Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
“She never said anything about his family.”
“Stop playing with her and stop playing with me.”
Emilio gurgled on the other line.
My heart ached. “Mysh. . .”
“Yes?”
“What will Emilio be wearing today?”
“Max bought him some designer tracksuit that matches his.”
Although I tried not to, I smiled.
“We have a family, Kaz. We have a love that is constantly getting stronger. Is that not enough?”
“It will always be enough.”
“Then, leave there and meet me at the plane.” I heard a door close, telling me that she must have gone into the nursery’s bathroom. “Get in your car and head to the airport.”
“When I am done.”
“Thank you for saving the teenagers, but if you kill the adults, then. . .”
“What?” I gritted my teeth.
“I don’t know. I want to threaten you, but I can’t.” She sounded like she was about to cry. “I love you too much.”
She sniffled.
“Mysh?”
And then she cried.
Damn it.
Her crying was a haunting melody of anguish and suffering. A guttural plea. The embodiment of pain and unbearable heartache. The sound reverberated over the phone and shook me down to my core.
I could tell that all the layers of her defenses fell away.
“Mysh. . .please. . .do not cry.” My breathing grew shallow and labored. Each inhale began to be a struggle. Each exhale was turning into a desperate gasp for air. It felt as though the courtyard’s walls were closing in and the space was shrinking, trapping me in my own personal cage of panic and fear.
My vision blurred. The edges of the courtyard frayed and dissolved into a disorienting whirlwind of panic.
“Please, mysh.” I wanted to fall down to my knees, but somehow, I held myself up against that wall. “I love you.”
“I love you too, but don’t do this.” She sobbed. “Maybe. . .maybe there can be. . .another way.”
Tension gathered in my shoulders.
“What way?”
“Maim the men. Take a finger or hand. It could be a visible reminder of why being an enemy of the Lion is a bad idea. I am okay with even some of them losing a limb, but do not kill them.”
I shook my head, getting some of my clarity back.
“Please.”
I wanted my way, but I yearned for my mouse’s peace more. Her being calm, kept me anchored. For her to suffer, for her to lose it all, incited chaos within me.
I took a deep breath and considered her words. “Mysh. . .”
“Yes?”
“Do not cry. For you. . .I would do anything, even stop my revenge.”
“Please.”
“But, do not cry anymore.”
She sniffled and let out a shaky breath.
“I will not kill them.” I swallowed down my sadness. “But I will maim the men.”
Her voice wavered. “Okay.”
I heard the sound of her taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly. “Thank you, Kaz.”
Her voice was still shaky with emotion, but the worst of her crying had subsided. “I know this is hard for you.”
“It is harder for me to hear you in pain.” I felt a pang of guilt in my chest.
“The boys and I will be leaving for the plane soon, baby.”
My heart warmed at her finally saying baby.
“Maim them if you must,” she whispered, “And then come to me.”
“I will.”
“I love you, baby.”
“And I love you, mysh.”
Chapter 45
Change In Plans
Kazimir
Lunita and Emily won this time.
Defeated, I left the courtyard and entered the long hallway.
That is okay. I will take my revenge out on her pussy.
Still, the walk back to the viewing room was difficult. My fingers had itched to make many scream and bleed. Now it would be a few wails.
A finger or hand? She said limbs too. Leg? Arm?
It was odd, but I suddenly had the distinct impression that I was being watched.
Surely, I was being irrational.
I checked over my shoulder and saw nothing.
Something is off.
Then, the lights flickered.
I frowned. “Oh, shut up, Pavel.”
Surely, he was gloating too.
My men still flanked the door.
When I approached, one of them opened it.
I entered the room, and a profound sense of emptiness enveloped me.
What the fuck?!
My men no longer stood around the walls. Boris was gone too.
Where is everyone?
My eyes scanned the blank space. Even the gardener’s family had disappeared.
Now only David stood by my table of torture tools near the caskets and chairs. He had his hands in his pockets. A neutral expression covered his face.
He better have answers.
I walked across the empty room. My footsteps echoed faintly.
David watched me.
I stopped three feet in front of him. My voice went low and dangerous. “Where the hell did everyone go?”
David’s eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite place. “I ordered everyone to leave.”
I widened my eyes. “What the fuck did you say?”
David pulled his hands out of his pockets, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and shrugged it off.
I raised my eyebrows.
He carefully placed the jacket on the plush chair closest to him and then returned his view to me. “I let them go.”