Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
“Are you certain they’ve checked the books? It’s a big territory. There are so many businesses, and he’s just taken over. I had one of my hacker friends do a quick search, Theo. It’s possible you aren’t on his radar yet.” She didn’t believe that for a minute. The Amurov shifters seemed to smell betrayal.
Theo’s gaze had gone back to his laptop, greed etched deep into the heavy lines of his face. Now that she was free of the scorching fury of Wraith’s heat, she could easily see the signs of depravity on Theo’s features. His nose was red and bulbous. His eyes appeared bloodshot. His jowls had gone saggy. Once, he’d been a charming, handsome man.
We’ll have to be ready for Theo to open the door. He has some kind of plan. Maya spoke telepathically to her leopard in images, her face turned away from the window. She didn’t want to look at Theo any more than she had to now that she’d made up her mind to kill him. If someone is with him, we’ll have to kill both and make our escape.
Wraith gave a sniff of disdain. You will kill anyone coming through the door when they open it. If you do not, I will.
Wraith was very certain they would prevail—and she had reason to be so confident. The two had tracked and hunted criminals for several years, and they had never failed to bring down their prey. That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a first time they would fail. Already, Maya knew they were in trouble. One mistake and it could prove to be fatal. She didn’t worry her leopard with her concerns.
“We’re in Amurov territory. This part of the swamp is theirs. Their leopards will hunt us if they suspect we’re in heat. They may anyway. They traffic women. We’ll have to cover our scent and get out fast.”
That would mean leaving her computer behind. She had learned to plan for events such as this one—dire emergencies. She had money and clothes stashed in various places if she could get to them, but she despised leaving her laptop. She’d set a fail-safe on it. The moment someone tried to access it, the hard drive would be destroyed. There would be no trail leading back to her. In any case, she would move from the state she’d been living in. She was good at hiding. She’d been doing it for some time. If necessary, she would go to Europe. That might mean a new identity, but she was good at paperwork, and she had enough money to start over somewhere else.
She swore again under her breath. This was her own stupidity. The moment she’d recognized Theo, she should have disappeared. Not acknowledged him. Not spoken. Not engaged. What had gotten into her to risk Wraith that way?
It is our first heat, and we didn’t know what to expect. You were disoriented.
Of course Wraith would excuse her. She always did. Maya believed she should have been prepared. She’d considered that eventually it would happen, but nothing could have possibly shown her what it would be like to feel the way she did when Wraith burned with need. Not just Wraith. Now she knew. Hormones raged out of control.
If she was going to get them out of this situation, she would have to do so fast. What she did know of the Han Vol Dan was that the female would rise in little stops and starts. Hopefully Wraith would settle and give Maya time to get them out of the extensive and very dangerous lair and away from all bratva territories.
Maya turned her attention back to Theo. “Theo,” she called out to him in a soft voice to bring his attention back to her. He had to think it was his idea to open the door. “Do you believe they already know about the money that’s gone?”
This time Maya inserted a small tremble in her voice. She wanted to create a sense of urgency in him to leave immediately. She appeared small and lost, not difficult when she often wore clothes just a little too big. Her weapons were concealed up her sleeves, between her shoulder blades, down in her boots, around her waist, along her thighs. It was funny to her that no one ever thought to check her for weapons. She didn’t appear to be a threat to anyone, and they took her at face value. Aside from her brain, her looks were one of her greatest weapons.
Theo looked up from his laptop and then scowled. “Amurov is a real bastard, Maya. All he cares about is money. The first thing he did was demand an accounting from everyone. Every single business had to turn over the books to his people. He brought in new people to oversee everything. He knows. I’m sure of it.”