Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
One of the mercenaries had also been the pilot of the plane. They’d driven long into the night to get to the small airfield in Northern Louisiana, right across the Texas state line. It was likely just far enough that MaeBe wouldn’t be able to find them in time. She would have been forced to search every small airfield, and this one hadn’t looked like they cared about keeping proper books.
“The Russian wanted to take the little girl and sell her to one of the Russian syndicates.” The new John kept his pistol at his side and his eyes on Kyle.
“I’m not a little girl,” Kala said, but under her breath.
“You need to be a girl who keeps quiet,” Kyle whispered back. “Your bravado is going to get both of us killed. Stay behind me. We’re not going to let them separate us.”
Then the wicked witch of the world floated in on those ridiculous heels she preferred to wear when she was sure she wouldn’t have to run. Julia strode onto the private plane with her recently purchased face and her bought-long-before evil soul. She wore a designer suit and that necklace he’d bought her. Or rather a copy she’d forced another man to replace for her since she’d lost the one he’d given her.
Julia looked over at the dead Russian, a brow rising over her cold eyes.
New John shrugged. “He wasn’t getting with the plan. I thought I’d save you the trouble and fire him. You told me to watch out for the kid. I didn’t like the way he looked at her.”
“And now you have one less person to share the pay with,” Julia said with an approving nod. “Well, he’s yours to clean up. After. For now I want you to take the young Miss Taggart to the limo. Don’t take your eyes off her. She’s smarter than she looks.”
“I’m not letting you take her. You promised me I could stay with her.” Kyle faced off with the woman who’d pretty much dragged him into hell.
“Well, she’s not getting far, and John seems to know how to handle anyone who doesn’t understand how I want my underaged prisoners treated.” She frowned and sighed, a frustrated sound. “She’s going to go sit in the limo so we can talk. I’m not going to send her off somewhere. I have a room ready for you at my house, and I will allow you to share it with her. Maybe you can keep her under control. I have no idea what the Taggarts have been teaching their kids, but that one is practically feral.”
“You should remember that.” Kala spit some bile Julia’s way.
Julia’s lips curled up. “She reminds me of me at her age. Except I was better with manners. Her father should beat her more.”
“Hey,” Kyle began.
Julia held up a hand. “I thanked him later. It prepared me for torture, which as you know in our line of work is an everyday kind of thing. Now, Glen, if that’s your name since I don’t care to know it…”
“Glen works,” the slender mercenary said.
“Excellent. Why don’t you and John take Miss Taggart out to the limo while I talk to my fiancé.”
Kala’s eyes rolled. “Oh, my god, lady. You are delusional. He’s not your fiancé. He’s practically married to MaeBe.”
“No, I’m not. Mae’s never going to forgive me for leaving her. We don’t have a relationship anymore.” He had to keep that falsehood going.
“Well, if that’s true, you screwed that up. MaeBe is awesome. Kyle kind of sucks. He makes everyone in the family go to his lame funeral and he didn’t even respect us enough to actually be dead,” Kala complained.
He didn’t like to think about the fact that his mom and stepdad had let his uncle have a whole, awful funeral, and there was a coffin somewhere with a blow-up doll in his place. And his Xbox. Yeah. That pretty much sucked.
“At least I got an Xbox out of it,” Kala continued.
Hah. He knew his mom wouldn’t have thrown out an expensive piece of technology, but she would hand it over to someone else.
“It was inevitable that any relationship Kyle tried would fail,” Julia said with a prim set to her mouth. “He was already in the most important relationship of his life.”
“Yes, with his Xbox. He loved that thing, and now it’s mine.” Kala couldn’t seem to help the sarcasm.
Julia’s eyes narrowed.
The woman could be incredibly cruel when she wanted to be. He needed to keep Kala as far from her as he could, and that meant trusting her the slightest bit. “I need you to promise me she won’t be hurt and you won’t separate us for more than a few minutes.”
She stepped closer, her hand coming to his chest, and he had to fight the nausea that rolled through him. “I think you want me to get her back to her parents at the first opportunity. But yes to everything you asked. She will come to no harm unless new John here doesn’t want his job.”