Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 148184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 741(@200wpm)___ 593(@250wpm)___ 494(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 741(@200wpm)___ 593(@250wpm)___ 494(@300wpm)
I settle back into the pillows, leaning up against the headboard. There has to be something I can do. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to come up with anything that might be useful, but so far, I’ve come up empty.
My only advantage is knowing the ins and outs of Sal’s family operations. All of which I already shared in great detail with Kai and Adrian in one long sit-down interrogation. If they can use it, I’ll be glad. I’ve wanted to scrub every detail out of my brain since the first moment I learned what those bastards trafficked in. Bile rises in my throat at the resurgence of memory.
Sal showing me the videos he took on his phone of his latest shipments.
Sal crowing about his latest underage conquests.
Sal getting off watching my revulsion.
And his family is just as bad. It takes me a moment to pull out of the flashback, ground myself in the present, and remember I’m no longer in that reality.
As I come back to myself, an idea slips through the fog. At first, I shake it off as a dumb idea, but the longer I let it take up space in my head, the more it starts to grow on me, especially if I’m safe about it. Potentially, I could deescalate everything quickly if it works. But if Adrian found out, I don’t know how he’d feel about it, let alone Kai.
I grab my phone off the bedside table and maneuver to my old accounts. This phone has been scrubbed clean, and I need to find an old contact I’d long since happily washed away.
Once I do find it, though, I stare at the screen and frown. This is probably such a dumb idea…but if I don’t try, I won’t feel like I did everything to mitigate the damage that is coming. Damage that is mostly my fault, to begin with. If I hadn’t made the deal with Adrian, we wouldn’t be here now. Also, I’d likely be dead.
I hover my finger over the call button for a full minute before I hit send. Even as the phone rings on the other side, I want to take it back, hang up, and pretend I didn’t do this.
A gruff voice answers, and I freeze, my hands shaking. I’d heard that voice on countless of Sal’s videos. Hearing it directed at me sends a shiver down my spine. Sal’s father, Nigel, is not the forgiving type, and no doubt he blames me for his son’s death. On the same token, he also doesn’t allow personal matters to interfere with business, so at the very least, I’ve got a small chance of making a negotiation work.
“Hello?” Nigel says again, his tone even more impatient the second time.
I steady my phone with both hands pressed against my ear. “Hello?”
“Who is this?”
Of course, he wants to know who I am, and no matter how I look at things, honesty seems like the best option. “Valentina Novak or rather, Doubeck. Valentina Doubeck.” I wince, hoping the correction isn’t like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
“What do you want?” His tone is laced with disgust, reflecting my own.
I square my shoulders even though he can’t see me and try for the cold and unyielding tone my father used when he discussed business with society members. “I have a business proposition for you.”
“Oh?”
I swallow hard, hoping he doesn’t hear it through the line. “You get the council off our backs, and I’ll make it worth the effort on your part.”
He makes a noise that I can’t discern. “We should meet face-to-face, girl, and discuss this sort of thing in person. It’s the proper thing to do.”
I want to tell him I don’t give a shit what is proper. I’m not going near him. Instead, I say, “No, thank you.”
His answering huff sounds a little like a laugh. “What are you offering?”
Technically, I don’t have a single thing to give him, but even I know admitting so isn’t good negotiation tactics. Instead, I flounder a bit, then say the first thing that pops into my head. “Money. I can offer you money.”
“Money, hmm…”
This time, I cover the mouthpiece as I take in a few nervous breaths. I hold steady and don’t respond, waiting for him to say more.
“I’ll help you out of this, girl, but it will cost you.”
“How much?”
This time, his laughter is dark, and it turns my stomach. “Twenty million, and I’ll take care of your little problem.”
If he could see me, no doubt, he would have witnessed the blood draining from my face. He’s insane if he thinks anyone can pay that for doing nothing more than calling off his dogs. I can’t even counter the number since it’s so unreasonable.
But I try anyway. “How about one million and an agreement no one will come after your family for the atrocities you committed to one of ours.” It’s a down and dirty lie since I want all of them dead, Sal’s entire family, but he doesn’t need to know that. Adrian doesn’t like when people lie, but in this case…he might forgive me.