Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
“Patva had sent a five-man team. There were two guards in the house. I had to kill all seven of them. Then I had to destroy the cameras. There couldn’t be any evidence that I had been the one to kill them and in such a violent way. I made it appear as if we’d been raided by outsiders so they could get the women and sell them themselves. I had less than an hour to get the women and children onto a freighter I knew was leaving the harbor. I had to make out the proper paperwork and sign Patva’s name to it, which I was very good at doing. It was the best I could do for them. I knew where there was money, and I gave what I could to them. Then I had to find a way to make it look like I’d been ripped apart and left for dead so Patva would believe I’d been attacked as well.”
“How was it that you didn’t kill Patva yourself when he attacked you and Timur? Even though you were so young, you must have been capable of killing him,” Gedeon said.
“When he first came in, he acted very nice to Ogfia, Timur’s mother. She always tried to go into another room to get away from him, even if he beat one of us. Timur never seemed to mind. He made excuses for her. When she started to leave, Patva leapt on her and began to beat her savagely. Timur immediately went to assist her, but instead of aiding him, Ogfia again tried to lock herself in another room.”
There wasn’t the slightest hint of disgust or loathing on Gorya’s face or in his voice, but Gedeon felt disgust heavy in the air. Gorya might not be able to tolerate seeing women or children raped, tortured or misused, but he didn’t have a high opinion of them.
“Patva turned on me with a knife hidden in his hand. Using a weapon was unusual, and I didn’t see or expect it. He stabbed me three times as he rushed past me to get to Ogfia. Rogue spun us away from him fast, so the blade missed my heart, but I went down. He shouted at Timur and me that we were cowards and traitors. Those loyal to the bratva didn’t give their loyalty to women.”
Gorya touched his chest near his heart. “That taught me the lesson to always expect the unexpected. I was young and arrogant in those days. After Patva beat Ogfia to death, he turned his attention to Timur and me. I might have been able to take him, I don’t honestly know. I’d lost a lot of blood and was weak, but fortunately, Fyodor came in. He saved us, and I just fell back on what I did best. I became the deceiver even with those I loved most.”
What do you think, Meiling?
I’ve never met a man so lost, Gedeon.
Or so dangerous. The point is, what do we do?
I don’t think we have a choice. We take the job.
Gedeon studied the man across from him. Gorya was brilliant. He’d known that the moment he laid the facts out they would take the job. He sighed. “You have yourself a couple heading your security. Your men aren’t going to like us very much.”
Gorya sent him that flat, cold smile. “They don’t like me much either.”
2
Maya Averina paced the length of the very long basement, cursing under her breath with every step. The heat was stifling. There were only slits for windows to allow light in, and those ran along the ceiling, far too narrow for even her small body to escape through.
She meticulously inspected every inch of the prison she’d been trapped in. There was no way out that she could find—yet. That didn’t mean there wasn’t one. She hadn’t given up. She knew cameras had been set up in that long rectangular basement somewhere. She’d spotted a very tiny one near the doorway, but there had to be one or two more.
The moment she’d realized what was happening, she should have fought her way out of the building. She just hadn’t known how many were involved. She’d believed she would be able to find a way to escape the basement. She still believed there had to be a way; she just hadn’t found it yet.
“Not my finest plan, Wraith,” she said aloud. “I got us into a mess this time. And when we get out, I’m going to kill Theo.” She meant it too.
Theo Pappas had helped her escape a bad situation a few years earlier, and she had never forgotten his kindness. When they had run into each other months ago, he was the one needing help. She had a sense about people, and red flags had gone off. He seemed a completely different person. She smelled addiction on him. Not just drugs but other, darker things she had encountered in her past. She hadn’t sensed conspiracy until it was too late, most likely because she hadn’t spent any time with him.