Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
“I’m going to fix that. And there’s little girls on the street selling their bodies. I’m going to stop that, too.”
“Chase—”
“In fact, we’re going to fix that, of course this is after I dig a deep hole in the earth and drop Benny right into the ground. We’re going to fix South End.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“Maybe.”
“Why did she take you there?”
“Benny has a place in the Chops.”
She muttered something under her breath, probably a curse word. “I think they called it the Penthouse. I was never allowed to hang with anybody in South End. My brothers made me stay in the house all the time. But I remember something like that.”
I raised my eyebrows. “So you never went there?”
“No. I heard things and didn’t believe them. Now I’m certain most of the stuff was probably true.” She paused for a minute and then asked, “Mom came with you?”
“Yes, and she took all of the cash out of his apartment. It was a huge garbage bag full.”
Troy must’ve grabbed the phone because his voice came through next. “I heard some of it. You mean to tell me Mom took money out of Benny’s place?”
“Put Jasmine back on.”
“Focus, man.”
I gritted my teeth, doing my best to not scream at him.
“She’s still with you?” Troy asked.
“Yes. Now put Jasmine back on the phone.”
Troy ignored me. “If Mom got the money and she’s still with you, then the money wasn’t her goal, it was just the icing on the cake. She’s after something else.”
Jasmine’s voice sounded in the background. “They’re on a plane, heading our way.”
“But they probably don’t know where we’re at,” Troy said to Jasmine and then returned the conversation to me. “Listen, man. As soon as you land, drop Mom’s ass in that country and move on. Go back to Oshane City. You don’t want any part in this. Wait it out. Mom is doing something, and—”
“I’ve got Sherman.”
“Say what?”
“He’s handcuffed and guarded by three men on another plane.”
Something rubbed over the phone on his end as he must’ve yelled back to Jasmine. “This motherfucker has lost his mind.”
“I have,” I confessed. “And I’m not sure what I’m going to do with Sherman. Not sure if he’s going to help or deter me, what I do know is that I’m not going to let him go until I have Jasmine’s location.”
“Here, maybe you should talk to him,” Troy must’ve handed the phone back to Jasmine, since her voice came on next.
“I know what you’re trying to do, Chase, but just trust us.”
I grinned. “No.”
“He’s going to try and kill you. Stay away until we can figure this out.”
“No.”
Jasmine’s voice rose. “Damn it, Chase!
“It’s not fun hearing no, is it?”
“You’re being a stupid fool.”
“You ran away. That was stupid. Now I’m coming for you. Benny can’t scare me out of loving you.”
“Benny is not going to listen to reason, if you’re still involved with the situation. If you’re out of the picture, I may be able to help Benny come to a more logical conclusion. These past months affected us all. He’s getting worse and worse—”
“Has he hurt you?” I growled into the phone, wishing the sick bastard stood right in front of me. “Has he threatened you?”
“No. It’s been awkward, but okay.”
“Where are you?”
“I have to go.”
I shut my eyes. A steady ache drummed in my chest. “Don’t you fucking go.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Love is all we need.”
“We need more than love,” Jasmine countered. “Benny isn’t going to give up until you’re no longer walking on the face of this earth. With you and I broke up, he may focus on something else.”
“John Lennon had a quote about love—”
“John Lennon is dead, and you will be, too. Get off of the plane, get away from my mother and brother, and go home.” Her voice cracked at the last word. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ll see you soon, tesoro.”
The line clicked off before I could say anything else. Don’t trust your mother. Interesting. It seems like that’s the theme of today. Trust no one. I passed Sophia, right as she lifted her fork and pierced through a circular slice of dark chocolate cake layered in honey coated nuts.
She looked up. “Any problems? You were pretty loud back there.”
“No problems yet. Everything is bloody awesome and fantastic.” I headed back to my seat, glancing over my shoulder every few steps. Too many enemies surrounded me, and the only person I trusted on this planet refused to work with me.
You don’t believe in us? I’ll show you, stubborn woman.
I grabbed Benny’s psychotic notebooks off the tray and rummaged through them.
I’m just as smart as you, tesoro.
In the phone conversation, Jasmine had revealed more to me than she’d actually knew. If Benny had made the trip about family and wanted his kids to know where he was from, then he’d be taking them to his birthplace. I didn’t think he’d been born in Paris.