Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
But first, he would deal with the fucker who had snatched hope away from him right after offering it.
Miguel had left the car keys, so Nero grabbed them off the table and walked out into the cool morning. The sky was still dark, but a pale, rosy shade had already appeared on the horizon. The few hours since Miguel’s call would have been enough for a private plane to take Cano to Lima. Whether his miniature Doberman, Ramiro, came too was a question Nero didn’t want to focus on right now, but if he got the chance, he’d put them all down. At the end of this story, no one, not even him, would be driving off into the sunset.
Miguel must have taken a taxi, or stolen a vehicle, because the dot on the map sped up, prompting Nero to waste no time.
It was too early for the clog of morning rush hour. He drove onto the highway with the cell phone pressed to the steering wheel so he could see the traitor’s movements. At first, it had seemed they’d be going deeper into Lima, but then the dot changed direction and moved toward the mountains in the east, leaving the city behind in time for the sunrise.
Nero’s stomach squeezed with worry, but he decided to switch off his brain, and focused on music as he followed Miguel through a dry landscape scattered with small towns tucked between beige hills. The green trees and bushes growing around people’s homes appeared lush in comparison to the natural landscape beyond, but their shade couldn’t soothe Nero’s heart, which now felt as lifeless and bleak as the rocky slopes within sight.
He’d really given in to Miguel last night. They hadn’t just fucked They’d made love the only way they knew how—intensely, with a side of violence. Everything about Miguel had seemed so honest that Nero wouldn’t have believed him capable of betrayal if anyone else was on the line. But Miguel lived by a fucked-up honor code and wouldn’t abandon his long-lost sister. He’d pursue her until he either found her or died. A part of Nero regretted telling Miguel about her existence, but there was no taking it back, and he couldn’t have lived at Miguel’s side with a lie so monumental.
Now he had nothing.
So at least he’d soon have blood on his hands.
Nero was speeding to catch up to Miguel, until the dot was about a mile ahead of him. When it took a turn, leaving the main road, Nero knew he was nearing their final destination. A wide expanse of flatland with a few roofs peeking out from between trees stretched all the way to rocky mountains, and that was exactly where Miguel was headed.
Wetting his lips, Nero slowed down and pulled into a narrow asphalt road dusted with pale sand, then drove into a village. Small homes were all hidden behind brick walls—some left bare, some covered with graffiti—creating a world of dry concrete and dust, which somehow still sprouted a variety of green bushes and trees. But eventually the paved road came to an end, replaced by a narrow dirt track with branches reaching into it from both sides. The dust still hanging in the air confirmed Miguel must have passed through not long ago, so Nero followed his lead, bemoaning the fact that his vehicle made too much noise and would need to be left behind sooner rather than later.
An old road sign, almost completely consumed by a bush, indicated there was a medical something ahead, but while rust had eaten up most of the letters, the distance was still visible. Nero stopped the car and dashed down the dirt pathway. His throat was dry from the particles floating through the air, but that was preferable to being discovered.
The track was uneven and dotted with stones, but hard enough to walk on, so Nero sped up, getting into the rhythm of his sprint. Soon enough, the road’s direction shifted, and once he followed its curve, the blocky silhouette of a two-storey building loomed at the end.
And then, he heard voices.
With dusty air filling his lungs, Nero dashed between the trees, which, thankfully, hid his presence.
Several cars were parked by what must have been a medical center in the past. Nero spotted eight men standing in front of the vehicles, but that might not be Cano’s whole party. If Nero only had grenades, he’d have thrown three of those at the Caimans as soon as Miguel was out of the unfamiliar sedan. They’d all be gone without much effort on Nero’s part.
His bloodthirsty mind enjoyed the idea, but imagining Miguel blown to pieces still hurt everything inside him, so maybe it was his heart who was the greatest traitor of all. Not that it mattered, because he didn’t have grenades.