Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Oh yeah?”
“Yea-ah.” An evil grin crept across his lips as he chuckled. “You’re as good as dead.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” His grin grew wider. “They know she has the laptop. They know what she saw.”
“Um-hmm, and that's why they sent you. And that didn’t turn out so well for either of you.”
“You sound awfully smug for a man who’s about to die.”
I wanted nothing more than to put a world of hurt on this guy, but he was talking. In fact, he was telling me everything I needed to know, and I didn’t even have to work for it. So, I played along and cocked my brow. “I could say the same about you.”
“I’m not afraid of dying. Hell, I look forward to it.” His smirk faded as he told me, “It means I’ll be done with the likes of you.”
“A moment we’re both looking forward to.”
“They’re on their way back, you know.” He looked me dead in the eye as he warned, “And when they get here, they’re coming for you and the girl.”
“And who exactly is coming for us?”
“Oh, you know who. You’ve known about them for some time.”
“Them? You mean the fucking Demarco brothers.”
“Ding. Ding. Ding.”
“Garrett is a fucking Demarco?”
“Now, you’re getting it. Hmph. You’re smarter than I thought you were.” We’d barely gotten started, and I was already getting tired of this prick. He knew what was coming and was goading me. And it was working. It was getting harder and harder not to just end him right then and there, and his maniacal laughter wasn’t helping matters. “They got a lot of money tied into this operation. A lot of manpower. They’re not gonna let her or anyone else interfere.”
“And which operation is that?”
“Not that smart after all,” he scoffed.
I’d had my fill of his smart fucking mouth, so I reared back my fist and slammed it right in his jaw, driving his head back with a forceful jerk. It took him a moment to recover, and then he said, “She found Antonio’s pictures of the women. We all know sex sells, and for the Demarcos, business is good. Real fucking good. And they just got the biggest take yet.”
“Take? You mean women?” I growled. “These are real people you are talking about. Mothers. Daughters. Children. Lives that you are ripping away.”
“It’s a flourishing business. And you best get prepared because the girl from the office is about to be put on their roster. Bet she’ll bring a high dollar, too. Hmmm, I’d like to get a piece of that action. Yeah, I’d fuck her real good.”
The mere thought of someone trying to harm Mia filled me with an overwhelming sense of rage and a hunger for vengeance. It was that hunger that had me reaching for my blade. He’d finally done it. He’d pushed me too far. I whipped it open, then raked the sharp edge along the man’s throat.
I could hear him gasping and gagging as I stormed out of the room.
I needed to get with Cotton and let him know about the exchange I’d had with our guest, but first, I had to see Mia. I needed to see for myself that she was okay, so I got cleaned up and went straight to her room. She was still pretty shaken up. And rightly so. She’d been through a hell of an ordeal.
I wanted to stay there with her and assure her that everything was going to be okay, but unfortunately, I didn’t have that luxury. I had to get back to the brothers and sort out a plan to deal with the Demarco brothers once and for all. I gave her one last kiss, then told her. “I gotta go.”
“What? Why?”
“I’ve gotta get back and help the guys sort through some things.”
I could tell that she didn’t like it, but she didn’t argue. She simply nodded her head and muttered, “Okay.”
“You gotta know I’d stay if I could.”
“I know, but you gotta do what you gotta do.” She raked her teeth across her bottom lip before saying, “You’re the new enforcer, after all.”
“Oh, you heard about that, huh?”
“Wyatt told me this morning.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’m still trying to figure out why you weren’t the one who told me.”
“I figured it would be better if you heard it from your father.”
“I would’ve rather heard it from you, but it doesn’t matter now. You have a job to do.” She inched up on her tiptoes, kissing me briefly on the lips. “Now, go and do it.”
“You gonna be okay?”
“As long as you promise to come back.”
“Nothing could keep me away.” I gave her arm a gentle squeeze, then ordered, “Now get some rest. I’ll be back to check in on you in the morning.”
I kissed her on the forehead, then walked out of the room.