Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 102754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Briggs let out a sharp snort behind him, arms still folded. “He’ll never do that.”
For the first time, Russo’s expression cracked. It was just a flicker, but it was there—the irritation that slipped across his face like a shadow. He didn’t turn to Briggs, didn’t snap or scold, but when he spoke, his words were steel.
“He will,” Russo said tightly. “If he wants his woman and these kids back in the same state he left them in.”
My stomach twisted, but I didn’t let it show.
“And don’t forget,” Russo added, glancing at Briggs this time with a quiet warning in his eyes, “what happened to Topper. Everyone thinks they’re untouchable until they aren’t. Every action against me has a consequence.”
The air shifted again, the temperature seeming to drop a few degrees. My mind scrambled to make sense of the pieces. I still didn’t understand everything, but I was starting to connect the dots, and I didn’t like the shape they were forming.
Russo turned back to me with a slight, condescending shake of his head. “Unwise of Roque not to fill you in on what’s going on,” he murmured like I was an idiot for being kept in the dark.
But I just smiled, calm and sharp as a blade. “He didn’t tell me because life’s too short to fill it with bullshit.”
Russo’s brow lifted slightly like I’d amused him more than he’d expected. Then his eyes drifted down to the kids—Kaida still asleep, Kairo watching him warily from under my arm., and his smile faded.
“In that case,” he said, “we’ll leave them alone. For now.”
I didn’t relax—not even a little.
His following words came low and were pointed. “But don’t mistake my politeness for weakness. Others will find that out soon enough.”
I caught the brief flick of his eyes toward Briggs and instantly knew—whatever punishment Russo had in mind for insubordination or arrogance, it wouldn’t be verbal. Judging by the smug expression still plastered across Briggs’s face, he hadn’t figured it out yet.
I just hoped that whatever Russo had planned wouldn’t happen where the kids could hear it. Because something told me it would be the kind of lesson you didn’t walk away from.
Briggs lingered a moment longer, his eyes flicking back to me with that same smug arrogance, but it didn’t quite reach his posture after Russo’s warning. Still, he couldn’t resist getting the last word.
“Roque deserves what’s coming to him,” he muttered, his voice low and bitter. But I didn’t miss the way his jaw tightened or the flicker of unease that crossed his face when Russo had mentioned Topper earlier. Whatever had happened to that man clearly hadn’t been clean.
Russo didn’t even bother looking at him this time. He clicked his fingers once, sharp and commanding and jerked his chin toward the stairs. “Leave.”
Briggs hesitated, clearly not used to being dismissed like that, but he turned and made his way up after a beat. Russo followed without another word, and I watched them go, keeping my breathing steady, refusing to let myself spiral into fear now—not in front of the kids.
They reached the top, and just as Russo was stepping through the doorway, I heard the sudden trill of a phone ringing.
“It’s him,” he said, almost to himself, then answered without waiting. The door swung shut behind him, but not before I heard him speak into the phone.
“We have them.”
The words sent a chill down my spine.
I stayed still for a moment, listening and waiting, just in case someone came back—but the silence held. As soon as I was sure, I looked at Kairo, his eyes wide but steady, and nodded toward Kaida, who was still sleeping soundly in his arms.
“Hold onto your sister, baby,” I whispered. “Keep her safe for me for a minute, okay?”
He nodded quickly, his arms tightening around her like it was his mission.
I grabbed the blankets and pillows that had been dropped earlier and bunched them around the kids, tucking them in close and secure, trying to make the space warmer, safer, and softer. Then I stood and moved to the wooden box Russo had used as a seat.
It was heavier than it looked, but I dragged it beneath the window without waking Kaida. I climbed onto it carefully, balancing on my toes, and reached up toward the tiny, grimy window on the wall. The moonlight from outside was faint, diffused through years of dirt and dust, but I still tried to peer through.
Even standing on the box, balanced on the very tips of my toes, I couldn’t quite see out the window. The light barely filtered through, casting a dull glow into the room, but beyond that, there was nothing. No shapes or movement, no signs of where we were. Just gray light and a growing sense of isolation.
I pressed my hands to the cold edge of the frame, trying to lift myself higher, even just a little, but it didn’t help. With a quiet sigh, I lowered myself onto the box, the wood creaking softly beneath my feet. Frustration tightened in my chest, hot and sharp, but I forced myself to breathe through it. Letting it get the best of me wouldn’t help the kids.