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)
“I know. This is awkward. I wanted to send an intermediary to make the proposal to you, but then Vanko said no because if you turned the job down, you’d know that Athena and I had been kidnapped. He said he’d have to kill you and we’d still need to find a proper hacker.” Izzie huffed. “No one should be killed just because they don’t want to accept a job. That’s ridiculous. I—”
He stopped talking the second Kairo held up a finger for silence. Had he heard something? Izzie stared at the door while straining to hear any sounds of movement from the hall, or that someone had approached and was now listening to their private conversation.
But there were no sounds. The normal creaks and groans of the old house.
The winds sweeping from the mountain peaks and buffeting the sides of the building.
Nothing else.
He turned his attention to Kairo to find that he had lowered his finger and was holding his face in one hand.
“Did you hear something? I don’t hear anything,” Izzie whispered.
“No. I need a moment.” Kairo’s words were muffled by his hand.
He got it. This was a lot to take in. The poor guy had just woken up from being drugged for two days. He was in danger, expected to save people, and work up a brilliant hack. It was a lot to take in.
Izzie reached out and gently patted Kairo on the shoulder again. “Don’t worry. I have complete confidence in you.”
Kairo lifted his head and glared at him. “How did you even find out about me? I know we’ve never met.”
A low chuckle escaped Izzie as he straightened. “Oh, that. You and your friends helped a friend of mine, Nicholas Theodorou. He was the one who was being blackmailed.”
“He told you about that?” Kairo gasped. “He was the one who was worked up about his secret getting out!”
“Yes, Nick is the type to freak out first and then laugh about it later. He didn’t tell me all the details. Besides, Nick can’t keep a secret to save his soul. It’s kind of amazing that anyone could blackmail him in the first place.” Izzie paused to ponder his old friend Nick for a second before giving a shrug and smiling at Kairo, whose mouth was hanging open. “Anyway, Nick told me how you and your friends all helped to steal back his secrets and protect him. He particularly stressed that you hacked into the guy’s computer. All neat and tidy.” He brushed his hands together as he finished.
“And now you expect me to fix this kidnapping problem you’re in the middle of?”
Izzie smiled and nodded. “I’m sure you’ll have this figured out in no time. You’re the professional. But don’t worry, I’m happy to jump in and help you in any way that I can. This will be a piece of cake.”
3
KAIRO JONES
Isidore Panopoulos was going to get him killed.
And then Isidore was probably going to get himself killed.
How could someone like him possibly be real? And still alive! If Isidore was as sweet, soft, self-sacrificing, and kind as he seemed, the world should have swallowed him whole by now. Or at least made him so damn jaded that this person in front of him didn’t exist.
He needed air. He needed to think. He needed to string two thoughts together that didn’t include Isidore’s high likelihood of stepping in front of a bullet because he didn’t want to trouble Kairo too much with the need to save him.
Shoving to his feet, he sidled out of the narrow space between the beds and walked toward the closed door. The bed squeaked behind him as Isidore likely rose to his feet as well, but the man didn’t say anything.
Kairo tried the door and was surprised to find that it was unlocked. However, it wasn’t surprising that there was a man standing outside the door. As soon as the door opened, a gun was pointed at Kairo’s face.
He stared down the muzzle at the guard’s annoyed expression. He looked like he was in his late thirties with a tanned, scarred face. An assortment of black tattoos crowded his right forearm and Kairo quickly committed as many as possible to memory in case he needed that information later. Minions for hire were often a weak point for masterminds. Minions didn’t cover their tracks or watch their backs nearly as well as masterminds.
The man opened his mouth to bark something, but Kairo didn’t give him the chance. He snapped, “Bathroom.”
The guard might not speak English, but it was a good chance he understood that one word. It was helped by Isidore calling out in Greek behind him, translating that single-word request.
A low grunt left the guard. He still seemed peeved, but a little less so. The idiot should have known it was coming. Kairo had been out of it for too many hours already. It felt like his damn back teeth were floating. Dropping the gun to his side, he motioned for Kairo to enter the hall.