Series: The Circle of Monsters Series by Sam Crescent
Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
“I shouldn’t have done that,” he finally said.
“I’m glad you did. It was nice,” she said. “Do we ride off into the sunset now, forget our pasts and start over?” She was playing with him but she wouldn’t be against the idea.
“Viko would never stop hunting us. We’ll meet with Victoria and see if she has any useful information.”
She exhaled her disappointment.
Skye must have fallen asleep because the next thing she remembered was waking to the sound of muffled voices. She rubbed her eyes and tried to pull herself together. The car was in some kind of covered garage and she was alone. She sat straighter and scanned the dimly lit area. There were some other parked cars and heavy-duty construction equipment. Where was Galen?
Then a bit of movement caught her attention. There were two people in the distance—Galen and a woman. It must be Victoria. She was stunning, even from a distance. A twinge of jealousy soured her mood.
Should she get out of the car and investigate? Make a break for it? Wait until Galen returned?
Her decision was made for her when Galen turned and made eye contact with her. As soon as he realized she was awake, he came directly toward her. The woman followed at a slower pace.
He swung open her door.
“Did you drug me?” she teased.
“You fell asleep. And you snore, by the way.
“I do not.”
Once the woman appeared in his shadow, Skye shut her mouth. He helped her out of the car, then introduced the woman as Victoria.
“Like I was saying,” Galen said. “There must be a reason Seth was at that house. Any information you have, I need to know.”
Victoria placed a dainty hand on Galen’s biceps. Skye’s entire body stiffened. “We haven’t been together for months. He changed. Became distant.”
Skye’s blood burned with a possessiveness she had no right feeling.
“Distant how?” Galen asked.
She shrugged. “Late nights. Secrets.”
“Was he seeing someone else? Viko says he wasn’t involved with the dead woman.”
“And, of course, Viko knows everything, doesn’t he?”
“Tell me something, Victoria. I didn’t drive out here for nothing.” Galen wasn’t as patient with her as he was with Skye. This made her happy.
“I spent a night with him.”
“With who? Fucking Viko?”
“He’s hard to refuse. Didn’t want to see me after one night, but that’s nothing new for him.”
“Seth know about it?”
“So it seems,” she said.
Galen slammed a fist against the SUV, making Skye flinch. “This is bullshit. Seth was probably there to fuck with Viko. To give him a taste of his own betrayal.”
“It’s just a theory, Galen,” Victoria said. “Viko isn’t that stupid.”
“So, if Seth was there on business, what about the woman? Just one of Petrov’s sluts?” Galen was pacing now, ranting, and spouting off every thought in his head.
“He had a lot of mistresses,” Skye said. “It’s very possible.”
“So, she witnessed him kill Seth, then he smokes her, too,” Galen said. “Could make sense. But Viko won’t want to hear it.”
Skye hated being in the middle of this. “If Seth wanted to do business with Petrov in revenge for Viko sleeping with his girlfriend, why would Petrov kill him?”
“Because he’s still part of Circle of Monsters. Maybe he thought it was a trap, I don’t know.”
Then the most important question that nobody seemed concerned with. “And what about me? What more does Viko think I know about this? Why is he playing with my life?”
“Petrov wanted you dead. That makes Viko nervous. He probably thinks you know more than you’re saying. You’ve been in the dragon’s den, so you’ve seen a lot of shit,” Galen said.
“Not really. I minded my own business.”
“Were you fucking Petrov, too?” Victoria asked.
Skye whirled to face the other woman, realizing how much taller Victoria was and not caring. “I don’t sleep around, certainly not with my boss.”
She was only a breath away from announcing she was a virgin which would have been even more embarrassing.
“Right, you’re not his type, are you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Victoria smirked. It was the same smug look she’d been subjected to countless times since grade school. She wanted to retreat into herself, to hide away so she never had to face the world. But not this time. Maybe it was the fear of death or her adrenaline, but she felt emboldened.
“At least I’m Galen’s type.” She spat the words in anger and instantly regretted them.
Chapter Five
“I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t the first time Skye had apologized in the last twenty minutes. In fact, the moment she’d said those words to Victoria she’d started to apologize. Galen knew he should be pissed off. No woman had ever staked her claim on him. He never allowed it. Over the years, women had always been openly available to him. He didn’t have to pay for the pleasure either, but not a single one had ever wanted to keep him. Some of them might have, but only because they liked the idea of owning him, and he didn’t like that idea at all.