Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
“When the hell did they get there?”
“I don’t think that’s what we should be worrying about right now. It’s who they brought with them.”
“Who?”
“I’m as much in the dark there as you are, but I get the feeling that this is why the island went dark. They brought someone in; I’ll put bank on it.”
“So you’re telling me that Mengele is giving orders to retired murderers now?”
“Not everyone in the mob is a murderer Lyon.”
“My ass. Find out what the hell is going on, and for the love of fuck, don’t let Flanagan know.”
“Don’t let Flanagan know what?”
“Well fuck!” His eyes went immediately to the screen, which would be hard to miss since it took up half the damn wall because Mancini have issues.
“What the fuck are they doing there? I should’ve known. Whenever she goes rogue, they’re around. What the hell is it this time?”
“Look at it this way; now we know why she hung around L.A. so long. She must’ve handed off someone to them to take back to the island, but who?”
***
*Andrews*
Why the hell can’t I get out of L.A.? It’s not lost on me the irony that I’d spent my whole life trying to make it out here without any luck, and now I can’t wait to put this place behind me. I should never have gotten involved with these people. Now was not the time for second-guessing myself, though; I needed to find a way out of here.
It’s not like I could just hitch a ride; everyone knows my face, something I would’ve relished before, but now it has put me in a bind. I haven’t bathed in days, and I’m starting to stink; my stomach has been rumbling since my last meal two days ago, and I have not one penny to my name.
I was too afraid to call my wife again because the last time I did, I could swear there was someone else listening in, and that scared me more than the prospect of never becoming famous. My stupid daughter, this was all her fault. She had one job to do and failed miserably.
I still don’t understand how it happened. We kept the kid drugged up and had all but served him to her on a silver platter. All the money I wasted on plastic surgery and paying my way into places I would never have been allowed all so she could get close to Ryder Sumner has been in vain. I wish I had that money now.
I’d gone to Mary because I had no other choice, but I knew from the way she reacted to my presence and the fallout from the reporters outside her door that things had gone bad. Janie had said some things in front of the camera that I knew spelled the end, and so I ran. I didn’t even have time to steal anything, which was my plan all along.
I can’t turn to anyone in the church because that would show my hand and my position. There might still be a way out of this, so there was no way I was going to let anyone see me in this lowly state. It would be a bad memory when I was back on top again.
Yes, I should think positively; there’s still a chance we could turn this thing around. My kid may be stupid, but she’s got one thing going for her. Her obsession with Ryder isn’t just going to go away. If she could hang in there, she might still stand a chance. The magic woman, yes, she does good work. But she’d need to be paid.
I was starting to feel deflated again at the thought of all that would have to be done. But first, I need to get out of here. I’d found a spot in skid row, hiding out among the city’s derelicts and hating myself for having come to this. It was time to move on, though, before someone recognized me. I’ve already stayed here too long.
I kept my head down as I walked down the once-gilded streets. These are the places that men like Bogart and Stewart walked in their day. The old Hollywood elite would turn over in their graves if they could see what had become of this place now.
A home for drug addicts and the dregs of society, and now I was one of them. No, no, no, it can’t end like this. Once my career bombed, I put everything into my kid and this marriage. It was supposed to be my way back into the circles that I had always been left out of.
For once, I was going to be better than my sister, that bitch that refused to help me after she made it. But where is she now? Facing charges and a long stretch in prison. At least I had beaten her there. I was still a free man.