Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
I remained silent as my mind raced with thoughts of what to do. I knew in my heart that what she said was true. Killing innocent teenagers was not something I wanted to do, but my reputation was at stake, which meant my being able to keep my family safe was at stake too.
“Kaz, talk to me.”
Sighing, I opened my eyes. “If a gardener can come into the Lion’s home and disrespect him, bigger criminal elements will feel they can easily seize the opportunity—”
“It doesn’t have to be that way—”
“The female assassins thought it was a great time to attack.”
“We got them.”
“But, will we get them all?”
“Killing teens won’t stop them.”
“It would buy us more time to continue to strengthen.”
“Bullshit. Your ego is bruised, and you are mad. Do not try to play me with ideas of how this is to protect Emilio, Paolo, and me. Bull! Shit!”
I gritted my teeth.
“You kill the teenagers, and I will leave you, hopefully before Lunita comes out to terrorize your ass—”
“Leave? Careful, Mysh.” I tightened my grip on the phone. “Be. Very. Fucking. Careful.”
“Do you really think I would stand by your side if you killed teenagers?”
Goddamn it.
She continued, “And is that how you want Emilio’s first years of life to be. . .us playing cat and mouse all over the globe? My running country to country. You’re chasing.”
It all played out in my mind.
She would hide. I could hear it in her voice. Granted, I knew I could find her, even if Misha chose not to help and the French shielded her.
I would catch her eventually.
But, I also knew that Emily had spent most of her life hiding from monsters.
If she ran away, there would definitely be days, maybe even weeks without my seeing her face, breathing in her scent, and touching her soft skin.
There would also be moments when I wouldn’t see Emilio and hear his little cooing.
And there would even be times when I would miss the sound of Paolo screaming out, mysh along with me.
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Fine. We can come to a compromise.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“I will spare the teenagers. But the rest of the family will still pay for the gardener’s betrayal. Are we done?”
“No.”
“Mysh, you have saved some of them, be happy—”
“I want all of them to live—”
“Not possible. I want them to suffer the way Olga suffered. They will feel the same pain and humiliation that she did before she died.”
“But, you triggered Lunita to do that, not the gardener.” There was a pause on the other end of the line, and I could hear her struggling with her emotions. “I. . .I want to be by your side and love you until the day that I die—”
“And you will do so because I will never let you fucking go. So there is no escape from me and there is no place that you can hide for too long.”
“You would be surprised, Kaz.”
“This is not a conversation that you ever want to have with me.”
“Do not kill them—”
“So that there can be another time when some man moves inside of you?”
Her voice wavered. “There will never be another situation like that. We are going to New Orleans for me to get help. Leave these people alone. They are innocent—”
“Not if they have his blood!”
“Do you hear yourself?”
“I do.”
“That is not the voice of the man I fell in love with.”
“It is. You knew who I was then, and you know who I am now.”
“You have changed. You are different now.”
“Not when it comes to my love for you.” I gripped the phone hard and growled. “When it comes to you, I have been consistent! A mad man!”
“I want that to stop today. There has to be another way.”
“This is the only way—”
I blinked. “Rosetta.”
“What?”
“Paolo’s mother. That was her name. Rosetta. Now she is dead.”
“I know she is dead.”
“Paolo will never see her again—”
“Mysh, I will talk to you later—”
“Pavel.”
I shivered. “What about Pavel?”
“Do you not regret killing him?”
“These people are not Pavel.”
“Yet, they will haunt you like Pavel does.”
“That is a low blow, mysh.”
“But, it is the truth.”
The sound of a baby whimpering came on the other side of the line.
“Is that Emilio?”
“I just walked into the nursery. Max is dressing him for the trip. We are getting ready to go. My only question is if you will be on the plane with me.”
“I will most definitely be on the plane.”
“Not if you kill the rest of those people.”
“And who will stop me from getting on it?”
“You kill them, and the plane takes off without you.”
“And the pilot, stewardess, your men, and anyone else who helped fly you and my sons away. . .will die.”
Silence hit the line.
I trembled. “Mysh?”
“You know Lunita will not like this either.”