Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“It means not everyone can talk about committing murder without having some type of fear of being caught, or worse, fear of it failing.”
“Do you really doubt we can do this?”
She shrugs, “I don’t doubt that you can do anything. I just wonder…he’s the sheriff. People will notice if he goes missing, and they’ll start asking questions.”
I give her a lazy smile and stand, adjusting the collar of my pressed white shirt so it lays the way I want. "Let them ask questions. Proof is what they need, and unless they can prove someone did something malicious, they have nothing.”
“I’m not a good liar, Sebastian.”
“I don’t need you to lie. Anyone who knows your father will know he had a list of enemies a mile long. It could be anyone. The likelihood of them sniffing around us is slim to none. Not with the money we have, and everyone knows money is power. The more money you have, the more control you have. Your father might be the sheriff, but that kind of power is superficial, otherwise known as authority. He’s replaceable. All I have to do is flash around enough cash, and all our problems will disappear. Those stupid enough to ask questions or dig deeper can be taken care of, too.”
"I can’t carry that kind of weight on my conscience.” She whispers. “Besides the one time, I don’t make a habit of murdering people.”
“I know, Little Prey, and I’m not asking you to carry that weight. Let me do it. Just know there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect those I love and care about, including murder.”
Elyse takes a sip of her coffee and then frowns, “Do you think there is another way? Something not involving death? Could we pay him off? Make him disappear?”
"I know you don’t want to think about it, and I understand why, but there isn’t any other way to remove him from our lives. Money isn’t a big enough motivator for him, and we both know he’ll never disappear. As long as he’s alive, we will have the threat of him hanging over our heads, and the thought of living like that…of letting you live like that…not fucking happening.”
She tugs her sleeves tighter over her knuckles. "What type of person does it make me, that even after all the things he’s done to me, all the hateful words he’s said, I still don’t want anything bad to happen to him?”
“It makes you human, baby. It makes you a good fucking person.”
She pauses for a moment, seeming to ponder a little harder. “And Tanya? What about her?”
I barely stifle the flinch her name brings out. "She'll get what's coming to her, too. Anything and anyone standing in the way of us having a future together is a threat I will extinguish."
“Then you have a plan, right?”
I give her a smile right as a soft knock sounds at the backdoor. Right on time.
“Come in.” I announce, and the entire crew funnels into the kitchen like marching ants.
Elyse looks at me, her eyes wide. “Did you know they were coming?”
“Yes. We decided it would be smarter to discuss our plans in person versus even a secure email. If anyone ever got hold of that kind of information, it would incriminate all of us.”
“I never even considered that.”
Bel comes stomping in, brushing away a few lingering snowflakes sticking to her coat. Drew is right behind her, followed by Lee and Aries.
Lee splits off and slumps into a chair at the table near the other end of the kitchen. Aries zips his coat, stuffs his hands in his pockets, and stays near the door. Drew, of course, follows Bel over to the counter when Bel climbs onto a stool next to Ely.
Turning, she pins me with a glare, "Let's do this so we can get back to regular programming.”
"Yes, this whole murder the sheriff business is really cutting into my day drinking," Lee quips, his body slumped down in the chair while he hangs his head over the back of it.
Drew spreads his hands out on the counter. "What's the plan?"
My brain has been going nonstop, the ideas bouncing around inside. I haven’t spoken to anyone about them, haven’t put them down on paper, haven’t done anything but considered all sides inside my own mind, and I think I’ve come up with something decent. Now to see if we can execute it.
I grab Ely's phone off the counter and wave it, the screen lighting up with a text.
"I’ve been thinking about this for hours, but before we move forward with any of it I want your opinions.” Everyone nods, so I continue, “Her father has been blowing up her phone since she missed their agreed upon meeting. At this point, I think our best option is to get him to the house, and take care of things here. We can tell him that since he took out his aggression on Lee, he didn’t stick to the agreement, so we’ve altered it a bit. Now we need him to bring Tanya’s police report with him, as additional security.”