Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Well god dammit, now I feel guilty.
She’s not as bad as I thought, she’s just stuck.
I can’t do this to her, it wouldn’t be fair.
She’s only trying to fix something too, just like I am.
Fuck.
I’m not so much of a monster that I’d just hand her over. I’m certain the woman hates me, but I’m also certain she’s not made of pure evil and because of that, I couldn’t live with myself if I were to just hand her over to Rocco.
“Listen, Becky, I need to tell you something.”
“This is a set up,” she tells me, her voice hard. “I figured.”
I blink, slowly. “Why did you come then?”
She laughs, shaking her head. “Because I knew that this might be my best chance, he was going to convince someone to give me in, I figured it was you when you answered the phone and asked me to meet you here. You couldn’t have found out that information without Rocco telling you, and Rocco would have only told you because he was willing to make a deal. Beckett won’t help me when he finds out what happened, so, this was my only choice.”
“I’m not giving you up to him,” I say. “Let’s leave now, before he has the chance to take either of us. The club will help and ...”
She shakes her head. “It doesn’t work like that and you know it. I have to go with him, at the very least, I know Beckett will be safe. I owe him that after everything I’ve done.”
Shit.
Fuck.
Think, Poppy.
I close my eyes for a second, and then an idea springs to mind. “What if we do one better,” I say, carefully.
She narrows her eyes. “I’m listening.”
“Let him think we’ve gone through with the plan, you act like I’ve handed you over, he thinks he’s won, but I’ll go back to the club and we’ll come up with a plan, a plan to end this for both of us.”
Becky bites her lip but ponders it.
“Firstly, though,” I say quickly. “Will he kill you?”
She thinks on it. “No, he wants something from my father, he won’t kill me. He’s going to use me as bait.”
“Then you’ll have time?”
“I’ll have time.”
“It could work. We could outsmart him, if we’re careful.”
She exhales. “Right now, it’s our best option.”
Before I can finish the sound of a door opening has both our heads whipping around to the front entrance. He’s early, of course he’s early, he wanted to be here before me. A trap so to speak.
“Go,” Becky whisper-hisses, shoving the gun in my hand. “Hide. I’ll make this look real.”
I hesitate, and then take her hand. “We’ll come for you, I swear it.”
With that, I turn and run. I go toward a stack of containers to my left, huge rows of them, all stacked on top of one another. I run down the narrow opening between two and then find a small crevice to squeeze myself between. Then, I hold my breath, gun pressed to my chest as I listen.
“Is that you Poppy?” Becky calls. “Hello?”
I close my eyes, praying with everything I am that they don’t just shoot.
“No,” I hear her say. “No.”
“Hello, Rebecca,” Rocco’s smooth voice fills the quiet warehouse. “Weren’t expecting me?”
She tries to run; I hear the scuffing of feet and then a sound as he slams her body against something and she cries out loudly. Poor girl, poor, poor girl. I clench my eyes harder together and grit my teeth. It’s taking everything inside me not to scream, run out, and shoot. I’m certain he’s not alone, though.
“My father will kill you,” Becky screams. “This will not end well for you.”
Rocco laughs. “Your father won’t do shit now I’ve got you. I have the upper hand. Don’t try and run, this place is surrounded. You owe me.”
Her yells become muffled and the sounds of shuffling and dragging can be heard as he removes her from the warehouse.
I bite my lip, so hard I can taste blood.
Please, god. Don’t let him hurt her.
She doesn’t deserve that.
What have I done?
I WAIT FOR WHAT FEELS like hours, cramped up in that space. Only when I am certain everyone has left do I crawl out and go to the truck, which I very carefully hid so Rocco wouldn’t know I was here when I arrived. I wasn’t going to leave it out in the open for him to find, no way in the world, then he’d know I was still in the warehouse and wouldn’t have left. Which, thankfully I did because otherwise I wouldn’t be walking free right now.
I get into the truck and reach for my phone, pulling it out. I have a million calls from a hundred different people, but I only answer the one that flashes on my screen. Rocco. He thinks I’ve delivered, at least I hope he thinks I’ve delivered otherwise I’m fucked, Becky is fucked, and Beckett will never forgive me. I shakily answer the phone.