Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
After a few more rounds and way too much meat, Kairo stumbled toward the bathroom. The alcohol was definitely starting to make his brain fuzzy, while the most delightful sense of well-being was coursing through his veins. Everything was right in the world at last. Charlie was happy and in love. The team was together. It even sounded like Soren and Alexei were planning to hang out with them for a while.
Kairo finished his business and shuffled out of the bathroom again. It was time to return to the hotel and sleep some of this off. They were driving to Montevideo early in the morning to catch flights to various parts of the world.
As he turned to walk down the narrow hallway to the main seating area of the restaurant, he found his path blocked by a man as big as a mountain. He would have towered over Ed by at least six inches, and his shoulders were wide enough that they nearly brushed both of the walls on either side of him. The man’s head was shiny and bald, but there were tufts of black hair sticking out from just above the top button of his shirt.
Kairo paused and blinked at the large beast a couple of times, his sluggish brain trying to figure out how he was going to get past this mountain. Did he back up? Did the other guy? Should he try to climb over him? No. Climbing would be bad. He might fall.
“Are you Kairo Jones?” the stranger inquired in a low, rough voice.
Kairo’s thoughts scattered and he stared up at the stranger. His first reaction was surprise that the man knew his name. His second was even more surprise that he had spoken in English rather than Spanish. And his English was heavily accented…like Greek. That was weird.
“Yeah. Who are you?” Kairo asked, trying very hard not to slur his words.
The guy grunted with a little nod. “Sorry about this.”
Kairo’s brow furrowed as he frowned at the stranger. He was about to ask what he was apologizing for when something incredibly sharp stuck him in the side of his neck. He hissed and tried to jerk around while slapping his hand to the spot that stung. Was that a damn bee? How did a bee get inside the restaurant?
As he twisted, he saw only a glimpse of another person behind him before his knees turned to water. He was falling and darkness was swallowing him whole.
Fuck. Someone had drugged him.
He sucked in a breath to shout for Charlie. Ed. Someone. Panic flared in his chest, sending a surge of adrenaline through his body.
But it was too late.
The darkness enveloped his mind. They had him.
1
KAIRO JONES
His head was killing him.
He hadn’t drunk that much at the restaurant. A few beers. Oh, and those shots Soren had talked them all into.
A low moan broke past his lips and he winced. His tongue was almost stuck to the roof of his mouth, and it felt as though he’d gargled paste. Dry mouth, headache, body sore. It would be better if he rolled over and fell back to sleep. Maybe one or more of his problems would go away with sleep.
But that wasn’t going to happen. Now that he was awake, his brain was booting up and flashing a strange kaleidoscope of images through his mind. Broken memories of a large man stopping him outside the bathroom.
The injection.
Someone knocked him out!
Kairo’s eyes flew open only to immediately squeeze shut again when bright light blinded him and sent searing shafts of pain through his head. He rolled onto his side, trying to curl up into a ball while waiting for the pain to subside.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” A gentle male voice grew closer. There was the scrape of a shoe across the floor and then a hand landed carefully on his head, stroking his hair and moving it from his face. “Would you like a drink of water? It might help.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to snarl that he didn’t want anything from the person who’d drugged him, but his head was throbbing and his mouth was so dry, water sounded like heaven.
“Yeah, thanks,” Kairo rasped. Slowly, he pushed upright and a pair of strong hands immediately grabbed his shoulders, helping to steady him. He rubbed his eyes and blinked, opening them to only a slit to get them adjusted to the blinding light.
A young man came into focus. He was half-turned away from Kairo, but he could see enough to make out a handsome but somewhat bruised face with a puffy bottom lip that looked as if it was still healing from being recently split. Scruff lined his jaw and cheeks and surrounded his mouth while heavy eyebrows shadowed his eyes.
When he turned toward Kairo, he was stunned by the eyes that met his. With his dark hair and olive complexion, Kairo had expected equally dark eyes, but pale-gray eyes were watching him closely while a cautious smile pulled up the corners of his mouth.