Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 70525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I grit my teeth against the pain in my arm. “If anything happens to Caroline under our care…and especially if she’s harmed because of your fucking cowardice…you can bet that I’ll be back here. Not just for my money, our money…but for bringing harm upon your own daughter.”
“Tch,” he spits through his teeth.
We hear a few mechanical clicks from down the hallway. Before we have a chance to look, a metal grate slams shut with a bang in the doorway, effectively closing us off, shutting us out. Edwin huffs smugly, and we hear his footsteps patter away from us. Caroline mumbles something softly behind us.
“It’ll be alright,” I say softly to her, trying to comfort her sobs.
“2053…” she says quietly.
“I’m sorry?”
“It’s the code to the gate. He doesn’t know I know it,” she says as she stares at the ground.
I nod understandingly and gesture to Kayden. He punches it in and the gate responds with a single beep before sliding back up into its home. Taking his threat into consideration, I pull Caroline alongside us; I wouldn’t want her found by Edwin’s men if they show up earlier than we expect.
We sneak along quietly, turning down a couple hallways as Caroline nudges us left or right towards his office where she’s confident he’s holed up. We pass a room and notice an aged bloodstain on the carpet. I shake my head. The lazy fuck didn’t even bother to clean up his deceased wife’s blood off the floor. As we approach the correct door, Kaden readies his weapon; he’s a fantastically good shot.
I burst open the door with one kick, and Edwin yelps. He scrambles for his shotgun, but Kaden fires, hitting the gun and damaging the firing mechanism, as well as showing Edwin his capability. I shrug at him as I walk towards him. I tower over the cowering man, both in stature and demeanor, and it’s quite obvious he knows it.
“I-I…my men…here soon,” he stammers as I approach.
He scrambles backwards with each of my steps, eventually pinning himself in the corner. I slip a butterfly knife from my pocket and flick it open deftly. I look down at it and toss it in my hand for dramatic effect.
“We take our job very seriously, as I’m sure you already know, Mr. White,” I say, my voice soft, but with sincere force behind it. “What you may not know is we also live by a code of our own. One that you, in fact, have treaded upon quite decidedly, it seems. We’re men that live by our own ethics that are generally not easily swayed by money, but the idea behind it, the power it takes to get it, and the personal ethics that it takes to get to the point we are at. I’m sure you understand my point.”
I slash along his arm in the same exact spot my own is bleeding from the gun shot. Not a severe wound to any degree, but one that sends quite a definitive message. I search Edwin’s face for a reaction and realize he’s passed out from fear. A warm, acrid scent wafts up in front of me; he’s even pissed himself in fear. I laugh and stare down at him, shaking my head.
“He gets the idea,” I say as I turn towards the door, gathering up Kaden and Caroline to make our exit.
Chapter 13
Caroline
I press myself into the soft leather seats of the limo as I shiver against the cold. Kaden and Ares file in behind me, the anger on their faces almost palpable. They sit next to me, and the heat radiates off their strong bodies, enveloping my entire being.
I look up at the two of them and start to feel my breath calm. They look back and meet my gaze. Their expressions soften as they both reach out to caress my cold, red cheeks.
“We’ll get things figured out, Caroline,” Kaden says reassuringly.
“He’ll come around, I’m sure,” Ares adds on.
I sigh heavily, but nod in agreement. “He’s always been like this. Just so focused on whatever his next thing is and not paying any mind to what goes on around him, even if it has to do with me…”
Ares strokes my hair as Kaden cups my face in his hand, turning my eyes to meet his.
He smiles softly before planting his lips firmly on mine. I melt between the two of them. Ares begins to caress my body more as Kaden slips his tongue between my lips to meet mine.
My mind is clouded as the kiss breaks.
“We’ll get your mind off things properly,” Kaden says, then kisses me passionately again.
Ares begins to kiss down my arm, all the way to my bare hand. His lips tingle against my skin, sending electric shivers up my arm. He strips the jacket off me swiftly, then pulls me back to break my kiss with Kaden.