Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Relax. How bad can it be? Jasmine is naked and next to me safe. Fuck everyone else.
“Go ahead,” I said.
“A woman was killed last night. The police found a young black prostitute in front of last night’s building. We checked in with our sources in London police. Got a chance to get the report and there was something startling about it.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We wouldn’t have bothered you with this unfortunate news, but the corpse’s description in the police report is just like Jack the Ripper’s first victim.”
I considered the entries in Benny’s journal. “She had two slices to the neck and jagged wounds on both sides of her stomach?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So we can assume that Benny is still alive?”
“Yes, sir. We never found his body.”
“Okay. Let’s meet in an hour to decide some possible strategies. I want to end this.”
“Yes, sir.”
I hung up, set my phone on the night stand, and turned around.
Jasmine’s eyes were open. Fear crept around her lids. “Benny is still alive?”
“I’m sorry—”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. You’ve done everything, more than enough.” She sat up and hugged me. “We’re in this together. What do you think we should do?”
“You’re not going to be a part of this. You can do whatever else you want. Feel free to lay in this bed for as long as you want. Shop. Dance. Eat. I’ll have people bringing in anything you desire. Let me handle this.”
“No. Both of our problems have been trying to do everything on our own. This time, we get rid of Benny together.”
“Together?” My stomach knotted with tension. “I’m not too excited about that.”
“Too bad.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I wanted to point out that she’d lost her brother to this sick man, but I couldn’t remind her of that tragedy, so I gave up the fight and nodded. “Okay. Do you have any ideas?”
“What did he do? What did the guards tell you, that made you think Benny was still alive?”
I sighed. “He killed a young black prostitute in the style of Jack the Ripper’s first victim.”
She covered her mouth.
“Don’t think about it.” I hugged her.
“That girl died because of us.”
“Don’t think about it.” I tucked her hair behind her ear. “Just think about how we’re going to stop him from killing more innocent people. What’s worked so far?”
She looked up at the ceiling as if the answer hung there. “The only thing that’s worked is the element of surprise.”
“I have no way to surprise him right now.”
“But we do have ways to lure him.”
“How?” I asked.
“You’ve got all of his women—Vivian, Mom, and me.”
“None of you are going to be bait.”
“We won’t necessarily be bait, we’ll more be the cheese in the trap.”
“That’s bait.”
“It’s not, if we plan it just right.”
“No.”
She threaded her fingers together and gazed at the ceiling some more. “We could throw a party of some sort. You know how he likes to just drop by. He wouldn’t be able to resist showing up. He’d be happy to find whatever hole he could in your security and drop in to scare everyone.”
“A party is your plan?”
“Yes. Some type of party that we have.”
“Where you’ll be bait?”
“Focus.”
I groaned. “I’m so tired of that word right now.”
She placed the tip of her finger into her mouth and sort of chewed on her nail. “But what would we be celebrating?”
“Our engagement,” I blurted it out.
She laughed, stared at her finger as if she just realized she’d been chewing on her nail, and took her hand away from her face. “We don’t have to be that extravagant. We could just do a charity event.”
“No.” I climbed out of bed and walked over to the chair where my pants rested. Ever since the damned masquerade ball, I’d been trying to propose. Granted, the ring more sat in my pocket than me actively pulling it out to seize the moment.
The question scared me. Those four words creeped me out.
“Will you marry me?”
It wasn’t the act of saying them, it was the possibility of a negative response that humbled me.
I won’t accept no. If she says that word, I’ll just figure out a way to get rid of it. Relax. It will work out.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To get something.” I got to the chair.
“What?”
I dug my hands into my pants pockets. “Mind your business.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” I pulled out the box, made sure she couldn’t see it, and placed it behind my back as I walked back to her.
“What are you doing?” She eyed me suspiciously. “I thought we were planning a way to get Benny.”
“Forget him for a minute.” I put the black box on the bed between us and sat down on the edge. “Let’s talk about our future.”
Her mouth dropped open as those beautiful eyes widened.
“The expression on your face tells me that you know what this box is about.”