Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“Sherman Lee is dead?” Calvin asks. “Really? He was just in last week.”
“I liked that dude,” Kurt adds. “I mean, he could be cranky, but he was under a lot of pressure at work, and he has an ex-wife who’s a real bitch.”
“How do you know that? I ask.
“He told me,” Kurt says. “One day he was acting like a jerk but he ended up apologizing. He told me he and his ex had a fight that left him on edge. They had some business investments together, so had to communicate from time to time. But that dude remembered all about my mother.”
“So you saw him when you returned?” I ask.
“Yeah. My first day back was yesterday morning. After Bonnie called in sick again, Calvin called me all desperate, and my mom is much better. I was coming back anyway. Holy hell. I feel kind of shell-shocked. You sure it’s him?”
That is a real question. He was in pieces but then again, I saw the head. It was Sherman. “Yes,” I say.
Calvin motions to Ted who joins. “Sherman Lee is dead.”
“I don’t know who he is.”
“That dude who wore three-piece suits and glasses,” Kurt says. “He always had a MacBook with him.”
Ted shakes his head. “Still don’t know him.”
“Yeah, well, he was an early-morning guy,” Calvin says. “You work nights most of the time.”
“Is there anyone who interacted with Sherman this past week?” I ask.
“I mean Cathy was here,” Kurt says. “She’s here every morning, but Cathy didn’t kill anyone. I’d bet my life on it.”
“I don’t think this is the time for that kind of frivolous bet.”
Kurt rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t being literal, Ted.”
“Did they talk?” I ask because I’m beyond interested in how Cathy ties into all of this.
Kurt gives a shake of his head. “No. I don’t remember them talking at all. I don’t know if they have ever talked. Sherman stayed to himself.”
A rush of people enters the diner and my phone buzzes with yet another text. I glance at the screen to find a message from Kane: I’m headed to the apartment. I’m going to finish my work from there.
In other words, the urge to kill his uncle remains powerful.
I need some time in Purgatory anyway. I’ll meet him there. Though I’m not sure I’m the one to talk him out of killing Miguel.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I walk into the apartment to find Kane nowhere in view, but a glance up the stairs, and there’s a light on in our bedroom.
Hurrying up, I step into the doorway as he exits the bathroom with a bag on his shoulder. He’s also no longer in his suit. He’s in jeans and a T-shirt. “What is this?” I ask.
He tosses the bag onto the bed. “I’m going to Mexico.”
“First, that’s a far cry from I’m finishing my work at home. And from experience in the FBI and being in love with you for what feels like most of my adult life, nothing good happens in Mexico.”
We meet up at the end of the bed and just stand there staring at each other. “What is this, Kane?” I press, a clawing sensation in my gut.
“I promised you no more secrets but I’m going to ask you, do you really want to know the truth?”
It’s a moment for me and Kane, a moment I once thought would never happen but here we are, beyond the altar at the point of what is almost truth or dare. Because honesty between us is something cold and brutal, and more real than what most people will ever know in their lifetime. And he’s offering me a choice—ignorance, and bliss or the cold, hard truth.
I choose the truth. “Tell me.”
“Miguel dies tonight and I have to be the one to pull the trigger. It’s not about murder, Lilah. It’s about survival. If we are the weaker link, we are as good as dead. That’s how the cartel works.”
In the past, Kane spoke of the happenings related to the cartel, as if he were fully removed. Not tonight. “And then what?”
“Laslo will take over but they’ll all know what happens if he crosses me, and so will he.”
“Take Kit. You trust Kit. I trust Kit.”
“That’s it? No objections?”
“I wanted to kill him last night, Kane. Why would I object?”
“Because of the role it puts me in with the cartel.”
“You’ve always had that role. We try to pretend at times that you don’t, but we both know you do, and you do because it’s necessary to protect us from the Society. It is what it is, and I think denial has made us weaker. Maybe it’s why Miguel thought he could intimidate us. Take Kit.”
“Kit stays with you. I’m taking Enrique. Your father is not happy. He’s whining like a little bitch but he’ll have to deal with it.”