Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I don’t smoke, of course, but I did bring a few cigarillos. I nod to Elmo, who’s in the next room. He rises and follows me out.
“Everything okay, Mr. Gallo?” Elmo asks.
I look around. “May we speak freely here?”
He frowns. “There are cameras here. But if we walk away from the house, they shouldn’t be able to capture any sound.”
I nod, and we move away as I light my cigarillo. I inhale, letting the smoke float over my tongue.
“She thinks I want to bed her.”
Elmo doesn’t look overly surprised.
Why would he be? He’s been working for Mario for years. He knows the drill.
“I don’t understand it,” I say. “If Agudelo wants to give me the gift of a woman, why not hire a professional? He’s pimping out his own daughter?”
Elmo presses his lips together. “In his defense, she’s gorgeous. Probably way better-looking than most professionals.”
Seriously? My opinion of Elmo just went down several notches. “I’m sure he could find the most beautiful women in Colombia to be of service,” I say. “No, Elmo. There’s something else at work here. Something much more sinister.”
“You think so?”
I nod, taking another drag on my cigarillo.
“She seems fearful. That if I don’t let her entertain me, she’ll get in trouble. Be punished.”
Elmo chuckles darkly. “She probably didn’t even entertain the idea that you might turn her down. I mean, look at her.”
“She’s not eighteen yet, Elmo. She’s a child.”
“Oh? I would have put her at twenty-one or twenty-two. Either way, age of consent here is only fourteen.”
Christ, does everyone check the rules to see if they can fuck a teenager before heading to a foreign country? My opinion of Elmo slides down another few notches.
“My information said she was eleven. Can you believe that?”
“Hmm,” he says, “I see what you mean. Something else is going on.”
“Yes. She spoke freely about offering herself to me. I’m pretty sure the whole place is bugged.”
“It is.” Elmo says. “I’ve been subtly casing things. Every room is bugged with video and audio.”
I nod. “That’s no less than I expected.”
I look around, and a moment later, Daniela is outside, joining us. She’s still beautiful, but she looks a little deflated compared to before. There’s an uneasiness in her eyes, and I catch the slightest trembling in her lower lip.
“Great,” I mutter to Elmo. “Here she comes.”
My bodyguard looks at her. “She is a beauty.”
“Unfortunately, I’m only interested in one beauty. And it’s not her.”
Elmo subtly nods. Then he turns to her. “Is there something you need, Señorita Agudelo?”
“Yes,” she says. “I need to speak to Señor Gallo. In private.”
13
RAVEN
Idon’t reply to my brother. What is there to say?
He’s most likely right.
“Everything that you need is here,” Falcon continues. “Plenty of food. Like I told you, I brought in a couple weeks’ worth of fresh food. If you’re here for longer than that, you can get into the nonperishable items.”
I let out a huff of air. “And like I told you, I’m not going to be gone any longer than that. I will be at that gala.”
He doesn’t reply.
“That’s nonnegotiable,” I say. “Jared can be there. Plus you and Leif.… Figure it all out. Figure out how to get me safely to that gala, because I will be going. If you’re not here to take me, someone else will be.”
Falcon lifts his eyebrows at me.
“What about our father? How do you think he’ll feel that you’ve got his daughter imprisoned here?”
“He’s all for it, of course,” Falcon says. “Nothing is more important to Dad than your safety. All of his children’s safety.”
“Does he know I’m here?”
“If he asks, which he probably won’t, I will tell him that you’re safe.”
I bite my lip. “Oh my God. Dad doesn’t know about this place?”
“Only Hawk and I know about this place. And Leif. And of course Savannah and Vinnie. And now you and Jared.”
“Eagle doesn’t know?”
“You know I love our littlest brother as much as you do,” Falcon says, “but he hasn’t been the most trustworthy person.”
I bite my lower lip. Eagle’s my baby. He’s always been my baby. But Falcon is right. He’s made some stupid-ass decisions, and now, something else is going on with him. Something that apparently involves Leif’s sister, Scarlett Ramsey. No one is forthcoming about it.
“I see you’re not disagreeing with me,” Falcon says.
“No, no.”
“Is there anything else you need before I go?”
“Are you kidding?” I look around. “This place is self-explanatory.”
“I’ll have eyes on you at all times.”
“No.” I nervously eye a security camera in the corner. “I don’t want someone surveilling me while I’m sleeping or in the shower.”
“No, of course not. But I’ll have eyes on the place. I’ll know if anyone comes or goes. Jared has been briefed on everything about the house. No one will know you’re here.”
“What if someone saw us drive up?”