Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
20
ENZO
“They’d better be fucking careful with that thing.” Prince is none too happy, glaring out the windshield at the pair of men assigned to watch the Alvarez compound this morning. They weren’t able to conceal their childlike glee at having such an expensive toy to play with, though they promised to take care of it. “I’ve kind of become attached.”
This again. He acts like the damn thing is an extension of his body. “I’ll buy you ten new drones, for God’s sake. What’s the big deal about a drone?”
“It’s mine.” He leaves it there, as simple as that. And the fact is, I can’t pretend I don’t relate. What’s mine is mine. All the substitutes in the world won’t make up for it.
It’s no surprise when my thoughts turn to Alicia. “Christ, I didn’t think we would be out this long.” The sun is on the rise as we make the drive back to the townhouse, and already traffic is getting heavier. So many worker bees on their way to the hive. As always, I’m grateful to have avoided that drudgery.
“I’m not the one who refused to tear himself away.” Prince cuts himself off with a yawn before adding, “I was ready to go home.”
“You sure I shouldn’t be the one driving?” I ask when he rubs a fist over one eye.
“I’m fine. Though I could use some coffee.” He flips on the signal like he wants to take the upcoming exit, where there’s a mall surrounded by fast-food shops.
“There’s coffee at the house.”
“It’s never as good, and I’m hungry now. With this traffic—”
“Which is more reason to keep going. I don’t feel like sitting twenty minutes in a drive-thru, then hitting even heavier traffic after that.”
“Fine, fine. But I would like to state again for the record that you’re the one who couldn’t bring himself to leave hours ago.”
“And you were the one who was so excited when I suggested we charge the drone in the car.” I pick up the cable, still plugged into the dashboard. “You didn’t want to stop playing with your toy. And it isn’t like we didn’t stop off for a break.” The car still smells like cheeseburgers and fries, an aroma I enjoyed at the time but now turns my stomach slightly.
He grumbles but remains on the road. I can only be grateful he isn’t offering more of an argument. I’m not in the mood, not that I would be normally, but especially not after hours spent in the car, just the two of us.
He’s right. I didn’t want to leave, and as soon as I looked up the drone’s model number and found how easy it would be to charge it in the car, I leaped at the idea of extending our stakeout. We’re no further along than we were hours ago. It was a waste of time.
Though thanks to the drone, I now have a clear image in my head of the compound. Entrances, surrounding structures, and roughly how many guards Josef has out there at night. That information could come in handy at some point. In our world, information is priceless.
“What’s the hurry to get home?” Prince mutters. Clearly, he isn’t over being denied his latte or whatever the fuck he wanted.
“For starters, it’s home?” I offer. “Where I can take a shower, change my clothes, and not feel so rumpled and soiled? Isn’t that enough? And since when do you question my decisions?”
“I was only asking.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t sulk. If it makes you feel better, go get whatever you want after you drop me off. What I want more than anything now is my bed, after showering.”
All it takes is the slightest snort from him—so soft as to be nearly inaudible.
“What?” I snap.
“Nothing.”
I’m going to let it go. It’s what a leader does, and that’s who I am now. I can’t let him get under my skin. I have to be above that. No matter how much I want to shoot him sometimes.
The sight of the familiar development is a relief after more than an hour on the road and ten hours spent staking out Alvarez. But it isn’t a shower or my bed at the forefront of my mind. It’s her. I hate how much I long to be with her now. After all these hours, I want nothing more than to touch her. To smell her—she’s a far cry from old cheeseburger wrappers. If things were different, I would crawl into bed beside her and order her not to get up, even if it was time to get her day started. I would hold her and forget everything else because that’s the sort of relief she would provide. It’s what I need more than anything to forget for a little while.
It takes conscious effort to keep from rushing out of the car and into the house. Prince takes the car, determined to spend too much money on an overpriced coffee that isn’t nearly as good as anything we could get back home. I leave him to it, focused on one thing only.