Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
There was also the Louvre, but he was in enough trouble already. He didn’t need to battle the temptation of the Louvre at the same time.
At the closest metro entrance, he dipped underground and grabbed the first train. It didn’t matter where it was going. He needed to get out of Alexei’s neighborhood. That was the main priority. Snagging an open seat, he pulled out his phone and started a fresh message to his contact. He needed to make the exchange immediately. They couldn’t wait any longer.
With the message typed out, he tucked his phone away. There was no point in trying to send it while he was zipping along under the Paris streets. It was better to wait for when he was above ground and could get a steady signal.
Slumping down in his seat, he rubbed his hand over his face and tried to remember how to breathe again. This day, it was utterly ridiculous. A roller coaster. And normally he was a big fan of roller coasters. He loved thrills and excitement, but not the kind that involved guns.
When he’d spotted Alexei at the Gare du Nord, he’d known he was a dead man, but then he’d appeared in the alley like an angry avenging angel. For a heartbeat, he’d believed that Alexei was seriously pissed that someone was threatening his life. That thought was corrected when he’d pointed the dart gun at him. No, he was simply pissed that someone was trying to steal his contract.
Why had he ever thought that Alexei possessed even the tiniest bit of concern about him?
Because for just a moment, he’d gotten lost in Alexei’s beauty, captured by his special spark. His twitchy fingers had wanted to collect him. He’d needed to grab him and place him in a secret location so no one could take him away.
It was more than the man’s beauty. There was a light in his smile and a dark shadow in his eyes that reminded Soren too much of himself. He’d looked at Alexei across Kalman’s party and had wanted to keep him.
He couldn’t keep him. Fuck, he couldn’t be in the same room as him. It wasn’t safe.
But…would Alexei really kill him?
The man obviously had no problem pulling the trigger and ending a person’s life. And since the two assassins had been standing over him, threatening his life, Soren was grateful that Alexei hadn’t had any particular qualms in that exact moment.
Yet, if Alexei was ready to do anything to complete a job, why had he not done more to get the hard drive? From the moment Soren awoke in Alexei’s place, he’d kept a distance from him, had seemed reluctant to even touch him. How was he going to torture him for information if he didn’t want to touch him?
Was there even the tiniest chance that he cared for Soren?
Soren snorted and then looked around to see if anyone noticed. He’d been so lost in his thoughts, he’d forgotten he was even riding the metro. He shifted in his seat and prepared to get off at the next stop. He needed to get above ground to send his message.
Besides, even if Alexei gave a shit about him, did he want to stake his life on it?
Nope.
Big old nope on that one.
When the train stopped, he was off in the blink of an eye, weaving through the other passengers in the station before heading up. He stepped into daylight, blinking and looking around. His eye caught on a sign, and he cursed. He was over by the zoo. That was not close to the Eiffel Tower. It wasn’t that far, but he wasn’t walking distance away. But he didn’t think he was close to wherever he’d woken up, at least. He needed lots of distance between him and Alexei.
Grabbing his phone, he started walking past La Ménagerie. He fired off the message he’d prepared on the metro and pulled up a map of the area. It took only a moment to locate the Panthéon. That was a good, touristy spot. Sticking close to the zoo seemed like a bad idea. He didn’t want to give Alexei the option of feeding him to a lion if they ran across each other again.
He continued at a brisk pace, trying to appear to be a tourist—there was no way he looked like a local. Crowds were his best option for blending in, and right now there was a significant shortage of pedestrians around him. What the hell? Probably some weird thing like free ice cream day at the Centre Pompidou. Whatever. He’d get this done and then stay the hell out of France for a long, long time.
A beep from his phone had him nearly jumping out of his skin. He pulled up the message from the buyer to only find more of the same.