Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“He killed my baby and stole four years of my life so I absolutely want and need to be part of his downfall.”
“Okay. He has company and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing, but I’m here and I’ll be watching like a hawk.”
“Stop worrying about me. I’ll be fine.”
I sat for a minute longer, taking deep breaths, then I turned to Max and smiled. “It’s showtime.”
Max nodded, but did not smile. I knew he wasn’t totally happy with my involvement in his revenge plans, but as I told him this decision was not his to take. Clutching the flash drive in my hand I got out of the car. I closed the door and suddenly I felt flustered and nervous. Maybe it was Max’s anxiety that got to me or maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a double spy, but I felt like a nervous wreck. Ignoring the voice screaming for me to get back into the safety of Max’s car I literally ran into the restaurant.
I almost screamed when I barreled into Robert in the foyer. His eyes flashed at me. All I could think of was that it was a good thing I had entered when I did. Otherwise, he would have seen me getting out of Max’s car. And that would have been a dead giveaway.
He scowled at me. “I was beginning to get worried. You’re never late. If anything, you’re always the one waiting for me.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, surprised by how impatient he seemed to be.
He took me by the elbow and unceremoniously steered me towards a booth in the corner. I felt his fingers bite into my flesh as we walked quickly. I could feel tension emanating from him in waves. Gone was the suave, sophisticated man of our previous meetings. And in his place was a tightly wound and tense man. As Max had warned there were others at the table – four men to be exact. Something about the men bothered me. They seemed cold and watchful. My heart began to pound. I did not like the look of them or my situation. My head swung around to look at Robert.
“I wasn’t expecting company.”
He smiled tightly. “Call it a staff meeting. As you’re now a member of my staff, do take a seat.”
Without ceremony, he pushed me into the booth ahead of him, effectively sandwiching me between himself and another man.
“Do you have what these dimwits have failed to find?”
I looked around at the table at the surly expressions which followed Robert’s insult. I opened my hand to reveal the flash drive. He smiled coldly and looked around.
“It seems I should have hired pussy from the get-go instead of you dicks and the job would have been done long ago. Maybe I wouldn’t be losing clients to that asshole faster than a whore opens her legs.”
Something was very wrong. I shot to my feet. “I’d like to go please.”
Robert grabbed my hand and tugged me back down. “Not so fast, sweet cheeks. We’re going to check the information on your drive and make sure it’s legit. Let’s see if it’s the real thing or more of the rubbish he’s been feeding me until now. If I wasn’t sure I have my tracks covered I’d be tempted to think you’re all double-crossing me and working for him behind my back.”
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead. “I want to leave. I don’t like the vibe here.”
“Let her go, Robert.” The man to my right spoke.
“No fucking way. I want to make sure this is legit. Because if it isn’t,” he fixed me with a glare, “she’s going to have to explain herself, just like you’ll all have to explain yourselves. For the money I’ve spent on the sorry lot of you, at the very least, I should get something of use.”
I sank back in silence, not daring to look at the others directly. A furtive glance here and there showed they were just as nervous as I was. We all held a collective breath as one of the men, obviously an expert in the matter, inserted the flash drive into his laptop. I felt as though my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Was Max nearby as he had promised he would be? I was about to look around when the man suddenly slammed his laptop shut and shouted. “Fuck, it’s malware. That will corrupt your whole system.”
Robert moved so fast I didn’t see it coming, let alone have time to react. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist in a vice-like grip. “You fucking worthless, lying bitch! You’ve set me up, haven’t you?”
I looked at him in a shocked panic. I’d never seen Robert like this before. He was like a stark raving madman. His eyes bulged and a big angry vein throbbed wildly in his temple.