Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Boar spread his arms. “Hurting him won’t help, and he’s already bruised.”
Drake shook his head. “It’s nothing. He got hurt when one of the abductors dropped him. He’s fine.”
Clover gasped, searching for sympathy. “No, I’m not involved in anything!” That wasn’t exactly true, since he’d been a part of Jerry’s petty crime group for quite some time, but that was not something to be pursued for. “It’s just my looks. Someone’s desperate to get me.”
“You’re hardly the only albino in this country,” Tank said, and pushed him at the leather armchair. The seat had been well-used in the past, and it dipped under Clover, swallowing him in a way that would make getting up difficult.
Boar offered Clover an open can of coke and watched him, playing with his auburn beard. “Just tell us the truth.
So even Boar refused to believe in Clover’s innocence. He was on the verge of tears again, scared for his future like a little kid who’d lost his guardians. “But it’s true. Maybe they’re pissed-off about Riggs, and they want revenge, I don’t know!”
Pyro crossed his arms on his chest, his nostrils flaring as his gaze licked its way up Clover’s legs. “I’m not dumping him until I’ve had a piece.”
Tank’s head snapped up at him. “Stop thinking with your dick, this is serious!”
Boar sighed deeply, remaining the only ‘good cop’ in the room. “Would it be so bad if we kept him, though?”
It took Clover a few seconds to process what he’d just heard. “I’m not a pet. I’m not a ‘thing’ to keep!”
Tank grabbed his jaw, his rough fingertips digging into the flesh. “Listen, smartass, right now, you’re a massive fucking problem. Do you have a phone we don’t know about? A sim card? I need to know how they found you.”
Clover’s stomach dropped, and guilt must have been painted all over his face because Drake sneered and shook his head. If Clover wanted out of this mess, if he wanted help from these guys, even if provided thanks to a shady arrangement, he needed to be more honest.
“I… may have made a call.”
“A call,” Tank said in a tone that could have frozen water mid-air, and it had the same effect on Clover, who hunched his shoulders, hyperaware of the fact that there was no one to hear his screams for miles.
Pyro let out a laugh, though he wasn’t smiling. “Is this little shit serious?”
Clover entwined his fingers, hot with panic. If they decided he wasn’t worth the risk and chose to kill him, he stood no chance. “From your old phone. I’m sorry. I was so angry. I wanted to let Jerry know I was safe, that no one could get to me.”
“Fucking Christ!” Boar slapped the back of Tank’s shoulder. “You’ve got that phone on you now?”
Tank shook his head. “I got rid of it after today’s call with Drake. Do you even know how much danger you’ve put us in? One of us might have ended up dead because of you.”
Boar cleared his throat. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know who Jerry is?”
Clover realized that he’d lost his head and said too much. So far, keeping secrets had helped him stay alive, but this one slip-up would ruin his innocent act. They would never believe him again. Game over. He wasn’t half as good at lying as he thought he was.
Sweat beaded on his back as he looked up, lightheaded and so afraid he didn’t even bother to hide his shivering hands.
Silence stretched for what felt like minutes, even though it could have only been a couple of seconds.
“Who is it, Clover?” Tank said, sounding composed, though his quiet voice still felt like a scream in the silent warehouse.
Drake snarled. “Do we even need to know? Let’s rip off this Band-Aid and get rid of him.”
Clover’s ship was sinking fast, and he needed to grab onto something if he didn’t want to drown. “He’s my old boss, okay? A shady guy. I did stuff for him, just like some other people, and we got cash and a place to stay in exchange. Sold some weed, stole some wallets, gathered information on stuff, started conversations with targets to find out about their schedules. But that has nothing to do with the kidnapping. He sold me off to someone else because I was getting too old, not innocent-looking enough, and most of all, too recognizable. I gave that guy two years of my life! I just… I thought we were out of danger when I called him.”
“Not just a tourist, then,” Pyro said, catching a handful of Clover’s hair and playing with it. His gaze burned, but Clover didn’t dare move, focusing on Tank and Drake standing above him like a grand jury.
“Not a tourist,” Boar repeated, stroking his beard with one hand.