Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
A short while later, Luke pulls us into a spot downtown near the Ritz and offers me his phone. I dial Darius. He answers on the first ring, unaware of his caller’s identity. “Agent Sanchez.”
“Darius,”
“Ana? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say. “Are you?”
“I’m alive but I’m not going home until I know what’s going on. I’m at a hotel. What is going on?”
“Good question. Let’s meet.”
“Where?”
My mind races and I land on a story involving our boss. “Mike told me you’re at the Ritz. I’ll meet you in the hotel.”
“Mike didn’t tell you,” he accuses.
“Okay, no. I was at the office when you were dropped off. I followed you.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because those men knew where to find me. That felt really dirty, Darius. We need to talk.”
“The gas station two blocks from the hotel in ten minutes.” He hangs up.
I grind my teeth with the anger I feel right now. He did set me up, that bastard. “The gas station two blocks away. He hung up, but there’s no way he has time that quickly to get backup.”
“Whoever he’s working for is watching him,” Luke says. “You know they’re watching him.”
“Then thank God you and your team are watching me.”
He just stares at me a moment, and I’m sure we’re about to fight. Instead, he takes his phone and punches a button. “You got that, Blake?” he asks. A second later he hangs up and it’s clear that his phone is monitored, at least when it needs to be, because he says, “The team is getting into place. You need to walk. I’ll shadow you.”
I nod and reach for the door. He catches my arm and pulls me around to him. “I will not let you die.”
“Good,” I say. “I’d really like the chance to feel what it’s like for you not to hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Ana. I think the opposite is true.”
“I don’t hate you, either. Please, no matter what happens, please remember that.”
We stare at each other, seconds ticking by before we come together and kiss hard and fast. “I love you, too,” he murmurs. “Let’s get this over with.”
We both slide to our sides of the vehicle, a sense of finality to this that I do not like.
I pull a beanie from my jacket, put it on, and stuff my hair inside before I exit the vehicle, my primary weapon at my side, another in my boot, and in my jacket pocket. I’m aware that I could be followed by someone other than Luke, and I head to the side of a building, entering an alleyway, staying off the main walkways. I know Luke is behind me but I never hear him. I never see him, and I look. I have to look, just in case, there’s someone else there. When I bring the gas station into view, I scan the area, confident that I am not alone. Walker Security is a mighty force, and I have a team with me.
Two cars pull to the side of the building and there is safety in numbers. With an adrenaline rush, I walk across the driveway. Walking draws less attention than running. I walk between the two cars. At this point I’m right by the back of the store, but still at the side. I watch the people head to the front of the gas station. I ease around the corner and find Darius pacing. I watch him a moment, his nervous energy like a tennis ball being pinged between a racket and a wall.
I hate how exposed I am once I join him, but he has answers and I’m not the only one on the line. There’s a list and I don’t even know how long that list might be. I draw a breath and round the corner. The minute he sees me, he rushes toward me, catching my arm, his voice low, urgent. “I have to talk fast.” He shoves something in my pocket. “I didn’t want to be a part of this, but they threatened my sister. They’re powerful.”
“So you set me up to die? And what did you just put in my pocket?”
“They weren’t going to kill you. They wanted Lucifer. They’re looking for some package that they think he has.”
“They killed Jake. They were going to kill me. And what package?”
“I don’t know, but they offered me a million to help retrieve it.”
“Who is they?”
“I don’t know. But they’re going to call you. Answer.”
“You don’t have any idea?”
“All I know is there’s a powerful man named—”
He never finishes the sentence. He goes down, blood splattering all over me as he does. Darius is dead. Shot dead. I never have the chance to run. Lucifer is there immediately, crowding my body with his body, willing to die for me. He backs me around the corner, and gunfire erupts, most of which seems to be offering us coverage, but I can’t be sure. We run and run some more. We don’t stop at our car, it’s just too close. We’re a good mile away when we pause behind another hotel’s dumpster. We’re leaning there, breathing hard when my pocket rings.