Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74291 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74291 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“Two dead. Four unconscious.”
My hand tightens up on the phone. I’d like to throw the damn thing. “Who are the two who died?”
“Ivan and Reese.”
“Fuck,” I groan, holding my head down. “Have you told their families?”
“No, boss. I just called the rest of the cleanup crew out and called you.”
“Any idea who did it?”
“They were gone when we got here, but, boss…”
“Spit it out, Bruno, what did the cameras show?”
“One of the security cameras, the new one we put in across the street, showed Banks.”
“I’ll be there in five. I want the cleaning crew called out and I’ll go talk to Ivan’s wife. Reese didn’t have anyone but his mother. She’s still in that nursing home. I’ll go there tomorrow. Keep a lock on this shit. The last thing these ladies need to hear is about their men before I can talk to them.”
“You got it,” Bruno says and I hang up.
I turn to look at Ana and worry is etched all over her face.
“I take it our plans have changed,” she says as the car comes to a stop.
“I’m sorry, Ana. I can’t.”
“It’s okay, Roman. Go do what you have to do. I’ll be here when you get back,” she tells me as Robert opens the door.
I cup her face in my hand. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Her hand moves over my wrist that is resting on her collarbone. She squeezes it, encouragingly. “Someone died?” she questions, and I fight against my need to reassure her. I can’t trust anyone—especially a woman—with my business, no matter how the look in her eyes makes me want to trust her.
“Two of my men,” I answer, compromising. Even giving her that much makes me want to kick my ass.
Ana doesn’t push me, however. She leans up and kisses me lightly on the cheek, and then stretches up to whisper in my ear. “Be safe, Daddy.”
The whispered words make me want to smile. I would if I didn’t know what was waiting for me. I watch as she slides out of the car. It’s not until I’m ten minutes down the road that I realize I didn’t walk her to her door and make sure she was safe. I’ve never felt the urge to before, but I vow that will never happen again. Ana’s mine. I’m keeping her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ana
I lean against the door when I make it inside. My emotions are all over the place. Being near Roman makes me forget what I’m really here for. That’s dangerous. It’s also extremely stupid. Roman’s a job. I’m here to find evidence on him and save my brother. It’s that simple. The rest is just static. I can’t allow it to get to me. I can’t allow Roman to get to me. After giving myself a pep talk, I start walking up the stairs to my apartment when a hand reaches out and grabs me from behind. I scream before I can stop myself and years of training takes over. I step into my attacker, deliver an elbow back into his solar plexus. I hear a male grunt and I reach behind my head and wrap my arms around my attacker’s neck, flipping him over my shoulder. He lands with a thud, groaning and still holding his stomach.
“Told you not to sneak up on her, rookie,” I hear Paul say from my left.
The adrenaline is still surging through me, but that’s when I can recognize the guy on the floor as one of the main officers who work underneath Paul.
“What the hell are you two doing here? Are you trying to blow my cover?”
“Gee, Ana, it’s not like we planned on you bringing that slime back home with you. I told you, kid, you’re skating on thin ice here.”
“Back off, Paul. I’m doing what I have to do to make sure my brother survives this shit.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” the man on the floor wheezes as he gets up. I instantly want to knock him back down.
“What do you want? You do realize Roman could be having me watched?”
“You’re safe. We’ve cleared all the security.”
“Whatever. Tell me what you did. Before we got here, Roman got a call that something had happened. He mentioned deaths. Why did he mention deaths, Paul?”
“We raided the warehouse. There were more guards there than we anticipated. They surprised a few of our men. It had to be done.”
“No, it didn’t. Why are you doing that? I thought the reason I’m undercover is so we can know what property to check into and not do stupid shit and get people killed. People like my brother!”
“I thought that was the reason you were here too, Ana. But it seems to me the reason is all about you fucking the enemy now.”
“You need to step back, Paul. I’m doing what I have to do to take care of my brother and do my job. You may not like it, but you better damn well respect me and keep your judgments to yourself,” I growl, having enough of the shit he keeps dishing out. It may be frowned on, but if I was a male officer, it wouldn’t even be a question. He’d be patting me on the back. “I am doing my job, and if you would just let me work and give me time, then maybe we wouldn’t have to kill innocent people!”