Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“That”—the man is panting from running after me—“was a very stupid thing to do,” he growls in my ear. Grabbing my hair, he jerks my head back. “Fucking walk.”
He shoves me back toward the house. Caleb is on the porch standing next to another guy who is shaking his head. Caleb’s face is white, and he’s hunched over. Guilt wracks me instantly.
The guy marches me up the steps, and all the while Caleb glares at me. I mouth “sorry” at him just as I’m dragged into the lounge and forced to sit on the sofa.
“Someone grab me some rope,” the guy holding me barks.
A few minutes later, and I’m bound and gagged. Again.
Caleb is pacing in front of me, biting his nails whilst continually shaking his head. Shit. This is so not going to be good.
The blood washes from my hands, swirling down the drain. “Dumb fuck,” I say as I dry my palms on my shirt. “Should’ve known better than to bring a fucking person to me as collateral.”
I check the mirror to make sure there’s no blood on any of my clothes. I don’t want to walk into a bar looking like a psychopath. I smooth out the wrinkles in my shirt and leave the bathroom. On my way to the front, I find Richard still lying on the floor, groaning, his face dripping with blood. I stop next to him and nudge him with my boot. “You gonna do something stupid like that again, huh?”
A low moan bubbles from his bleeding lips.
“Answer me!”
“No.”
I nod and walk to the door. “You’re lucky you’re my cousin. That dumb stunt would have cost anyone else their life. When you pull your balls outta your throat go do your fucking job the way you're supposed to for once.”
The lull from the bar fades into the background. My head is swimming from what Marney just said.
“What?” I pause, letting his words really set in. “What?”
“I said”—he leans over his beer, his eyes cutting to the side like he’s afraid someone will overhear us—“I think you’ve been set up.”
I twist the drink in my hand, wiping the condensation from the smooth side as I stare down into the near-empty glass.
“This industry’s not as tight as people like to make it out to be. You can’t trust anyone.”
I really just want him to shut up. I fucked up. Somehow, I missed something when checking Euan to make sure he was safe to bet with.
“You’re sure he’s related to him?” I ask.
Marney nods and brings his glass to his thinning lips. He grabs a fistful of cocktail nuts and crams them inside his cheek, crunching them for a few seconds. He taps his finger over the paper he’s brought with him and swallows. “Records don’t lie.”
I glance down at the sheet and read over the names. How the hell did I miss that Euan is Joe Campbell’s nephew? Out of all the damned people for me to miss something on, it would be someone related to Joe.
“Ah,” Marney says as he swipes the paper from the table, folding it and shoving it in his shirt pocket. “Now, you know how long it took for me to dig this shit up? That family changes names and records like a whore changes men. Anonymity is the best way to stay under the radar. You’d only have found it if you were looking for this relationship, then it still would’ve taken you a week to figure it out.”
I hang my head, scratching my fingers over my scalp as I stare at the worn bar top. The realization that that girl has possibly set me up crawls all over me. She has crossed a line that leaves me no choice but to take her life.
Marney clears his throat, tips his drink back, then slams the glass down on the counter. “Now, whether the girl knows anything is another question. Joe’s smart. I wouldn’t doubt if he talked the stupid-ass prep into making a bad bet with your group and then suggested he offer the girl as ransom, promising to wire him the money.” He shoves another handful of nuts into his mouth. “But you can’t be too careful. You’re being hunted one way or the other.”
I’m so disgusted all I can do is nod. I stare over the top of Marney’s head, blanking out for a second. “Yeah, I know. I guess I should've just killed Joe instead of trying to make him suffer.”
Marney shrugs. “Hell, nothing saying you can’t still kill the bastard.”
I know I could kill him. I could try, but Joe is sneaky and so it seems he already has one up on me. I know he’s beefed up his personal security since the entire thing with his wife, so there’s no way I could get close enough to him without a bullet going through my own skull...and he’s already got someone inside my fucking house.