Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Someone has your fucking mother, Acacia, and if they’re layin’ hands on you, too, then it’s serious.”
“Let’s focus on trying to figure out how to stop this place unraveling and then we can work out where the fuck she has gone.”
“I’ve got everything handled; nothin’ is going to unravel. There are a lot of people that want to lay eyes on her, and there is only so long I can hold that off.”
Don’t I know it.
“Have you got any idea where she went?” I question, meeting his gaze.
“Last time I saw her, she was goin’ to do an exchange. Never came back. I’ve gone over it a million fuckin’ times, and there is nothin’ to indicate that she met harm.”
Pursing my lips, I mutter, “People are good at hiding things. I would go back. Bring whoever she did the exchange with in and get some answers.”
“You don’t think I’ve done that?” he snarls, baring his teeth like a wild animal.
“Well, if that person is still alive, you didn’t do it well enough.”
His fists are clenched now, but I don’t bother giving him a moment more as I begin searching through my mother’s laptop, ensuring there is nothing that can be traced on it. I had already checked, before Mex took me, but I want to be certain nothing else has come in.
“Find her,” Death warns.
I look up at him. “Or what? What are you going to do?”
He steps forward, but I straighten, my arms crossing over my chest.
“If anything happens to her ...”
I roll my eyes, shaking my head. “Leave, Death.”
“I mean it, Acacia. You better get me some answers soon.”
I flip him the bird, because fuck him. I’m not here to cave under his pathetic attempt at pressure. With a frustrated growl, he leaves the room. I flop down into the chair, exhaling and running my hands through my hair.
This is getting messy, and I need to figure it out soon or it’ll all blow up in my face.
Dropping my head onto the desk, I groan loudly.
Fuck.
How the hell do I untangle this?
I KNOW HE’LL FIND ME here.
It’s not unknown that I am often seen around these parts.
If he has done any research on me, he’ll know where I generally hide out. I’m relying on the fact that he has done said research, because I don’t have time to make this harder than it already needs to be. This time, though, I won’t be doing the amazing escape. I’m disappointed, to be honest, because it really was an incredible plan, and now I have to backtrack and let him take me hostage once more.
Nodding at the bartender in the seedy underground club I’m in, he immediately gets me a drink.
He doesn’t ask what I want.
He already knows.
I take the straight vodka and shoot it back; the liquid burns my throat as I glance around the room. This place is not ideal, and most people would find it so unappealing they would never come back, but for me, it’s something that has become almost like a comfort in my years. It’s located in an underground fighting ring, one of many, and when there aren’t fights on, it’s open as a bar.
It’s old, rundown, and it smells quite bad.
It’s probably rarely cleaned.
I would never dare pee in the toilets here.
The rickety bar stool I’m sitting on has probably seen more germs than a doctor.
Either way, I feel weirdly safe here.
“It has been a while since you’ve been in.”
The bartender, whose name is Trev, is as familiar to me as Jayme.
He’s always been here, and even though now he must be in his seventies, he still shows up every damned day for this crap heap.
I respect that.
“Life has been rather chaotic,” I tell him.
“Heard your mom is missing.”
I exhale. “Yep.”
“Bound to happen eventually – even the strongest leader gets taken down.”
He ain’t wrong.
“The problem with that is–” I take another shot of vodka “–she leaves a hell of a mess behind and there are far too many people who will only do business with her. Makes it hard for me to fix the situation.”
“You got Death, he can deal with those people until she returns.”
“Right,” I murmur.
Trev goes to serve another customer, and I curl my hands around the glass and slide it closer to me, staring down at the clear liquid.
“You’re not very good at hiding.”
There he is.
I almost smile because it’s so well predicted I’m actually proud of myself.
Looking up, I see Mex standing at the bar, staring down at me with those intense eyes. God he’s gorgeous. It’s not going to be entirely horrible being his captive for a little while.
“Who says I’m hiding?” I challenge.
“You had to know I was going to track you down again.”
Shrugging, I take another sip of vodka. “I figured.”
“Your escape was impressive, I’ll give you that.”