Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
The waiter sweated, a lot. I noticed his hand shook. Something wasn’t right.
“This looks incredible,” Charlotte said.
She lifted a small buttery potato and I didn’t know what it was, but in my gut, I knew it was poisoned. I stopped her just as she was about to put it in her mouth.
“Stop!” I yelled the word, and that was all it took.
I had a second to react as the door to the kitchen flung open and gunshots started raining down. Pulling out my gun, I grabbed Charlotte and covered her with my body, taking aim. I didn’t have to wait long for backup. Screams erupted as the shots kept ringing. The waiter was dead. He’d been the first to go.
“Ive, what’s going on?” Charlotte asked.
I heard the panic in her voice. I didn’t have her out yet, but to go out the front door put us at risk. Hubert entered the restaurant, as did two more of my men. Covering Charlotte, I got to my feet to see the few diners that had been there being ushered out.
Vlad appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. “It’s clear,” he said.
Putting my gun down, I turned to Charlotte, holding her face in my hands. “You didn’t eat anything, did you?”
“No, no, you told me to stop. I did. That happened so fast.”
“Boss, you need to go,” Vlad said.
I already heard police sirens and I got Charlotte pulled against my side. That was way too close.
Nodding to Hubert, I ordered him to take her. “Get her home. Call the doctor. I want her looked over. Tell him to check for signs of delayed poison.”
“Ive, no, I’m not leaving you. Didn’t you see what just happened?” Charlotte asked.
I saw her starting to panic.
Pulling her in for a hug, I hold her tightly, wrapping my arms around her. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
I couldn’t go with her, I had no choice but to stay here. This was where my men needed me.
“Ive, please?” she asked.
I hold her a little more tightly, and then pull away to stare into her eyes.
“I need you to go with Hubert. I’ll be there as soon as possible, okay?”
“What if you die?”
“I won’t die.”
“People die.” Her lip quivered. “They die. You can’t die.”
“I won’t die,” I said.
She nodded her head. “You won’t die. You promise me?”
“I promise you.”
“You’re coming home?”
“Yes.”
Charlotte nodded and I placed her hand in Hubert’s. “Take care of her.”
I trusted him to do as I said. Hubert and Charlotte left, giving me, Vlad, and my men the chance to head into the back of the kitchen.
Four men were dead. Two had no insignias on them. One of them had the Evil Savages MC patch, and the other, well, he was part of the Irish mafia. No sign of the cartels.
They had gotten into my fucking restaurant and planned to take me out. Now I was pissed. The sneaky fucking bastards.
****
Lottie
I sat on the sofa, knees curled up to my chest. I had already taken a shower. The dress was in the laundry basket. I didn’t know who did our laundry. Every day when I woke up, the basket was gone. I never saw anyone carrying laundry. It just appeared.
“Charlotte, are you okay?” Hubert asked.
This wasn’t the first time he asked this.
The doctor had already been by and checked me over. I didn’t have anything wrong with me. Not a scratch or a graze. I was perfectly fine. But I felt sick to my stomach, and the only person I wanted to see was Ive.
“It happened,” I said.
Hubert crouched down in front of me.
“Yes, it did. Things like that seem to go fast. While it’s happening, it’s in some kind of slow motion.”
Our apartment door suddenly began to rattle. Hubert pulled out his gun and this made me cover my ears. I wanted Ive.
“Charlotte!” I heard Cassie yell through the door.
“It’s my sister,” I said.
He still held the gun as he went to answer the door. I had gotten to my feet and watched as Cassie shoved open the door and then came running toward me. Rage followed behind her. My sister pulled me in for a hug.
“We just heard. Are you okay? What the hell happened?”
I held onto my sister tightly.
“I, er, I don’t really know. Ive had taken me out to dinner. He’d picked this new restaurant. Everything was going so well. He had to order for me because I can’t speak French. The waiter delivered the food and I was about to eat something, and Ive told me to stop, and then it was all a blur. People started to shoot at him.” Tears filled my eyes, and I had been able to keep them at bay but with my sister’s arms wrapped around me, I just couldn’t.
I honestly felt fear. Real fear. I wanted Ive. He still wasn’t home and I didn’t like that. Why wasn’t he home?