Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
He turned to Fred and grinned. “This is mine.” He waved the money angrily in the air. “I never gave it to you.” He shot a sharp look at the bloodied body before him. “You didn’t earn this bonus.” A wave of heat began at the top of his head and raced to the soles of his feet. “You stole it from your crew. From two hard-workin’ men who proved to be warriors. Never having the honor of being born into the Wilde family, but willing to prove themselves through and through. You’ve disappointed me, Fred.”
“…Please… please!” Fred begged for his life.
Grandpa leaned slightly forward, hiked up his black pant leg, and slipped a dagger from a holster secured to his ankle. It sparkled in the iridescent sunlight as he held it high… sparkled like rose, lily, and daffodil petals covered in fresh dew. Like a vibrant tear from a baby’s eye. Like bright crimson blood on the Sabbath from the Lord and Savior’s crown of thorns.
“Proverbs 20:21 says, ‘An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end.’ The greedy man reaches for more, but spills what he has, Fred. That’s an old sayin’. You’re about to spill, too…”
Gripping the wooden handle firmly, he smiled at Fred, then struck the sharp tip into the center of the bastard’s neck like a matchstick across red phosphorus and powdered glass. Watching him bleed out of the deep, perpendicular wound gave him pleasure. Watching him slowly die in so much pain was a joyous occasion, indeed…
Roman looked at his phone and sighed. Undoing his tie, he flung it onto his bed as he prepared to meet Genesis for an after-work nightcap. Jonathan Roy’s, ‘Keeping Me Alive,’ played throughout his penthouse. He yelled for Alexa to stop. The music halted.
“What do you want?”
“Sheriff Gonad, as he told me you call him,” Grandpa chuckled, “has been checkin’ you out. I never told him to do such a thing. Just wanted to let you know. Lookin’ out for ya, boy.”
“Well, that’s mighty kind of you, Scar from The Lion King. My father already made a monkey out of him some years ago, when he escaped from his jail. I’m sure you recall. It was public intoxication charges and receivin’ stolen goods. My daddy broke out of there and was on the run, and when and where did the law finally catch up with him? Three days later in bed with the sheriff’s new wife. Said my daddy was in mid-stroke, blowin’ her back out like a tuba. Ol’ Gonad had an axe to grind when you got me tossed in that same jail, so he was more than happy to oblige. The whole shit show regarding my father embarrassed him somethin’ awful was too much to bear, so much so, he ain’t never got over it, and you knew it. You ain’t doing me no favors by calling me about this man. Y’all are in cahoots. Besides, I’ve already seen his little Hot Wheels cop car sniffin’ around in places it doesn’t belong. He’s gonna end up in some six-foot-deep ditch with a big concrete slab above it, if you don’t tell him to mind his fucking business, or better yet, his latest wife can get fucked by a Wilde, too. I’ve got over fifty first and second cousins. Many of them are single, so I’m sure it can be arranged.”
“I don’t care nothin’ much ’bout Sherriff Gomes, Roman. All that stuff with Reeves and the sheriff’s now ex-wife is water under the bridge. She was a whore, anyway. My son wasn’t the first to take a turn, and sure as hell wasn’t the last. I’m calling you about business.”
“We ain’t got no business for you to call about.”
“Oh, I think we do… See, it’s about your contract. About my proposition. Because of the stunt you pulled at the jail house, threatin’ to sic your bloody thirsty attorney on the family, and this final act of what you did to poor ol’ Fred, I need to add something to your contract. An addendum if you will.”
“You didn’t give a shit about that man, or you wouldn’t have sent him to babysit me. You know full well what I’m capable of.”
“Well, he won’t be doing any babysitting of you again. You have my word.”
“I’m sure I do, old man. I have a feeling you killed Fred, so you can cut the shit right here, and right now. He’s not family, so you would never show him any loyalty or concern, and he didn’t complete the assignment, which automatically put him on your shit list. I know how you think, old man.”
“I’m glad that you brought up how you believe that I think, because I’ve been brainstorming.”
“I hope you didn’t hurt yourself.”
“Not only do I want you to let me in on some of the trades, help your ol’ grandfather invest a little wiser, I want some additional information.”