Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Teeth gritted, she mouthed, “ARCHER WOULDN’T LIKE THIS. LET. THE. FUCK. GO. OF. ME… NOW.” Yeah, you let the cat out of the bag that he killed his own man over me. Now, I have leverage.
He hesitated for a moment, then tossed her arm away as if it were part of a big pile of stinking trash. Then, she marched back inside the building and made a beeline for the cutlery box, knowing he was close behind, but far enough where she could perhaps get what she needed, and sink a knife blade deep in his throat. End him forever.
I can do it! I’ve never killed before, but I’ve come close! I’ve been at death’s door… I’ve seen so much, it’s incredible that I’m not dead. By the time he knows what’s going on, it’ll be too late to grab his gun. I will ram it in him DEEP! KILL HIM AND RUN!
Chasity…
I know Archer will do good on his promise if I try to escape! I know he’ll kill her if I do this… It won’t be worth it…
She looked down into the box, the side with all the knives calling to her, begging her to unwrap one, the blade new and pristine. She shuddered with a cold chill and mourned the brief happiness she entertained, the chance she was letting slip away. She relished the idea of piercing his jugular, him falling in a heap on the floor, and people screaming and running away while she stood there for just a second, admiring her work, the blade dripping.
She savored the idea of Archer finding out about how she’d killed his right-hand man. It would be the ultimate revenge… but again… Chasity. She’d be in the news again for all the wrong reasons, too. This time, murder. She briefly closed her eyes, took a step back from the box, and said her farewells to the executives in attendance. She shook a few hands, then promised the owner to send over more photos for their company online newsletter and website—the usual conversation. Billy stood beside her now as she left back out the front door and without a word, he ushered her back into his car, then slipped a pair of handcuffs on her.
They rode in silence. No radio. No banter. No idle or very real threats. She sat in the backseat with her thoughts. They were too big, sitting on top of her and crushing her hopes and dreams. Smothering her faith. Stealing her breath and zest for life. They weighed a million pounds, sat on her heart, and her stomach churned and rumbled, tensed with tight knots that no one but God could untie.
Once they arrived at James’ home, he pulled up to the front of the house, cut the engine and jerked around to smirk at her, as if a new, oddly satisfying and diabolic idea had popped into his head.
“Nobody but me ’nd James knows you’re here. Oh, and Lou … but Lou doesn’t know who you really are… your profession and where ya came from. Tone is dead because of you. James should hate you as much as me, but for some reason, he doesn’t. He hates you fucking reporters and media people… I don’t know what makes you so special.” His lips flattened against his face, clearly dismayed. “What do you think James would do if I told him you tried to escape? Who’d he believe? Me or you?” His eyes lit up like stars in the sky.
She casually looked out the window, then turned back in his direction.
“He’d probably believe you.”
“You’re damn right he would. He and I have an iron-clad friendship.” The man’s complexion deepened, as if just evoking Archer’s name gave him feelings of euphoria. “I think I’ll tell him just that, that you tried to get away. I was hoping you would attempt it, or scream out for help, or maybe pick up a dish and try to throw it at me before bolting. Just one false move so I can blow a hole in your fucking face is what I kept tellin’ myself… but ya didn’t. So disappointing, especially since you like to be so fucking scrappy. If I tell James ya tried to ditch me, I’d at least get a lil’ justice…so he can beat you within an inch of your fucking life.” He sneered.
“Well, Billy, folks with iron-clad friendships shouldn’t lie to one another just to get their way, and secondly, I think under normal circumstances, you’d be right. If you told him that story, he probably would try to hurt me, make me pay, but since I owe him something, I believe he’d want me in top, pristine condition so that I can deliver. Putting a hole in me, as you say, would make that impossible.”
Her handcuffs jangled as she crossed her arms. The smirk on his greasy face melted like fat over high heat.