Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
“Got mugged ... They took it all.”
My god, he doesn’t think I’m that stupid, does he?
My fucking god.
I tighten my grip again—this time he pisses himself.
I can smell the strong scent of urine as he squirms harder and harder.
“How stupid do you think I am?” I snarl.
“Please, I won’t do it again. I fucked up. Had a family to feed ...”
“Blah-blah-fuckin’-blah.”
I squeeze so hard now his breath is cut off. I stand and watch as he fights for the last remaining seconds of his life, and then, with a final gurgle, he goes limp. I hang onto him for a second longer anyway, just to make sure, and then I drop his lifeless body to the ground. Blood trickles out of the corner of his eyes and his face is swollen and blue.
I stare at him for a second longer, then turn and walk away, leaving him in the cold dark alley.
As I round the corner, I catch sight of Aviana’s brother, Manny. He’s standing in the alley with two men, two men I’ve certainly never fucking seen before in my life. They’re doing some sort of deal, that much is obvious from the way they’re whispering and exchanging packages. I step behind a large dumpster bin and watch as they continue to speak, and then, Manny pulls out a gun and, without hesitation, shoots both of them.
Holy fuck.
They drop to the ground with a thud and with a package in his hand, he turns and walks off.
Fuck me.
When he’s gone, I rush over and kneel down, checking through the two dead men’s pockets for anything that might tell me who they are. Whatever I find, I stuff into my jacket and then disappear before anyone sees me. Fucked if I’m going to be done for three murders that occurred in these alleys tonight.
Luckily for us, it’s a dead, fucked up part of town.
People die here all the time.
I get back to my car and only when I’m certain there is no one watching me do I pull out the contents in my pocket. I shuffle through a few wallets, pocket some cash, find some I.D, but it’s a slip of paper in one of the men’s pockets that holds some interesting information. On that slip of paper is Aviana’s name. For a minute, I wonder if maybe they’re talking about a different girl, but when I see her last name, I know it’s her.
All that’s written is her name, an address, and a fucking large sum of money, some offshore account details, and a few other scribbled numbers.
What the fuck are they doin’ with Aviana’s name, and why in the hell did her brother kill them?
Curiosity burns in my chest, and I tuck the information away.
I’m going to find out what she has to do with this, even if I have to do it behind the club’s back.
Whatever it is, I’ll make sure no harm comes to her.
Those fuckers better be very fucking careful.
9
NOW – AVIANA
“Don’t fuckin’ trust her, boss, I’m not ridin’ with her.”
Cohen’s voice is angry and low, his eyes pierce me with an intensity that would make anyone a little less strong squirm. Not me, though. He doesn’t scare me, and his little tantrums aren’t going to bother me, either.
We have a mission, and I’m coming on that mission. Unfortunately, it’s a hell of a drive that’ll take us a week, with stops. Cohen and Samson are the only two who have free space in the truck they’re going in, so that means I’m entrusted to travel with them. It doesn’t both me at all, but Cohen isn’t happy about it, not at all.
He still thinks I’m leading them on a wild goose chase, but I’m not. I’m taking them to what they’re looking for, I’m giving Samson his daughter back, I’m just not sure they understand what else is in store for them when they arrive. I told Alarick to be sure he had a good plan, and I know he does, but what I didn’t tell him is that there are more men there than he could possibly imagine. Even if he picks up Benedict and manages to use him as bait, he’ll never take down the mass production they’ve got going on there, there are simply too many men.
Guilt has started to eat away at me, especially considering I’m growing closer to Waverly and I really like Mykel, Samson and hell, most of them really. The idea of doing something bad to them is starting to make me doubt myself. Maybe there is another way? I mean, surely there is a better revenge plan than to lead them right into a fucking ambush?
I don’t know.
I’m torn between two parts of myself, the part that hates what happened to me because of this club, because of Cohen, but the other part of me knows that I’m going to be risking the lives of many innocent people just to make myself feel better.