Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Do you know where he buried her?” I ask Yev, my mind back in the present since it hurts too much to sit in the past.
When he shakes his head, I’m not sure which emotion to express first. Anger or relief. I hate that Alek is the only one who knows of her whereabouts, but I also like that he kept her burial as personal as the tiny feet tattooed on his chest.
The marks of his tattoo were so fresh at the train station, I could see it through his crisp white shirt. I just refused to acknowledge it since I was as confident that he had betrayed me as I was that a foolish mistake robbed me of motherhood.
I can still have children, but since I never wanted them with anyone but Alek, I act as if I can’t.
“Will you please take me home? I’m zonked.”
Yev jerks up his chin, mumbles something about needing to head that way to purchase some noise-canceling headphones, then nudges his head to the door. “Come on. I’m parked out front.”
As I climb the highly glossed stairs, my brows furrow. “If he doesn’t know I slipped, why did he replace the stairs?”
I freeze in place when Yev answers, “He gutted the entire place when he came back from Europe a couple of years back.” My heart squeezes when he adds with a breathy sigh, “Except the top floor. No one could touch that.”
“It was his home.”
Yev’s hair doesn’t budge an inch when he shakes his head. “No, Ana. You’re his home.”
With nothing left to say, he guides me to the flashy ride he would have riled its owner about only four years ago. “When did you become a pompous prick with no dick?” I ask while slipping into the passenger seat of his ride. It is sleek and smooth, but even with it being compact, my feet can’t touch the floor since the passenger seat is almost merged with the backseat. “Have you been carting around big foot?”
“Close.” He closes my door before jogging around to the driver’s side and slipping behind the steering wheel. “Who is just as big?”
“Alek is,” I murmur to myself before attempting to pull our conversation off the woes of my past. “Seriously, Yev, how can you afford such a fancy ride?”
He pulls out of the parking lot before answering, “It’s about not giving up opportunities purely because you have a beef with someone.” He takes the corner too fast not to fishtail before adding, “Ghost hates my fucking guts, but it doesn’t stop him from investing in a few… syndicates I have running.”
“Ghost doesn’t hate you.” He does, but Yev doesn’t need to know that since most of Ghost’s dislike is purely because he has trust issues. “And how legal are your syndicates?”
His grin is too bright for the hour. “About as legal as a game of cards.”
“If you’re counting cards, I suggest you stop. If Maksim finds out, you won’t have to worry about Ghost’s dislike.”
“Ha! I told you he hates me.” He continues talking, foiling my endeavor to claw myself out of the hole I just threw myself into. “And I ain’t counting cards.” He rolls his bottom lip between his teeth. “You’re not the only one who can bluff.”
As I fold my arms over my chest, I sink low into my chair. “I don’t bluff all the time.”
“Bullshit.” He zips us through traffic lights signaling that we’re meant to stop. “Your routine hasn’t altered. You bluffed back then, and you bluff now.” I scoff, but he acts ignorant. “Don’t get me wrong, it works. I’m just lost as to why you’re willing to use it against Alek instead of letting it help him.”
“I saw his ride. He doesn’t need the 20K he’d get if I won.”
I swallow the brick his reply lodges in my throat when he says, “Nah, but the heat might simmer down a little if you were showing active steps to repay your father’s debt.” When I stare at him, silently demanding a more thorough explanation, he discloses, “He knows about your father’s recent gambling spree.” He cusses when I sock him in the arm. “I didn’t fucking tell him.” I punch him again solely for believing he can lie to me and I wouldn’t know. “All right, I did, but it was an accident.” Before I can punch him again, he pushes out, “But I’m not the only one telling porkies.” I don’t think I could harbor an ounce more intrigue by the time Yev lets me off the hook. “Your dad is a lot more in debt than he let you know. That IOU he showed you this week was only the down payment of his balance. He owes the Yurys over six hundred thousand. With interest, you’ll be hitting seven figures by next week.”