Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
I laugh. “Thanks. I’m going to walk away after this,” I say.
He nods. “I figured.”
“I’m going to talk to Michael about it today, but if he’s not interested, would you want it?”
“You would trust your business to me?” Shock registers on Cristian’s face.
“I would.”
He nods. “Then yes.”
“I’m going to see if Phoenix is ready. Find a place for us to meet. Someplace safe. If she’s going to be with me—”
He understands.
* * *
It’s a few hours later, and Phoenix and I are driving toward the spot where we are going to meet Michael.
My phone rings in my pocket on the way. I look down to see a name.
“Jaxson. What do you have for me?”
“First off”—he pauses—“thanks for the package.” There is no confusing the sarcastic bite to his voice. “However, it was very useful, no matter how unpleasant it was.”
“Go on …”
“It didn’t take me long to figure out who the finger belonged to. His name was Vincent Keller. And it appears you were right.”
My hands tighten into fists. “How so?” I grit out.
“Before his death, he was employed by Leonard Moreno. Father of Grace Moreno. Business associate of your father and before his death your brother was associated with him as well.”
I was right. I knew that this was a possibility, but it doesn’t lessen the sting. My enemy is someone I once considered family. How the fuck did everything go so wrong.
“I need to catch this bastard. What else do you got?”
“A few addresses.”
I lean forward in my seat, shocked that I might actually be able to find him today.
“You have addresses, plural?”
“I do. In Jersey. A few different buildings. Most look abandoned, but they were all purchased under a shell company. I was able to trace them all back to Moreno.”
“Fuck.” From beside me, Phoenix takes my hand in hers and gives me a reassuring squeeze. It’s exactly what I need right now. It reminds me to calm down.
“Yeah, I thought you might say that.”
“Text me the addresses.” I hang up the phone and take a deep breath.
“What’s going on?” Phoenix asks.
“We were right. It is Grace’s father.” I turn to face her and find her pupils are wide and her mouth is hanging open. “Jaxson has a list of addresses. He’s sending them to me now.”
The phone chimes again, and there it is, the addresses that can potentially lead me to a man I’ve known all my life. I stare at it for a few minutes.
“Are we going?” Phoenix asks.
“You aren’t—”
“Stop right there. I’m not some weak girl you need to hide away in a tower.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
She rolls her eyes. “Be that as it may, we are going to check it out.” Then Phoenix does something I don’t expect. She grabs my phone from my hand, looks at the address, and calls her dad.
“Change of plans. We have a few leads,” she says to him, and after she gives him the list of addresses, she hangs up.
“You will not enter any of the buildings.”
“Fine, but I’m coming. I’ll wait in the car. We can’t risk him finding out if Jaxson ran checks. The longer we wait, the better chance he finds out we are looking for him.”
She’s right. I just hate the fact that she is here with me. Maybe Cristian was right. Maybe I should have kept her locked up.
We sit silently as we pull up to the first building. Michael isn’t here yet, but I don’t wait. Time is of the essence. I leave Cristian in the car with Phoenix, despite his objections. The first building looks vacant. There are no cars in the parking garage, and when I peek in through the window, there is no movement at all. Walking up to the door, I jimmy the lock and then kick it open, gun in hand, ready to fire.
The place is completely empty.
There’s not one piece of furniture, no trash, no sign of life.
It’s a small office space with faded white walls that are now cream, and dark, dingy carpet. This place looks as though it’s been abandoned for years.
The next address is even worse.
At least the first building we went to had carpet. This one looks like it’s been condemned for even longer.
Where the other building was vacant, this one has trash everywhere. The smell is foul. I don’t even bother to look around—as soon as I open the door, I’m closing it.
I probably should suck it up, but if I go in there, no way can I get back in the car with Phoenix. She’s finally not feeling sick; the stench from this place would set her off.
When I step back in the car, Phoenix sniffs me. “What is that smell?”
Her pregnancy nose is on point. She’s like one of those bomb-sniffing dogs.
“Nothing compared to what the inside of that place smelled like,” I say as I gesture to the building. “Cristian, head over to the address on Washington.” I turn to Phoenix. “Tell your father to meet us there. These have all been dead ends. I’m sure this one will be too.”