Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64366 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64366 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Why do you have to be so stubborn, Michael? When I think of the amount of money I’ve spent on trying to make something of you, it sickens me. You’re just like your father, both of you determined to cause trouble for me when all I’ve ever done is help you. I made you, and this is how you repay me? You’re nothing but a selfish, spoiled brat. Do you know how many people have had to disappear because of you? Just because you fucking exist? And you’ve ruined my UFC dreams. And now I have to change my will. Can’t leave everything to a dead man, can I? Fuck. You’ve ruined everything, all over some mediocre piece of ass. I hope you’re happy.”
Chapter 15
(JAMIE)
AFTER I made the call to break up with Kage, I was sick to my stomach. I literally puked all over the warehouse floor. It hurt like hell to say goodbye to the dream that had taken over my entire life and become my everything, but I had to take the threat to Kage’s safety seriously. If there was a chance that breaking up with him would save him, then that’s what I had to do.
Just knowing that his life could have been in danger was what had me physically ill. After the things I had learned about Kage’s past, there was no doubt in my mind that Santori was capable of following through on any threat he made. The fact that I suspected he would enjoy doing it made it just that much worse.
Aldo took my phone back and handed it to Aaron, then we left the warehouse. They were supposed to take me to the airport and put me on a plane back to Georgia, but somehow we ended up at the Alcazar instead.
“Quick change of plans,” Aldo told me as he opened the limo door. “Santori wants to speak to you.”
“Why?” I was alarmed, because speaking to Santori sounded like a terrible idea even on a good day. Throw death threats into the mix, and it sounded way worse than terrible. It sounded like a trick.
“Relax, kid. He just wants to make sure the two of you see eye to eye on the situation between you and his nephew. What’s to stop you from calling Kage as soon as you get back to Georgia? I can see his point. He just wants to talk to you and make sure that’s not something you would consider doing.”
His explanation did work to put my mind at ease somewhat, but I couldn’t help wondering exactly what Santori’s definition of talk was.
We entered the lobby of the Alcazar, and I was immediately assaulted by the familiar sights and sounds and smells. But instead of feeling like I was coming home, I got a sense of foreboding. For the first time since I’d set foot in the hotel, I had the feeling that I did not want to be there.
“Hi, Jamie,” Steve called cheerily from the front desk. But the smile faded from his face when he noticed that I was flanked by Santori’s goons. I had to imagine I looked like I was being led off to the slaughter. And maybe I was. That was a possibility I had to at least consider.
I gave Steve a solemn nod as I passed by and Aldo guided me into the elevator with a firm hand in the small of my back. For a moment, I fantasized that maybe Steve would pick up on the threat of danger and call 911. But part of me knew that wasn’t a good idea. That I needed to go and find out if Santori really just wanted to talk to me. Because that’s probably all it was.
But as I got closer to the penthouse floor, the elevator seeming to climb faster than it ever had before, a feeling of the most intense anxiety began to swell up and vibrate within my body. It was the strangest sensation, a steady undercurrent, a hum that made me tremble and long for simpler days.
The elevator stopped, and we got off. Santori’s door loomed at the other end of the hallway from Kage’s door, and I have the sudden urge to slip away from the thugs on either side of me and bang on Kage’s door. But if I did that, it would negate everything I had done already to try to save his life. And, as I found out momentarily, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
When Santori let us into his apartment, looking strangely unkempt and wild-eyed, Kage was in there with him. My first thought when I saw him lying motionless on the floor was that he was dead, and I let out a loud, long wail that I only belatedly realized was coming from me. Then everything took on this stop-motion quality, as if we were all starring in our very own Claymation horror movie.