Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Now she really does look scared, but curiously, not of me. For me? I thumb the side of her cheek, reveling in how soft and smooth her skin is. “Don’t worry about me, Malyshka. I can take care of myself. Or are you scared for him and what I’m going to do when I finally get my hands on him?”
She shakes her head. “No. I don’t care much for what happens to him as long as I don’t have to go near him.”
I don’t tell her I expect her to be with me when I kill him. Instead, I turn her toward the bedroom. “Go put some clothes on. I’ll make my call, and then we can eat something.” My stomach is now roiling uncomfortably from lack of food. I fear I’ll be useless to keep her safe until I eat something.
She goes into the closet to slip into some clean clothes. All of them are for men, but I note that we should add some female clothing just in case the newly paired-up teammates need clothes. Andrea always said if she needs a safe house, she doesn’t give a shit what she’s wearing.
I grab clean clothes out of the dresser. Nothing fancy. A dress shirt and a pair of pants. Enough to cover me, not enough to intimidate anyone. While she dresses, I head into the kitchen and throw a couple of sandwiches together. Peanut butter on warm bread is enough to sate the ache in my stomach. I grab the second burner phone, the one I keep in case of emergencies or the off chance I break a phone or lose one, and hit the pre-programmed number on it.
Kai answers after two rings. “Are you still alive?”
“Fucker,” I say, not bothering to stifle the affection in my tone. “For now, at least. I need some supplies, and I need information on these assholes. I’m ripping that place apart.”
“We’re ready and will help.”
I shake my head and then speak because he can’t see me. “No. I’m doing this on my own. You guys stay there, and if I need to call you in, I will.”
There’s a long silence, and I wait for whatever bullshit Kai is trying to come up with to convince me against my plan.
After another agonizing few seconds, he says, “Okay. I’ll send Michail with supplies and keys to your personal safe house.”
I hate that he knows what it means to be held captive as intimately as I do. But it’s the only reason he’s letting me go on my own right now. I don’t bother to thank you because we both have the knowledge. “I’ll keep you posted and let you know if I need anything.”
“Stay safe, my friend, and give them hell.”
I hang up and squeeze the phone tightly. The memories of the last week surge up enough that my sandwich threatens to make a return visit. When Cilla exits the bedroom, she rushes to my side, eyeing me where I have my hands braced against the counter, breathing against the gut-roiling emotion threatening to drag me under.
Her hands cup my cheeks, and she ducks under my arms to put her face close to mine, but I don’t let her pull me closer. Not when I’m in this mood.
“Hey,” she whispers. “You’re here. You’re safe.”
The sound of her voice twines through me, easing the edges of my shame, my fear, my anger, all of it. When I can breathe again, I meet her eyes. “Sit. We need to talk about your father’s operation.”
Her voice is barely a whisper. “But I don’t know anything.”
I put a sandwich in her hand, steer her to the dining room table, and plop her on a wooden chair. “Sit, eat, and I’ll ask the questions. You probably know more than you think you do.”
She takes a bite of the sandwich, her eyes locked on me. I rove my gaze down her body to the plain T-shirt and baggy jeans she’s rolled up at the ankle.
Shrugging, she speaks between chews. “They’re too big, but there wasn’t anything else besides suits.”
I take the chair beside hers and slide it close enough that I can touch her knees. “Kai. Even if his life is in danger, he will look damn good.”
As if she doesn’t know what to say to that, she takes another big bite and chews slowly while she searches my face for something. What, I’m not sure of yet.
“Does the rest of your extended family know about your father’s operation or how lucrative it might be for him?”
Her forehead furrows almost as if she’s thinking deeply. “I don’t know. He doesn’t tell me that kind of stuff or anything, really. It’s not like we have long chats about business over the dinner table at night. I barely see him unless he drugged me or orders me to do something disgusting.”