Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
This was the complete opposite.
She had no idea how much time passed. There was no way to know. But when the door opened, she was alert and standing in the far corner of the room. She’d never been tortured, so she didn’t know how good she’d be with pain. Maybe she’d be better than most because she’d suffered a lot of abuse in some of her foster homes. But if it entailed carving parts off her body, she’d cave faster than the next woman.
“Cleo Bennet.”
A man walked into the room. He had tanned skin and dark hair, and he was just as big as Priest, which said a lot. The door was left ajar, letting light and new air flood inside. His heavy boots punctuated each slow, deliberate step.
Cleo didn’t have a good feeling about this. She wondered if she could get past him and out the door, and her gaze kept darting to her potential escape route.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said. “I’ve lost count of how many trained assassins I’ve killed over the years.”
All hopes of escape faded. Everything Priest warned her about was happening. This guy was going to kill her to shut her up.
“Why am I here?” she dared to ask.
“Someone made a mistake, and we’re using you to teach him a lesson.”
“Priest. No, please don’t hurt him. I’m sure whatever he did, he didn’t mean it.”
He cocked his head to the side. “He told you his name?”
Cleo nodded.
“Interesting.”
“Did you hurt him? You better not have touched him.”
“That’s not your concern.” He walked around the room, calm and deadly at once. “Did you know he was groomed to join the monastery since he was born? Forced to leave his family at only eight years old?”
She slowly shook her head.
“He performed the marriage ceremony for my sister and her husband last year. I’m sure there’s a lot you don’t know about him. Hell, there’s a lot I don’t know about him. But what he has always been is reliable and efficient—until you. That’s a problem for us.”
“For who?”
He didn’t answer the question. She was so confused.
“You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. So I can understand Priest’s hesitation.”
“Hesitation?” Cleo asked.
“Witnesses don’t last long in our world. Too many questions. Too many complications. We don’t like it when things get messy.”
“I told him I wouldn’t say anything.”
There was a noise outside the room. A door slammed, then a hulking man appeared in the doorway. He was tall and buff and had dark hair held back in a low ponytail. There was something menacing in his black eyes that made a shiver rush up her spine.
“El Diablo.” He glanced at her then focused back on him. “Priest is MIA.”
“I thought he was with Killian.”
“Was. He’s going to blaze a path to hell until he gets the girl back,” he said. “I can’t have a loose cannon who can’t follow simple fucking rules. Get her in the car.”
As soon as he left, El Diablo reached into his jacket and pulled out a cell phone. “Where are you, Gabriel? Bring the car around. Boss has another assignment for you.”
“Who was that guy?”
“My brother-in-law.”
He pointed to the door, motioning for Cleo to walk out. The main house was huge and luxurious. A massive chandelier hung in the grand foyer. She was so busy taking in the surroundings that she almost walked into a statue, hugging it to keep it from toppling over.
“Sorry,” she kept mumbling.
“Turn to the left,” El Diablo said.
Cleo did as told, stepping out onto the front entry of the house. A black car was idling in the front in the darkness.
“That’s your ride,” he said.
“Where am I going?”
“We’re not monsters. Remember that.”
That didn’t help at all. Couldn’t anyone answer a freaking question? She was forced to get into the back of the car with the heavily tinted windows. Why was she still alive? Did they just need her to entrap Priest? How did these cops know so much about him? Were they even cops at all?
The car began to drive.
“Where are we going?”
There was one guy driving. Was this Gabriel? She could reach behind him and strangle him or hit him on the head. But she suspected he was as fierce as the others so put all thoughts out of her mind.
“Your boyfriend is being a real pain in the ass.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. And he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Okay.” He sounded way too sarcastic, and she was the queen of sarcasm.
“What do you mean?”
“That asshole’s been breaking the rules left and right because of you. Men like Priest don’t even bend. You’re his girlfriend.”
“Where are you taking me? Is Priest safe?”
“Priest can take care of himself. Maybe too well. There’s going to be a lot of blood spilled tonight.”
Maybe she should just keep her mouth shut. She wasn’t getting any real answers, and everything he told her made her more afraid of her fate. It surprised her that Priest was supposedly breaking protocol because of her. She was no one. And she knew she drove him crazy because he liked his peace and quiet. If anything, he should want her gone.