Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Or it’s a fucking nutcase putting out a cheap-ass contract on a not-so-bad future ruler and risking throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil right as they are poised to lose their emperor,” Soren added.
Charlie sat back in his chair and stared off into space for a second before giving West a small nod. “I’ve never been to Gaoxing, but it’s an island that sits right between China and Japan. Both countries have made plays to annex Gaoxing, and the ruling family has done a damn good job over the centuries of fending them off. This could end up being a hell of a bigger mess than simply losing an emperor and a prince.”
“I know,” West murmured.
A loud clap had West jerking his head up to see Alexei rubbing his hands together, a wide grin spread across his face. “This sounds like the perfect crazy adventure for us. Soren and I can tag along to help clean this up.”
West smirked. He’d expected this. “I think you’ve got your hopes a little too high for this job. At most, this is likely to be just a scouting mission. Some light research. If this is nothing more than a nutcase, I can get Kairo to send an anonymous message to the royal family’s security team warning them about the contract. They’ll need to tighten their security. That’s it. Marilyn’s already trying to track down the person behind the contract.”
Alexei’s slim shoulders dropped, and his bottom lip jutted out in an adorable pout that had no business being on the face of someone so lethal.
“Besides, I thought you were planning to head back to Colorado to see family. Marilyn mentioned that she couldn’t give this contract to your uncles. That they weren’t up for it.” West gave a halfhearted shrug of one shoulder. “Maybe one of them is sick or injured. This seems like their kind of thing.”
The assassin immediately perked up, his eyes going wide. “You think? Maybe I should head home to check on them.”
Over Alexei’s head, West caught sight of Soren soundlessly mouthing, You’re a fucking evil bastard.
He was. He truly was.
But he felt no remorse about this. He’d get the alone time he needed, and Alexei’d get the family visit he was truly longing for. Everyone would benefit.
Well, except for Soren. He was going to be tortured.
And that was okay with West, too.
“You promise to call us if this turns out to be much bigger than a quick thing?” Alexei checked.
“I promise,” West agreed easily. That was always his plan.
Not that he expected this to be a big problem.
He was just flying halfway around the world to either save an entire country from an evil would-be tyrant, or he was saving a prince from a lunatic.
No big deal.
1
WESTIN ST. JAMES
This place was creepy.
Not Addams family type of manic spooky.
Or even Silent Hill style, where a monster was going to lunge out of the thick, curling fog and cut his head off with a rusty scythe.
No, Gaoxing was more of “Everything looks gorgeous and peaceful, but you can’t trust it because it’s just a veneer, hiding…”
West frowned at his thoughts. He had no idea what he would find if he scratched beneath the surface of this place. It seemed too good to be true.
Four days ago, he’d landed in the royal city of Jin, named for the imperial family who had ruled the tiny island-empire of Gaoxing for the past several centuries. The city was large, with about five million people, but thanks to being spread across several hills and valleys, it did not leave him feeling overwhelmed by crowds. Jin was broken up into a dozen districts, and each one had its own flavor and tone.
When he’d first settled in the city, he chose a hotel close to the royal palace and wandered through several of the districts. The city center reminded him of New York and Tokyo with its glass skyscrapers and hordes of people in suits hurrying to white-collar jobs. But each subsequent layer of neighborhood and district grew quieter and cozier as if the citizens wanted to escape that loud, flashy world at the end of each day. Or the people of Jin were stating that they recognized the need for such a place to remain competitive with the rest of the world, but this was not what defined them.
No, intricately landscaped gardens, pristinely swept sidewalks, and smiling faces defined the people of Gaoxing.
Everywhere he went, people smiled at him. They waved and greeted him as if they knew him.
It was creepy.
No one was this friendly.
No one.
If this were real, it would be heaven. Why would anyone ever leave this place?
But it wasn’t real, and that made it hell.
From the moment he started poking around, he introduced himself as a reporter from the States, researching a story on the kingdom of Gaoxing and the royal family. It allowed him to ask annoying questions without arousing any suspicions.