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)
Motherfucker really had people in the water.
Keeping my hand up, I slowly glanced behind me.
All of the Brotherhood stood there, guns drawn and pointed straight at them.
Okay. Steady, everyone. No one shoot.
Blue's voice was steady. “Yes. They are leaving. He signaled them to go. Yes. Emergency plan. Okay. Okay.”
Fela looked at her. “Can they freely leave?”
Blue spoke, “The Lion wants you to tell them to put their guns on the beach, and then they can go.”
Fela nodded at her, looked at the men, and yelled out in that language from the video.
The figures trudged through the water, rivulets streaming off their wet suits and skin. Their eyes remained trained on us as they advanced, their hands gripping the guns tightly.
Once they reached the shoreline, one by one they discarded their guns in a pile and removed the scuba masks.
Frowning, I lowered my hand. “Could their guns have even worked?”
“Revolvers function more reliably than any other firearm underwater.” Fela returned to gazing at the sun. “Their simple design makes them work better than automatic pistols or semi-auto rifles.”
Several of the Brotherhood rushed over, swarming along the shoreline and pointing guns at Fela's men.
Other Brotherhood grabbed the pile of wet guns.
Meanwhile Fela's men wobbled away in one line, not glancing back at us.
I glanced in the direction where Fela was looking.
The sun was beginning to set behind the horizon. The sky was orange, pink, red and purple. Waves crashed, soaking the shore.
A cold chill surged through me.
I gulped down fear. “Now it is time for the rest of the deal.”
Your death.
Fela didn't turn my way. “You do not want to know what is in the briefcase?”
“I could look inside there after I kill you.”
“But, then you would not understand why those documents and pictures are in there in the first place.”
I placed my gaze on the briefcase.
It was bullshit. I knew it deep down in my heart and could feel it within the depths of my soul. This was a ploy, some method for him to get at me—to somehow win while he lost. Some strategy of manipulation. A chunk of cheese to lure the Mouse into a trap.
There was no need to push forward.
I looked away from the briefcase and thought about my son lying safely within my womb. I even thought of my daughter who had gone off with Jean-Pierre and Eden, and how I would see her one day.
Fuck this. Finish it.
Clenching my teeth, I raised the gun and pointed at him.
“Okay. Yes, sir.” Blue got next to me, hung up the phone, and put it in her pocket. Next, she took out her own gun and kept it ready by her side.
Fela twisted his lips into an unnerving grin. “In that briefcase are answers to the question of why you are you.”
My hand holding the gun trembled.
Answers?
Slowly, he turned my way. “You see, Emily. I researched and studied you for a long time before ever putting my plan in place.”
Fuck him. Don't listen.
“I knew about your darkness before you did. All the personalities.” Fela targeted his gaze to the point of my gun. “And I know the origin of all of them. The why. The how.”
My heart pounded in my chest.
I placed my finger on the trigger.
“Do you want to know those answers to your questions?” He tilted his head to the side. “Or do you simply want to take the cowards way out, shoot me, and still drown in all of those mind-shattering questions?”
Chapter 69
The Host
Emily
Kill him? Or listen to him?
A haunting stillness settled over the beach. No longer could I hear the waves of the ocean crashing onto the shore or the squawking of seagulls.
My lips went dry like someone had left me out in the dunes for weeks without water.
What does he know?
My finger twitched. I could feel the trigger underneath it, earnestly waiting for me to make a decision.
“Emily, I can feel that need radiating off you.” Fela watched me. “That desperate need to understand it all.”
I didn’t move. His words were fire and smoke, stinging my skin with the intensity of a branding iron.
My heart pounded like a jackhammer, and my gut seemed to clench harder with every word, squeezing tighter and tighter until I thought I could feel my insides being crushed.
Fuck Fela. He's trying to trick me.
The gun shook in my hands. Still, I did my best to stay rooted in my spot.
Breathe.
My face heated.
“Emily?” Blue stepped closer to me and whispered, “Don't listen to him.”
“But, she should.” Fela grinned. “Who else knows her better than me?”
The urge to slap the smugness off his face was strong, but somehow I resisted. “Many people know me better than you.”
Fela raised one finger and wagged it at me. “I doubt that very much.”
“You think that your answers are going to save your life today, but they're not.”