Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Fuck, how drunk was he? “You alright, Adrien?”
He propped his chin on his closed fist and looked at me, suddenly having lines around his eyes and looking withered like a flower that had been chopped at the stem. “What do you want?”
“I came here to see if you’ve changed your mind about the business. I have to report to Oscar this week, and if I give him the answer he doesn’t want to hear, he’s coming for your head. Reconsider, Adrien.”
“Tell him to come. Like I give a fuck.”
“Adrien, your life is a lot more valuable than money—”
“Is it?” he asked incredulously. “I lost the one thing that mattered…so nothing matters. My own family hates me for what I did. My father doesn’t look at me the same anymore. Now that I’m free to fuck around all I want, there’s not a single woman I desire except for the one who doesn’t want me anymore.”
I almost pitied him. Almost. “Just because you and Fleur aren’t together anymore doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about you, Adrien. She doesn’t want you dead in an oil drum off the coast somewhere in the Atlantic.”
His eyes glazed over like he didn’t hear what I said. “Work is all I have, and I’m not giving it up.”
“Adrien—”
“I have nothing to live for. I love her with all my heart, but that doesn’t fucking matter because now she loves you.” He looked like he was on the verge of tears, about to cry in front of another man. That was how drunk he was. “I pleaded with her to give me another chance. Was about to get on my knees and fucking beg. And then she kicked my chest and cracked it in half and said she’s in love with you. So it’s over…it’s fucking over.”
I watched him writhe in pain, watched him fight back tears of weakness, but it was an out-of-body experience, my head floating in the clouds, my heart skipping beats several times in a row. A smile emerged on my lips no matter how hard I tried to fight it, an unstoppable smirk that reached all the way down into my chest. “She said that?”
He sank into the chair like he wanted to disappear into the cushions like melted butter. He stared at the blank TV screen without blinking as if he was reliving the horror of the memory behind his eyes. He was so drunk, there was no way he would remember this in the morning. If he were in his right state of mind, he wouldn’t have told me any of this, wouldn’t let me see him at his worst like I was his friend rather than his enemy. “Yes.”
I walked into the empty bar. It had closed an hour ago, so the counters had been wiped and the floor mopped.
Luca sat alone at a table, a drink in front of him that he’d made himself. He was texting when I walked in, and without pausing his message, he addressed me. “Bring me one while you’re up there.”
“You already have a drink.”
“Just do it, asshole.”
I smirked and made two drinks, a scotch on the rocks with a twist. I came back to the table and placed the glass next to his half-empty one.
Luca finished his message before he set the phone on the table. “Cameron doesn’t know shit, and Jeremy is a snitch and he still doesn’t know anything. I know they must run in circles with Godric and those fucking psychopaths.”
“And you’d be right.” I took a drink then licked my lips.
Luca stared at me for a hard second. “You talked to Godric?”
“He didn’t give me a name but confirmed what I suspected.”
“There’s gotta be something we can do to get your brother to talk.”
I took another drink.
“We hit him hard, torture him, and get that answer.”
“Luca, you know I’m not going to do that.”
“Why the fuck not?” he demanded. “Your nutsack is the one on the line.”
I took another drink, the glass almost empty already.
“Bastien.”
“I’m not gonna do that.”
“He knows who wants your head, and he ain’t saying shit,” he snapped. “He doesn’t give a damn about you.”
“But he won’t cross that line, and neither will I.”
He released a frustrated sigh as he dragged his hands down his face. “Now isn’t the time to be honorable.”
“My father deserved what he got. Not Godric.”
His fingers returned to the glass, and he looked out the window as he did his best to calm down. “What happened with your dad anyway?”
I ignored the question and let it die.
Luca didn’t repeat it. “Then what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know…”
“I’ll get him, Luca.”
“You should be a lot more worried about this, Bastien.”
I sat back in the chair and finished off the drink. Now I wished I’d made another and planned ahead like Luca.