She got up and left, and I sat down.
A few people filed in and out of the bar while I waited. I stayed glued to my seat, going over my speech backward and forward. Vito arrived ten minutes late, strutting in at nine forty. Two guys came in behind him and peeled off, taking up stools near the entrance. From the pointed looks in my direction, I figured they were with him.
“Mackenzie Blaine.” Vito sat down, smirking away. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”
“Yep, and it wasn’t a secret. So why do you look proud of yourself?”
He put his arms up. “I’m cool. It’s just nice to know who I’m doing business with. According to what I dug up, you worked some fancy-ass fashion job, then vanished off the face of the earth. What happened?”
“Met a guy and it didn’t work out. Met another guy and it went even worse. If you want to have story time, you first. I heard your grandfather was a King.”
Something flashed in his eyes—gone as quickly as it came. “My father, his father, and his father’s father were Kings. They were the oldest gang in this city. The Kings were unstoppable.” He leaned across the table. “Here’s what Sunny—what all the Merchants—left out of the history lesson. When they took over, they gave the gangs a choice. Work for us and you keep your money, territory, and your lives. Work for us, and we won’t hunt you down like dogs. They got a choice, Blaine... except for the Kings.
“The Merchants obliterated them. Whoever wasn’t killed was arrested. Whoever escaped death and jail was stripped of the little dignity they had left. My grandfather was killed. My father was arrested. And my mother and I stood on the front lawn as the repo men carried our life away.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied. And a part of me meant it.
Whatever happened back then, one thing was certain, the Merchants didn’t take over the Cinco underground by asking nicely. Blood was spilled. Lives ruined. Families destroyed. Children still weep over their father’s grave—even if he chose a life of crime.
“Don’t be,” Vito hissed. “It made me stronger. It taught me the lesson my father tried to teach me. Whatever you want in this life, take it. Or someone else will take it from you.”