Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
The effects of this little speech are immediate. His lips turn blue. I don’t even think he sees me. Not through those glassy eyes.
If only you were honest. You wouldn’t be on a first-class trip to Hell.
“M…my…s-sss…”
Consider my curiosity piqued. What about his sister? The secrecy shrouding her intrigues me. Why will they come for her?
Actually, better question…
“Who?”
His eyes shut. At this point, he’s almost limp in my hands.
My jaw tightens.
“What did you do, Roman?” I shake him. Fucking hell. Useless in life and in death, it seems. “Don’t you dare die on me.”
Yes, dying is inevitable, especially his death. But the fucking oaf is not allowed to pass until I get the information I need. Why would someone want to kill his sister? And how do they know of her when I didn’t?
When his eyes remain shut, I press two fingers to his artery. More blood flows over my hand. He has enough holes in him to sink the Titanic. And still, there’s a pulse. Faint but present.
The look he delivers me once his eyes open—dazed and utterly confused—is one I’m familiar with. After all, in its usual state, his body has more drugs in it than a pharmacy.
Roman looks like he’s already dead. Like his soul has left his body, and if I inquire about the afterlife, I can trust whatever answer he gives me. Well, as much as I can trust anything that leaves Roman Lennox’s mouth.
Case in point: the existence of his supposed sister.
For all I know, he’s sending me on a wild goose chase. One last fuck you before he croaks. Or maybe he’s turned a leaf. Odd timing, but who knows? We might all be redeemable in the face of death.
Doubtful.
I fist his shirt. “What did you do?”
Goddammit. He’s fading again. I’m not sure how much time he has left.
I shake him, slapping him awake. “Speak.”
His hand barely manages to latch on to mine. “Promise me…”
My eyes narrow. “Promise you what?”
At first, he doesn’t answer. His eyes are still closed. I’m about to check his pulse again when his faint breathing tickles my ears.
His throat bobs, his hold on me tightening. “Promise me you’ll protect my sister.”
The absolute nerve of this man.
Still, I can’t help but wonder…
“Why do I need to protect her, Roman?”
He swallows, eyes blinking several times. “Th-They want s-something.”
“What do they want?”
“Some…thing she h-has.”
I jerk my hand out of his grip and knead my temple. A headache is building, just in time for my thinning patience to take over. “You need to tell me what they want. Otherwise, I can’t promise to protect her.”
It’s obvious that every word hurts, but that doesn’t stop Roman. “Please…. p-promise me.”
“Roman—”
“No.” A burst of energy pulses through him. His eyes become focused for the first time since he started dying in my arms. “They will kill her. Save her.”
I shake my head again.
His hand latches around my arm once more, tightening with a strength he shouldn’t possess at this point. “You have to.”
I don’t answer. Just peer down at the man I once trusted. He is living (okay, dying) proof that you can’t trust anyone but yourself. Secrets and lies always lurk beneath the surface.
“Sasha doesn’t deserve it.”
Sasha.
It’s his first time speaking her name. I roll it in my head, over and over. Who is she? What does she look like? So many questions. Interest shouldn’t be building in me. Neither should the odd urge to seek her out.
Will I help her? To be determined.
“I’m sorry.” Roman’s apology is so soft, I wouldn’t hear it anywhere else. But in the harsh quiet of the vacuous warehouse, it’s as loud as a plane’s roar.
Finally, I look at him. Really look at him. Tongue lolling past his lips, a pool of blood sprawled beneath him, and eyes Bambi-wide, he resembles a mortally wounded Disney cartoon.
Pathetic.
I glance at my men. All of them lined up and ready for my order. Whatever the order will be. I might not trust them with some secrets, but I know they’ll follow me. I pay too well for them not to.
With a nod, they know our time here is ending.
I turn back to Roman. “I’ll find Sasha.”
“Y-you’ll protect her?”
“Yes, and unlike some people, I don’t break promises.” The bite in my voice is evident.
He grimaces but doesn’t address his betrayal. Doubt he has the energy to. “Th-thank you—” A groan interrupts his apology. Even in death, he pisses me off. More blood gushes past his blue lips. “Gideon.”
A tear runs down his cheek.
Death, the fickle beast, is slow to claim him.
I set him down.
This will be my last act of mercy.
One Roman Lennox does not deserve.
1
GIDEON
The shocker of the night comes in the form of an actual dump. Also known as Sasha Lennox’s home.
“Are you sure this is the place?”
“Yeah, boss, I’m not a complete idiot,” Tony huffs through the line.