Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
That was a huge oversight on my part. I gave her the resources I thought she needed to look after herself, but in reality, I did nothing but make myself feel like I’m some kind of hero. I didn’t help her at all.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” Siren says, clearly seeing I’m at a loss. “I’m assuming you know where my villa is?”
Shadow simply smirks and Siren rolls her eyes. “Of course you do,” she says. “I like to cook. I cook myself something every single night, and while I might not have a wide variety of dishes that I’m willing to experiment with, they’re still delicious.”
Siren grabs the napkin off the table and pulls a pen from somewhere inside her cropped tank before writing down a six-digit code. “Here, this is the code to my villa, not that you’ll actually need it to break into my home. Every night, at precisely seven o’clock, there will be a freshly cooked meal on my kitchen table for you. Eat it or don’t. It doesn’t matter to me, but it will be there all the same,” she tells her. “If it’s not eaten by seven thirty, it will be waiting for you in the fridge. There is also a blanket on the sofa, which folds out to a bed if you so happen to feel the urge to stay for a while. Just . . . Please don’t stab me in my sleep.”
Shadow gawks at her, just as lost for words as I am, and honestly, I don’t know if I should applaud her for going out of her way and showing so much kindness to this child or if I should berate her for being so fucking stupid. After all, Shadow will eventually have to kill her because, let’s face it, despite the tough game I talk, I’d prefer to fuck her than kill her, and welcoming her right into her home like that is asking for trouble.
Shadow visibly swallows. “You’d really do that for me?”
“I’m not about to let you starve. While you might be some kind of creepy child spy turned assassin, you’re still just a child. You shouldn’t be here, despite how good you might be.”
Her gaze drops to her hands, and it’s as though she’s never had anyone care for her before. “Thank you,” she murmurs, the words sounding hard to say.
“My pleasure.”
“Speaking of being a child spy turned assassin,” I say. “How did you become this way? Who trained you?”
Her gaze snaps up, and suddenly that childlike innocence and gratefulness vanishes, leaving nothing but the terrified child I saw in the back of the alley. Her gaze flashes between me and Siren, and as we both start to raise our hands to calm her down, she rushes to her feet and makes a break for it, vanishing out of the restaurant like the ghost that she is.
“Fuck,” Siren says, an accusation clear in her tone. “Now look what you’ve done. She was only just starting to come around.”
I shake my head. “That kid’s got a long way to go before she starts coming around,” I tell her. “But one thing is for sure, it’s not us she’s terrified of, it’s her home.”
“That makes her a threat,” Siren murmurs, devastation thick in her tone. “She’ll be desperate to win that prize money and free herself. She won’t be reasoned with and will keep going after the others. We need to keep an eye on her.”
“If you haven’t noticed, keeping an eye on her is fucking impossible. She’s the only person who has ever evaded me.”
Siren’s gaze widens in shock. “She did?”
I nod, almost ashamed to admit it. “Twice, and if it weren’t for you seeing her outside the restaurant earlier, it would have been three times.”
“Shit.”
“Mmhmm,” I say. “All I know is that this game won’t be ending because there’s no way in hell I’m going to let her get the drop on me, but I won’t allow you or anyone else to end her life either. She’s too young for this shit.”
“I agree,” Siren says, picking up the wine glass she didn’t even see the waiter refill. She throws her head back and drains the glass before getting to her feet. “We have to protect her.”
I stand with her, placing my hand on her lower back after tossing a hundred-dollar bill on the table. “The question is, how the fuck are we supposed to protect a ghost when we have no fucking idea what she truly needs protection from?”
14
SIREN
Sleep doesn’t come easy after the night I just had with Eagle, Reaper, and then Shadow. It was more than just eventful, and now my brain is struggling to turn off. I’m exhausted. All I want is to drown in my sorrows and fall into a deep sleep, perhaps even ignore my alarm and stay in bed until someone drags me out of it.