Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 70661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
He turned quiet again.
“I’m not giving her up. She’s my wife—and I’d die for her.” I didn’t want to be disappointed further, so I ended the call and crushed the phone in my fingers. I stared at the wall, ignoring the historical painting my art dealer found for me. Every aspect of this room was tailored to my mood so it was a safe haven, but that comfort couldn’t chase away my feelings. It couldn’t chase away the hatred that burned in my heart.
Arwen sat right beside me in the back seat on the drive, her hand gripping mine as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. She would calm herself enough to still them, but then minutes later, they returned. She was a spectrum of emotions, a wide variety of sadness.
Her arm linked through mine, and she held my hand on her thigh. She’d finally stopped trying to change my mind about my decision, especially now that we were only ten minutes away. I was a stubborn man, and her pleas meant nothing to me.
This was how it had to be.
She turned her face into my shoulder and let her tears drip onto my t-shirt. Tears or no tears, she was stunning. When she gripped my body and clung to me for comfort, it was so sexy. It made me want to have the driver pull over on the side of the road so I could take her in the back seat.
I might actually do it if I weren’t thinking about my own death.
At least it would be painless. The lights would be out instantly, and the suffering would be over.
Best way to go.
The car pulled up to the restaurant. It belonged to a mutual friend and had been closed down for the day. It would just be the two of us with a couple of our men. No need for weapons and armies. Only one of us was walking out of there alive.
The back door was opened, but Arwen squeezed me harder so I couldn’t get out.
I turned my gaze back to her and let her hold on to me. “You’ve got to be strong in there, alright? He feeds off fear. He wants to see you scared. He wants to see you cry.” My thumb streaked across her cheek and wiped away the last drop of moisture. She hadn’t put on any eye makeup, so there wasn’t a mess left behind. “Keep it together.”
“How could anyone keep it together?”
I squeezed her hand before I let go. “You will.” I stepped out of the car, and she followed behind me. We entered the empty restaurant and found Kamikaze sitting at one of the tables in the center of the room. It was a table for six—and he sat right in the middle. Facing me with a glint of joy in his eyes, he grinned and showed all of his teeth. A gun sat on the table, the gun that would kill one of us.
Arwen sucked a deep breath when she laid eyes on him. It was the first time she’d seen him since he’d assaulted her, and even though she’d had a day to prepare for this meeting, that wasn’t enough.
I walked in first, my four men moving with me.
Kamikaze stretched out his hand and gestured to the seat across from him. “Not a bad night to get shot in the head.” The blinds were closed on all the windows, so the interior of the restaurant was invisible to the public. Little bottles of olive oil were on the tables, along with tablecloths and silverware. Paintings hung on the walls, and while there were no cooks in the kitchen, it still smelled like freshly prepared pasta.
My men pulled out the chair for me so I could sit across from him. “It’s not a bad night for you to get shot in the head.”
He grinned at my comeback. “We’ll see in just a few short minutes.” He turned his head and shifted his expression to Arwen, who was standing behind me in the corner. His eyes took her in, the arousal entering his gaze the second he looked at her. Just like all her other admirers, he eye-fucked her right in front of me.
“Don’t look at her.”
His eyes shifted back to me.
“She’s still mine until that bullet fires off.” I wouldn’t have him gawk at her the entire time, claiming her before he had any right to.
His grin fell away, but he did as I asked. “Anything you want to say before we get started?”
“I’m not much of a talker.”
He chuckled. “Neither am I. That’s why I’ve always liked you.” He gestured to the gun, signaling for his men to follow his orders.
One of the guys grabbed the gun in the center of the table then opened the barrel. He showed it to both of us—proving that it was empty.