Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“No wonder you were in such a hurry to get this over with,” I hiss in her ear, and for one wild moment, I imagined biting it, listening to her scream in pain as her blood dripped onto the dress she had the nerve to put on. “So this is what the two of you talked about while you were alone, is it? You always knew this was going to happen. Isn’t that right?”
“No!” she bawls. “No, I swear! I didn’t know about any of this!”
“More lies. I’m supposed to trust you? Knowing where you come from?” What a fool I’ve been. Standing here, thinking all these ridiculous thoughts about our future, about how I want to make this better for her, how I want to make her happy. I lost all sense of reality, and it’s all thanks to her. I stopped thinking of her as my hostage and started thinking of her as an equal. The biggest mistake I ever could have made.
A mistake that left my grandfather dead at my side, staring blindly up at the sky. My grandfather. The strongest man I ever knew, who I now realize I never imagined leaving me. How am I supposed to get through any of this without him? How am I supposed to take over the family after this?
Of course, that would be another of Josef’s plans, wouldn’t it? I press the gun tight against her head, and she lets out a full-bodied howl like an animal caught in a trap. And that’s exactly what she is. A lying, deceitful little animal. “It should be you I’m pointing this at,” I growl at Alvarez, still standing with his hands raised. “This is all you. You set this in motion. You deserve to die.”
“I’m telling you, this wasn’t me.”
“Will you please listen to him,” she begs, almost choking on her tears. “Please!”
“Shut up,” I growl. “I’ve heard enough of your bullshit lies. Do you think I would believe a word you say now? And there I was, feeling sorry for you. Wanting to make this up to you. What a fucking joke. You’re nothing but a lying little snake. I blame myself for forgetting that.”
Alvarez hasn’t made a move, choosing to simply stare at me. No threats of what awaits me if I harm his precious daughter. He hardly looks at Elena at all. “Are you sure this wasn’t a plan on your end?” he shouts. “A way to negate our deal? Because guess what, boy? It’s sealed. Cemented. The old man signed his name on the line. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Then how about I fucking kill her since nothing I do will affect our deal? What about that? Will you be standing there looking so smug when I put a bullet in her brain?” She whimpers pitifully, but all that does is make me tighten my hold on her. The lying, traitorous little bitch. I can’t believe I let myself fall for her tricks. There’s a mistake I’ll never make again.
He lowers his brow, smirking. “So you’re going to kill her? Your own wife? Because that’s what she is now, boy.”
“Call me boy one more time,” I warn in a growl. “See how well that goes for you.”
“You and I both know damn well that if you so much as gesture at me with that piece of yours, you’re done. Dead on the spot, just like the old man. And what would happen to your precious little family then? How many people will move in to claim what he fought for all this time? Sort of seems like a waste, doesn’t it?”
“Enough talk. You’re only trying to save your own ass.” But at the same time, I know every word of it is true. I wouldn’t even have time to aim at the man before one of the half dozen or so men now training their guns on me opened fire. They would turn me into a corpse on the spot, I have no doubt.
Except for one thing. “You’d have your men open fire on me while I have her in front of me like this? Your bluff is showing. You aren’t even very good at it, are you?”
That’s when the most chilling thing of all happens. That’s when he smiles the way he did when he brought Elena to my side. The way he did back at the restaurant when his demeanor struck me as slightly strange. A man who knows he’s been bested does not smile that way.
“Oh no,” he murmurs, touching a hand to his chest. “You’re going to threaten me with the death of my sweet little girl? As it has been from the beginning, the joke’s on you. I’ve already been through that.”
Elena’s broken sobs barely register on my overworked brain. As usual, the man has found a way to leave me at a loss. “And what is that supposed to mean?”