Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
“I can answer that,” Tic Tac offers. “The government had been trying to buy her father’s property for years, for big money, too. She said no. And when they finally used a law, I’ll spare you the details on, to force her to sell, she was not happy. Neither was Mark. He got some big named attorneys involved. It’s tied up in the legal system now, but it’s not looking good for Elsa and Mark.”
“Okay, then. Good work, everyone. I don’t think Elsa is coming for any of you, but coming at you would be coming at me, so stick together to be safe.” I push to my feet. “I’m going home to get some quality time in Purgatory. I need to think.”
“What’s bothering you?” Jack asks.
“Her. And how she got here.”
“You want me to come with you?” Jack asks. “We can go straight from there to the diner.”
“No, Jack. I do not want you to come with me. Jay can bring you to the diner.” I step back into the living room. “Oh and Jay, I got you out of the police academy. Kit is going to get someone he knows to train you.”
Kit’s lips twitch ever so slightly. He’s obviously aware that I’m just giving Jay a hard time but also a wake-up call. Something has to change.
Jay pales, white as a winter’s day. “Raz? Isn’t he replacing the kingpin?”
“Yes,” I confirm, “and I never said it was Raz, but if you survive whoever it is, you can survive anything. We’ll get you started right after the election.”
“I’ll train him,” Enrique says. “I know what needs to change.”
I consider him a moment, aware of the darkness beneath his surface that’s balanced with loyalty. “If Raz isn’t available for some reason, like his new job calls him in, Enrique gets the job.” I head for the door, and Kit follows, my shadow, but I have a feeling he’s not my only shadow.
And that’s why I agree to go to dinner with Jack. It’s not about Jack. It’s about letting Elsa find me.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Purgatory turns into phone calls.
I’m on the floor with my jacket and shoes off, and notecards in front of me, just to make sure I have my head on straight for this case, when Adams calls. “Ellis is in the hospital. Apparently, she saw his role on the committee that took that contract from Clyde as the biggest betrayal of all. She was going to kill him, but a bullet was good enough. She wanted him to beg for his life.”
“How bad is he?”
“He had to have surgery on his arm, a pin in the wrist. He’s stable and stubborn enough to insist he be flown there tomorrow. He feels he can distract her from the other targets. He even wants to do a press conference.”
Ellis just earned a little respect from me. A little. We’ll see where that leads. “When are you coming back?”
“Tonight. I have depositions in the morning. Fucking Murphy was so obsessed with one target that he did some shitty things to end other cases.”
I notice how he doesn’t say “Society” over the phone line. He clearly knows the Society was all Murphy lived for, but just how much he knows is for later. “Oh and Ellis told me to tell you, everything he discussed with you still stands.”
In other words, Ellis still wants me to work for him and spy on Adams. And yet he trusted Adams to save his life? I’m going to need a lot of answers to work for any of these people.
My next few hours involve ME’s, the NYC chief of the police department who still wanted to know about Murphy since his murder happened on his territory, and my brother. “So she’s really here,” he says after I rundown what happened today.
“She is. How ready are you for her?”
“As ready as we can be. Why don’t we tell the targets to stay home?”
“If we do that, Elsa may go underground indefinitely and considering I’ve pissed her off, I need this to be her or me, sooner than later.”
We’ve just hung up when Kane calls. “I heard you were attacked by ice cream.”
“An ice cream sundae to be precise and it was excellent. When this is over we have to go to that ice cream shop.”
“She got too close to you, Lilah.”
“I got close to her. She had no idea I was there. And I’m going to the diner tonight with Jack to try to talk to some waitress who might know something about the mysterious other waitress. Kit and team need to stay outside.” I don’t wait for an answer. “When are you coming home?”
“It’ll be late. When I got out of my meetings, I had ten million dollar oil well start spilling. Be careful tonight.”
“I’m always careful.”