Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Don’t I fucking know it.
“We couldn’t anticipate how any of this has played out,” Dalton says, striding back to us and grabbing his water bottle. “We’re doing what we can, but—”
“No, you’re doing what you can to get your dick wet,” Zade snaps, turning back to us. “All three of you. This isn’t a fucking whore house. There are plenty of bitches around here. You wanna fuck, find one of them. Getting involved with this girl . . . It’s going to blow up in our faces. You’re not thinking about the bigger picture.”
Cross stands and narrows his gaze on Zade, not liking his decisions questioned. Cross doesn’t do anything lightly, not even the girls he fucks. Every little thing he does is thoroughly planned and executed to perfection. “That’s not what this is really about,” Cross states, watching Zade with a thick curiosity. “You couldn’t give a shit if we fucked her so hard she split in half. All that matters is that she’s right there where you need her to be on the night of the sacrifice.”
Zade clenches his jaw, and I see that Cross is right. Zade isn’t always easy to read, but right now, it’s as though he’s written it across his face in permanent marker. “It’s getting out of control,” he admits. “I don’t have a fucking handle on this. Every step we take feels like I’m scrambling just to keep everything together. The hitman at her apartment and then the ball. What next? We’ve got nothing but a fucking doorman.”
I nod, agreeing with him. “Whoever is behind this knows what they’re doing, but are we sure they’re related?” I question. “The hit at her apartment was obvious. There was the warning card and a simple hitman through her window. The person behind that is small-minded, wanting a quick outcome. But inviting her to that ball where her murder would be witnessed by the whole organization? That’s a calculated move with the purpose of making you appear weak.”
Zade’s brows pinch together, his hand dragging down his face. “You think these are two separate incidents? That we’re looking for two people?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I’m saying it’s a possibility we shouldn’t write off. It’s entirely possible that both hits were ordered by the same person. The first had the purpose of being quick and easy, it was done with respect to Empire in mind. They followed the traditions of giving a warning, but the ball? There were no traditions followed, no respect for who we are. They were willing to take a shot in the middle of an event, where members’ families were in attendance, their lives put at risk. What if he’d taken the shot and missed? Or if he succeeded and put a bullet between her eyes in front of the eyes of our young? All hell would have broken loose.”
Zade drops down on the bench, bracing his elbows against his knees, clearly frustrated. “We’re going to lose her. She’s slipping through our fingers and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”
Dalton shakes his head. “We’re not losing her,” he says. “We’ve told her what she needs to know, and that’s enough for now. She’s aware someone is trying to kill her, and unless she has a death wish, she’ll stick to us like glue. We’ll know when someone’s coming.”
Zade glances up at Dalton and scoffs. “Even if I kept her locked in the fucking cell for the next month, it still doesn’t help me figure out who the fuck is behind this or which one of The Circle betrayed her name.”
“We’re not locking her in a fucking cell for a month,” Cross mutters, almost seeming disinterested in the conversation. “But have you considered that perhaps we’re looking at this all wrong?”
“What do you mean?” I question.
Cross lets out a heavy breath. “We’ve been taking the fight to Empire, questioning members and talking to The Circle, but it’s getting us nowhere,” he says. “They want Oakley dead, and something tells me her name wasn’t randomly selected. We need to take this to her. Figure out why she was chosen as the sacrifice.”
“We tried that,” Dalton says. “She doesn’t know anything.”
“I know,” Cross continues. “But if we dig into her background, we might just find the link, and who knows, that link might just offer us the answer we’re looking for.”
“It’s worth a try,” I say. “I’ll get my guy on it.”
“No,” Zade says, holding his hand up. “We do it ourselves. If she’s got the attention of The Circle, then whatever links her back to us is big. We can’t risk it getting out.”
“Can’t risk what getting out?” Oakley’s fiery tone rings out over the rooftop. We all glance back at her, our conversation dying quicker than it started. Oakley strides toward us and lets out a sigh. “Oh, I see. Discussing my imminent death I suppose.”