Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
There’s movement to my left. A man drawing from an import beer has a confused look on his face. “Hey—”
I crack his neck, tossing him in.
“Bert, there’s another gift for you.”
“Am I to presume it’s the eviler of the two?”
“You may not.”
I move away from the darkened corner, mingling into the crowd as techno causes a frenzy.
When I approach the table, I find Graham surrounded by women and more bottles.
“Where is she?” I bark.
“Gone, you filthy tosser! Luxury left the second you stole my date! Serves you right, Vic. She’s much better than any of the girls falling at your feet.” Graham turns to the women and shouts, “Body shots!”
I push through the crowd a bit harder than necessary. There’s a group at the lift, none of which is my angry date, so I hustle down the stairs, two at a time. Jumping the last step, I turn around and around. Fuck me, fifteen stories.
“Burt,” I hiss.
“Don’t worry. I’m on it. Fuyoung’s nearby. I’ve placed the bodies in the trunk. Allow me to—”
“She’s not important at the moment. Find—”
“Don’t be snippy with me, Victor. This is your cock-up,” he scoffs. Movement sounds on his part as he vigorously searches. After more fatherly reprimanding, he concludes, “The club is clear.”
Incensed, I continue to descend with a single floor left. “Are you finished assuming that wanker’s role?”
“Well, yes.”
“And it is a little bit your fault.” I jump down the last step and quickly pass through the double doors and outside to a side street. “Lux vanished,” I say as my eyes adjust to the darkness. Did she slip down a side street? God forbid a bloody alley?
“I’ve cleared the east and south locations. Vic, I’m working on the west. Your young lady deserves better; thus, I’m doing everything humanly possible to ensure she’s not in Fuyoung’s line of fire. Rant complete!”
I survey the north area. With the nightly closure of most establishments, dark extends as far as the eye can see. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I reconsider the dynamics. Could Luxury have commissioned a taxi already?
My chest tightens. If something happened.
Graham answered the fucking mobile! I hadn’t meant to hold her in my arms again.
Sure, I’d see her. I’d save her father. It’d gut me that she’s bloody near, but I’d return to my life.
As I stalk down the street, swiftly scanning through backstreets, I reconstruct my plan.
I’ll create the scenario for Dr. Whitson to have a heart attack and follow through with my sworn oath to X-Member.
But what of Lux? She’ll be all alone, you insensitive arsehole.
But this is who I am. A man who fulfills his obligations and whets his deviant desires.
You take a mark.
You expire it.
Or another member gets the kill, the pay, and your fucking death too.
I stop walking, turning around to glance down another street.
“Vic! West alley. Hurry, Luxury has company!” Burt huffs, “I can’t . . .I can’t get a good visual.”
Built for agility, I hit the concrete at top speed. I steer around a pothole and turn into the alley Luxury’s walking into. Fuyoung, the worst of the Siamese Twins, is waiting for her at the opposite end.
“Lux!” I shout.
Luxury turns around to me, smirks while flipping her middle finger, and then continues.
My legs stretch to their limit. Another ten yards, and I’ve reached the furious young woman. Grabbing her tiny arm, I spin her around with so much force she almost twists her ankle.
“Ow, Vic, I’m having an anxiety attack. This is all just too much. Allow me to suffer in peace!”
“We need to talk.” I chew my lip. To hide my concern for her safety, I embody everything a duke wouldn’t.
Guilt.
Remorse.
“Ouch!” Luxury leans into me, removing her heel. She peers in the direction Fuyoung had beckoned her. Dropping a hand at her chest, she takes a few tempered breaths. “First, I hail a cab, and two horny fucks almost knock me into a drain to get inside it. I saw red. Not the kind that makes you tell assholes where to shove it.”
“Who knocked you over?” Okay, it’s not the best time to ask for identifying markers so I can kill the wanker on her behalf.
After an anxious influx of air, Luxury rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Next, I’m wandering down an isolated street, having a shit time getting cellphone service for an Uber. But wait, there’s more,” she exaggerates. “You come running after me at full force. Then I look up from my iPhone, and there’s that bitch at the opposite end of the street.” Luxury pauses to jut her chin. “Waving like a B-rated actress in a Sci-Fi horror, beckoning me toward a dark alley. Did Suyoung forget that—”
“Su . . .” Shite, the cunt knows her sister is dead and now assumed her identity.
“Yes, Graham’s date.” Luxury forks her hands into her coils. “You know what, this conversation is so done. Remove your head from your ass. Actually, I’m not finished.” She peers down the alley, but Fuyoung has evaporated in the darkness.