Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Where is he?” Kirill asks, his tone low and threatening.
“He?” Ana asks with fluttering lashes. She can pull off seduction like no one else, but she lacks the innocence she is trying to portray because I stole it from her years ago.
Kirill looks displeased but before I can bust our ruse more than I already have, a second and far more obvious door in Ghost’s office cracks open, and he enters carrying a washcloth and a crinkled shirt.
He freezes as if he’s stunned by Kirill’s presence. I don’t buy his act. He’s wearing the same expression now he wore when he told me he didn’t give a fuck about Katie.
He is full of shit.
“I wasn’t aware we had company.” He tugs on his shirt to hide the scars nicked over half of his body before he moves toward the couch Ana is splayed across. “I guess you’ll have to clean yourself up.” He tosses her the washcloth, his aim perfect when it lands on the apex of her thighs before he blocks her from Kirill’s view with his body. “Is there something you need? We’re mid-celebration.”
Kirill’s lips tug even higher before he mutters, “I was wondering if we should do a mutual celebration tomorrow.”
“You got something to celebrate?” Ghost snickers out, his tone almost mocking.
The brothers stand across from each other with nothing but hate projecting for several long seconds before Kirill finally gives in to the tension.
“Tests results came back. Katie is having a boy.” He steps closer to Ghost, his chest puffed out like a rooster. “Can you believe after all this time my plan finally worked?” He drinks in the scarred side of Ghost’s face as if amused by the carnage before muttering, “Figured I should include you in the celebrations since you made it happen.” He’s no longer suggesting they merge celebrations. He’s telling him that is what is happening. “Tomorrow at eight.” He slants so he can lock eyes with Ana over Ghost’s shoulder. “Wear something colorful. We don’t want anyone confused about the purities of the mothers-to-be.”
Ghost looks set to deck him, so you can imagine how badly I want to ram my fist into his face.
With a chin dip and mocking smirk, Kirill spins on his heels and exits Ghost’s office.
I enter it just as quickly. “What the fuck was that?” Too angry to rationalize who deserves my frustration, I utter out, “Were you in the bathroom the whole fucking time?”
Ghost shoots me a riled look before he forces my anger in another direction. “We’ve got a nark.” He tosses me his cell phone before he moves into the bathroom to close a secondary entrance. I’m not going to lie, even brimming with anger, his sneakiness is kind of a turn-on. I’ve often accused him of just rolling over and taking it up the ass for the past two years. His craftiness exposes I wasn’t on the money. “Someone heard you.” He bounces his eyes between Ana and me during that sentence. “And they knew enough to know she wasn’t with me.”
When he nudges his head to his phone in my hand, I drop my eyes to the screen. There is a message from an encrypted server. It states:
Unknown number:
If you want to know the truth, go to Ghost’s office now. They’re in there. Fucking. The male grunts don’t belong to Ana’s fiancé.
“What the fuck?” I drag my hand over my hair before following Ghost’s trek to his desk. “Who knows how you grunt?” I answer my question myself. “Before Katie arrived, too many whores to count, but none of them would side with Kirill. They hate him.”
When Ghost pffts me, Ana backs me up. “I agree with Alek. You think he’s the only one on your side, but that isn’t what I’ve been seeing the past month. You have more support than you realize and some you shouldn’t want.”
Ghost knows immediately where Ana’s suspicions lie. “Sofia—”
“Isn’t exactly an innocent here,” I interrupt, stealing Ghost’s wrath from Ana. “Some shit isn’t adding up, G, but you’re not looking at the evidence with the same eyes as everyone else. She’s tainted your view.”
“Because he fucked with her head. He ruined her!” I realize not all his outburst is to do with his sister when he upheaves the files on his desk before his hand scrubs the scarred side of his face. “Katie’s HCG levels are rising.” He drops his hand before blowing out a hot breath. “Dr. Marc said they shouldn’t be doing that since the samples we supplied her with were taken at the same time.” He looks as gutted as I feel for him when he murmurs out slowly, “He thinks she might actually be pregnant.”
With Ana too stunned to speak, I say, “Could it be yours?”
He shakes his head before straying his eyes to his underfloor safe. His addiction was once so strong, he would have never placed his brick of cocaine in any drawer he couldn’t immediately access. It hasn’t been moved from the floor safe in months.