Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Then he does, followed by a man who looks a lot like him. A man who makes a move as if to lunge for Elena before Josef thrusts out an arm, barring the way. Elena whimpers, and I know that must be her father, Josef’s brother.
“Nice to see you again,” Josef calls out. “And where is that lovely wife of yours? My daughter for a day.” The man drips sarcasm when I would much rather he drip blood.
I thrust a thumb behind me. “She’s there. Just as you requested.”
“You would be wise to remember her presence.”
“You would be wise to remember you’re in no position to tell me what to think or do, you son of a bitch. You put my grandfather in the ground.”
“I’m telling you I didn’t.”
“Then give me the man who did!” I scream. His head snaps back, eyes widening. “Because even if you didn’t, you fucking benefited from it, you bastard. And that cowardly murderer defected to your side, so tell me again how you had nothing to do with it.”
“Cowardly murderer? I take it you’re referring to Frankie Morris.”
“No, I only wanted you to bring him here because I miss seeing his face.”
“I didn’t summon him. He came to me of his own free will, knowing he would need protection from you.”
“And like the piece of shit you are, you took him in rather than hand him back to me. The way you should have, the way anyone with a grain of character would have done. Accepting him into the fold is tantamount to an act of war. Has no one ever told you that? By sheltering him, you’ve made a move against my family.”
He touches a hand to his chest. “Sheltering him? Is that what I’ve been doing?”
“I’ve had eyes on you. I know that’s what you’ve done.”
“So typical of you, believing what your eyes tell you.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“See for yourself.” He waves a hand, and one of the car doors opens. I watch as a guard reaches in and pulls something out—no, someone. Someone who I can’t quite make out in the darkness.
I don’t need to make out his face to see he’s in terrible shape. His legs sag, and he practically has to be carried out until he’s in front of a pair of headlights, illuminating his face.
His battered, bruised face. Alvarez goes to him, taking him by the hair and pulling his head back so I can get a good look. “Is this the man you were referring to? Frankie Morris?”
Once again, he surprised me. The man’s face is swollen, but I watched him long enough through that drone camera feed to see through the damage. “What have you done to him?”
“See, not all of us take things at face value the way you do.” The frank amusement in the man’s voice makes my blood boil. “Certainly, I accepted him into my compound, but not as an employee. Information is all that matters in our world, little boy, and I knew he would have it. After all, why else would he have come to me?”
“For protection.”
“Bullshit,” he snaps, letting Frankie’s head drop again. He staggers a little but stays on his feet. “He was sent to me. It was obvious. If he wanted to get away, if he wanted protection, he could have easily arranged that for himself.”
“And how would you know that?”
“Our friend, Frankie, has a loose tongue. And a very, very beautiful, brand-new car. It still smells new, for fuck’s sake. Now, exactly where did he get that money? And why couldn’t he have used it to get far, far away from you?” Alvarez casts a disgusted look his way, and I can’t pretend not to share the sentiment. That’s what he used my grandfather’s money for? The fucking fool.
“No,” he continues, removing a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his hands after touching the sweat-soaked and bloodied Frankie. “It was obvious something more was happening. So don’t pretend to be surprised that I found out.”
“Very well.” The fact is, I am surprised, and puzzled on top of that. “Why not kill him, then?”
“That was always the plan, but first was the matter of extracting any information he could give me about you or your family or why he would choose to assassinate the man he was supposed to protect.” He casts a look toward Frankie, swaying on his feet. “Unfortunately, it led me nowhere, though I did enjoy watching and listening as my men worked him over. After all, a traitor is a traitor.”
He shrugs, grinning. “I hope you don’t mind. I’m sure you would like to take a piece of him yourself. But there’s still plenty left for you or your men to have a go at.”
“I want my daughter,” his brother calls out. He hasn’t stopped staring at Elena since this began.