Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 248926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1245(@200wpm)___ 996(@250wpm)___ 830(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 248926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1245(@200wpm)___ 996(@250wpm)___ 830(@300wpm)
Kaz dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
“Oh no.” Tension gathered around my shoulders. “Do we have a spy or something?”
“A spy would be better, mysh.” He handed me his phone. “Look at this.”
I took the device.
A video had been paused. The screen showed all of the dead bodies in the conference room. In it, Kaz and I stood by the table. This recording looked like the moment after sex when we had put back on our clothes.
Kaz spoke, “Misha sent this.”
I pressed play.
On the screen, Kaz kissed me. I giggled and walked off. He strolled next to me and slapped my ass.
O-kay.
The camera remained on the corpses lying in dried blood. Soon as the door slammed shut, Rocco’s body slowly moved.
Panic surged through me. “No.”
“Yes.”
It took some time, but Rocco pushed himself up. Several moments he groaned and winced in pain. Once he slowly rose to standing position, he touched the front of his neck and then looked at his hand.
How the hell?
Rocco shook his head, whispered something in Italian, and drew an invisible cross in front of his face.
I can’t believe this.
On the screen, Rocco stumbled away, and the video stopped.
I looked up. “No fucking way this is possible.”
“Apparently, Maxwell did not cut deep enough.”
I gave Kaz back his phone. “Where the hell is Rocco now?”
“There is footage of Rocco stumbling into a maid. She gave him her phone and helped him limp away. Once he got on the phone, someone hacked into the system seconds later. All footage is missing for the next thirty minutes.” Kaz walked over to the railing, placed his hands on it, and gazed at the sky. “Misha’s people had stopped monitoring the cameras in the conference room when we began making love. Later, one person caught Rocco stumbling off with the maid, but did not connect it to the slain clown. Once this person headed to Misha to show him, someone had already hacked into the system. We assume it was one of Rocco’s people.”
“What about Ufuoma? Is she still here or did Rocco go after her to finish the escape?”
“Maxwell and I double checked. She is still with us.”
“What about the maid that helped Rocco? Do we know who she is?”
“We do, but she is now missing. We have people going to her house, but I am certain her family and her have already moved. This is the Sicilian’s area. Rocco has men and contacts everywhere.”
“Shit.” I held out my hands. “What do you think is going to happen next?”
“Well. . .if this means war, it will at least be less of a war than if Rocco was dead.”
“O-kay.”
“The bigger question is who Rocco wants to war with? Does he blame the Brotherhood or will his revenge only target Maxwell?”
“You know the Vizzini Family. What do you think it will be?”
“I am more surprised the Don has not already called. The family is drenched in traditions. They would initiate some form of dialogue first before any violent challenge.”
“So no call could be a good sign?”
“Could be.” Kaz kept his gaze on the moon. “One advantage of their silence is that they still do not know. Rocco’s move to free Ufuoma had nothing to do with their family. He may keep all of this quiet.”
I hope so. Please, God.
I came closer to Kaz. “If the Vizzini family didn’t want to get involved in the war, then they wouldn’t be happy with Rocco’s choice to come to the hotel tonight. Right?”
“That is what I believe. Add the fact that I am certain the Don would not approve of Rocco’s love affair with Ufuoma.”
“He’s a bit racist?”
“I believe the Sicilians treated Black Axe badly because they saw them as subhuman. Once, the Don came close to saying as much, but he would have never spoken those words in my presence.”
I frowned. “So, it didn’t matter if Rocco was expected to marry someone or not. The Don wouldn’t have approved of Ufuoma being his wife?”
“I doubt it very much.”
“This could play well for us. If the Vizzini family did find out. . .maybe, the Don wouldn’t go to war based off of Rocco trying to save her.”
“Which is why I believe Rocco may be quiet about this. . .for now.”
“How would he explain the scar on his neck? Surely, he has one.”
“That would be his problem, not ours. I only want to get you and my son out of Italy tomorrow.”
“But, what about Max?” I swallowed.
“We get to Moscow first, mysh. All other problems will be discussed later.”
My heart sank. “Nothing can happen to Max.”
“I agree.” Kaz put his view on me. “At times, I believe Max’s presence is directly related to your sanity.”
“I don’t know about all that. I just know that I love Max like my brother and wouldn’t survive if he was gone. I already lost X.”