Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
The truth. Not the faux fatherly charm, not the disciplined commander. He thinks I’m garbage, and now he’s not even bothering to hide it.
“Minotaur. I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence.” He shifts, and I catch the dull metal gleam of a gun held at his side. “Come in.”
Yeah, that’s not going to happen. The door’s behind me, only a few feet away. I’m nearly certain I can get there before Minos can plug me full of bullets. I look at Icarus, and though his eyes are still hazy with drunkenness, the seriousness of the moment seems to have penetrated. He shifts a little closer to me—and farther away from his father. Too little, too late.
“You changed the locks.” I grip the back of Icarus’s shirt, out of Minos’s sight, and tug him back a few inches. Closer to the door. This is a clusterfuck, but I’ll get him out of here. For Ariadne.
His grip shifts on the gun. “You know how it is in the city, boy. Can’t trust anyone.”
I ease back a step, pulling Icarus with me. “I am—”
“No, I am done with your lies.” Minos lifts the gun and points it directly at my chest. “You said it yourself—if you wanted to follow my orders and kill my traitorous daughter, you would’ve done it by now. I’ve been distracted, so it took me a little longer than normal to figure it out. That’s done now. I’ve passed the order to someone more capable and loyal than you will ever be.”
Fuck. Fuck. It’s exactly like I suspected. Worse than I suspected, because I would have preferred Minos attempt to kill me before he sent someone else after her. There’s no time. We have to get out of here. Now. “Who did you send?”
“You won’t live long enough to figure it out.”
Icarus moves first, tearing himself from my grip and throwing his lean body in front of mine. I see the exact moment Minos decides he doesn’t care if he shoots his son in the process of shooting me. Damn it. I grab Icarus around his waist and shove us against the wall as Minos pulls the trigger. He’s so skinny. It’s easy to shield him with my body.
I scramble for the doorknob, my hand closing around it as fire explodes in my shoulder. That motherfucker shot me, and not even well. I’ve been moving through pain for my entire life; a shoulder wound sucks, but it’s not the worst I’ve experienced. It’s nothing to get the door open and shove Icarus through it ahead of me.
We hit the hallway at a dead sprint, or as close to it as we can manage with him stumbling drunkenly and pain flaring with every step I take. The elevator will take too long to get to us, and we’ll be sitting ducks while we wait. Instead, I hook him around the waist and haul him through the doorway to the stairwell.
He tries to stop three flights down, but I grab his arm and keep him moving. Blood is a hot, wet cascade down my back. My head feels a little woozy. That isn’t a good sign. When my adrenaline crashes, I suspect it will be a crash in more ways than one.
On the second floor, I tighten my grip on Icarus’s arm and hold him back. “Need to go through a side door.”
He’s panting and his sweat is more alcohol than water, but he already seems a little more sober than he was a few minutes ago. “You think he called security?”
“He doesn’t have to when he has his own people to call.” I take the chance and grab my phone. We need to keep moving, but I can’t stop thinking about what Minos said. Ariadne is in danger. I don’t know who the fuck he sent, but I’m not with her to protect her.
She answers immediately. “Asterion? Is everything okay?”
I’m sure as fuck not about to tell her that in the time since she last saw me, I’ve gotten myself shot. There are more important things in play currently. “Your father called in someone else to take over the job. Your brother and I are on our way to you. Be ready when we get there. We’re getting the fuck out of here.”
28
Ariadne
Asterion hangs up before I can ask any questions, but it’s just as well. There’s no time. If he was anyone else, I might assume that he was overstating the danger. He’s not. I knew that there was a good chance I’d have to escape in a hurry, so I already have my bag packed. I’m just vain enough to mourn leaving so many of my gorgeous new clothes behind, but I have to be able to move quickly, and I can’t be weighed down. Asterion might be a machine, but Icarus and I are hardly people capable of long-distance cardio. Better to plan to carry my own shit.