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)
Also, they didn’t know if they were being followed.
Priest and Harb had clocked one car. Then a second had arrived.
Her stomach chose that moment to growl.
They hadn’t stopped for snacks or toilet breaks. She kind of wished they were back at the garage with Harb’s joke about her having a number two. It was odd how she wished for uncomfortable moments rather than this.
Priest grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side.
It was nice that he still wanted her close, even though she had to smell like a sewer right now.
“We’ll be there soon,” Priest said.
“I think it’s safe to say that we’re all clear,” Harb said.
If the men in the second car had followed, they would have had to hear something. The forest was dense, and birds chattered when you walked under them. It would have been beautiful, like some kind of Disney fairy tale if it wasn’t for the humidity and threat of death.
They came to a building with a wire fence around it. The outside was labeled as a chemical plant. It looked sketchy, even for her, like a dystopian disaster area. That said a lot, considering where her apartment was located in the shitty area of the city.
“How is this a safe house?” Priest asked.
Harb walked to a panel, scanned a card, bent forward, had his eye checked, and then his fingerprint.
“We all have to do that to get inside,” he said. “One at a time.”
The gate opened, and within seconds, slammed shut.
“Okay,” Priest said. “Boss has all of these measures in place for a reason.”
“I don’t have a card thing,” Cleo said.
Priest pulled the card out of his jacket pocket. “I’ve got yours right here.”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Cleo didn’t feel any humor. It would be nice to wake up about now next to Priest in bed, all of this a nightmare that never really happened.
After scanning the card, she followed the prompts and then rushed inside, feeling the doors close pretty much immediately as she stepped through with a whoosh.
“Isn’t that dangerous?” she asked, pointing at the gate. She was sure some of her hairs were trapped, but as she stepped away, there was no obvious tugging.
“It’s the Killer of Kings. They know what they’re doing.”
“And you work for them?” she asked.
“I do now,” Harb said.
Harb looked at the camera on the inside wall, and she saw Priest checking the area before approaching the panel.
“Who are you, anyway?” Harb asked.
“What?”
“I don’t think it’s escaped your notice that some powerful people want you dead, Cleo. You’re more than just a girl in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Harb tilted his head to the side. “There is something about you that is oddly familiar.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He’d spoken her fears out aloud. Something didn’t make sense to her either.
She was nothing. A nobody. A whole lot of resources had been wasted on her. She grew up in an orphanage, then got stuck in the foster care system, which wasn’t any better. A lifetime of being unwanted. When she saw those videos that showed puppies in pounds with people walking by and not showing any attention to one particular puppy, that was how she’d felt all her life.
No one wanted her, but it didn’t diminish her desire to be chosen, to really matter to someone.
But why were they wasting so many precious resources on her?
Harb frowned. ‘But you do know what I’m talking about, don’t you? You’re afraid.”
She glanced toward the screen at Priest. “None of it makes any sense to me. All I did was … I heard Priest kill a guy. That’s it.”
“There’s more to you than that, Cleo. They’re professional, so they’d know Priest did the killing, not you. If anything, they should be gunning for him.”
The door opened, and Priest stepped through.
She didn’t rush to him like she wanted to or show panic. The doors shut behind him with the same speed. They were all sealed inside this place.
“What’s going on?” Priest asked, looking between them.
“Nothing. Just waiting for you to get here. I’m going to check out the place. Find my room. The usual shit. We’re going to be here for a while.” Harb winked, clicked his tongue, and left.
She looked toward Priest once they were alone. “I have no idea what’s happening right now,” she said.
“That makes two of us.”
She chuckled.
It was uneasy between them. What they’d done last night was intense and perfect, but the day after felt awkward and uncertain. She had so much to say, but her insecurities ran deep. What if was all a mistake? Maybe he’d been disappointed. It wasn’t like she had any experience with men.
He stood there in his tactical pants, holster, and nothing else. She wanted him to fuck her right there and then. All those glistening muscles were calling to her, making her practically drool.