Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
His brow creased, Alex shook his head. “John Norton was looking for me, that’s true. I wired him the money I owed him shortly after I left, so he has no reason to have an issue with me or try to flush me out. He wouldn’t give a shit as long as he had his money.”
“Then why would he have placed a bounty on her head?”
“I can’t see why he would have. It makes no sense.” Sinking into the armchair, Alex tore open the bag of beef jerky with his teeth. “It’s also not his style. He’s the kind of guy who does his own dirty work. For him, it’s about maintaining that badass ‘I’m-not-to-be-fucked-with’ image. Who told you it was him?”
“No one. We can’t be sure who it is. We concluded that the person behind the hit was most likely the same person who’s looking for you.” Settling on the sofa, Dominic petted the cat as he told her brother all about the website, the attempts on Mila’s life, and how none of her attackers had had any info on who’d put out the hit.
“Motherfucker.” Alex munched on a piece of jerky, his eyes narrowed in thought. “It doesn’t fit. It’s just not how Norton rolls. And like I said, he has his money, which was all he wanted.”
“Well, who could it be then? Mila doesn’t have enemies.”
“No, she doesn’t. But Vinnie does. Maybe one of them put a price on his niece’s head to get at him.”
That idea had crossed Dominic’s mind.
“I need to speak with my parents.” Alex whipped out his phone. “I’m gonna find all kinds of texts and voice mails when I switch this on, aren’t I?” Sure enough, the cell phone repeatedly beeped as his thumbs tapped the screen. “And this is why I don’t like cell phones.”
After making a quick call to James, asking him to come to Mila’s apartment, Alex hung up and zeroed in on Dominic. “Now, on to the topic of you imprinting on Mila . . . I’d sure as fuck like to know how that happened. When I last spoke to her, she was planning on moving to Russia.”
“She just wanted space from Joel, which is understandable.”
“So she told you about him.” Alex shoved another piece of jerky into his mouth. “How does he feel about the imprinting?”
“He doesn’t like or approve of me, but he’s glad that she’s happy, and he seems to accept that I’m her choice.”
Dominic froze as he heard the snick of the front door locks. Then Valentina—who’d clearly broken into the apartment in much the same way her son had—was storming into the living room with her mate in tow.
Alex jumped to his feet as he faced off with his mother. They argued in Russian while James glared at his son, nodding along to whatever Valentina said.
“Can you understand what they’re saying, James?” Dominic asked.
Mila’s father shook his head. “No, but it’s good to present a united front, so I just nod along as if in agreement with Valentina. What did my son have to say for himself anyway?”
Dominic quickly explained what Alex had told him about this Norton guy, adding that the wolverine didn’t believe the other male was responsible for putting out the hit. By the time Dominic was finished, both Valentina and Alex had quieted. “Alex thinks it could be one of Vinnie’s enemies.”
“It’s possible,” said James, pursing his lips. “He has quite a few of them.”
Valentina put her hands on her hips. “I will slit your brother’s throat if he is responsible, Alpha or not.”
Wincing, James turned to his mate and worked to calm her down.
Dominic nuzzled his cat, who’d relaxed enough to stop glaring at her sibling. “Mila, time to come back. We need you to give us your input.”
The cat shot him a truly disgruntled look before hopping off the sofa and leaving the room. When Mila walked in moments later dressed in shorts and a tee, she narrowed her eyes at Alex, who was once again relaxed in the chair and munching jerky.
“Your cat’s a vicious bitch,” Alex told her, approval coloring every syllable.
Mila snorted at what her cat took as a compliment even as she bared a fang at him. “And yet, you continue to invade her territory. But then, that’s what assholes do.”
“Easy there, Skindiana Jones—”
“I told you to drop that!”
“—I only just got back, my cupboards are virtually empty.” Alex shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like you eat anything. Or, at least, you don’t look like you do. Seriously, you could hula hoop with a Cheerio.”
Valentina clapped her hands. “No more of this! You have not seen each other in months, and this is how you behave? Why not greet each other with hugs?”
Mila snickered. “I’d rather remove my spleen with a rusty blade. Well, actually, his spleen would be my first choice.”