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)
“O-kay.” Jasmine giggled. “Either way, Sherman jumped off the porch to talk to the boy, but since he was a math white kid driving a decent car in the hood, well, he sped off. And Sherman wasn’t pleased. He pretty much questioned me for a good hour, and told me that I couldn’t date him anymore. Being fourteen, I thought I was close to being a woman so I told him that I would do what I wanted. So he stormed into my bedroom, opened my rabbit’s cage, yanked her out, raised her in front of me, and snapped her neck. Just like that. No warning. No discussion. Just one quick snap. And then he told me that if I didn’t stay away from boys he would do the same thing to me.”
I couldn’t find the proper words to say.
“And he continued to get worse as I got older,” she said. “I just ended up doing as he said, and staying away from most of my brothers.”
“All of this means that we need him. He’s more invested in you being protected than any man in my security team.”
“No. I don’t want him going up against Benny.” She got out of my arms and scooted to the other side of the backseat. “I’ve already lost Troy. I can’t lose anyone else, even though Sherman is insane.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll keep him out of it.”
Can we kill Benny without Sherman? Can we kill him period? Will I lose her? Am I doing the right thing?
On the last morning of the London trip, we all sat at the table, while our butler attended to the kitchen staff. I was between Jasmine and Vivian. Sherman and Sophia stared across from us.
The whole mood was odd. Tension rode the air, and I didn’t like it.
“Are you going to tell me your plan?” Sophia looked at me, and didn’t even give a glance to Jasmine.
I had no idea if Sophia had contacted Benny. My men monitored her and Sherman the whole time, but they’d shown in these past months to fail at the worst times. Sophia could’ve figured out a way. In Benny’s journals, he claimed that she was resourceful. Her planning exemplified how skilled her mind could be. Anything was possible, when Sophia put her hands in the situation.
“Chase, did you hear me?” Sophia pursed her lips. “Are you going to tell me your plan?”
“There’s no plan.” I returned to the newspaper in front of me.
Our butler appeared. “Breakfast is ready.”
Two gray uniformed women entered the dining area with separate silver carts.
The butler explained the dishes that the servers put in front of us. “Here we have a small bowl of fruit salad dressed with lime and rosewater syrup. On the plate next to it, we have caramelized plantain fritters. On top, sugar-cured prawn omelet with smoked chili sambal.”
Neither Sophia nor Sherman appeared overjoyed at their plate.
“Is everything okay, Mrs. Montgomery?” Mr. Sharpe said to Sophia. “If you would like something else, I can go into the kitchen and ask the chef to make something else.”
“Yes, please.” She pushed hers and Sherman’s plate to the side. “We would both like two eggs, sunny-side up, wheat toast, bacon or sausage, and some fruit on the side without all of that rosewater syrup.”
The butler nodded.
“Wait,” Sherman lifted his hand, “I don’t want that. I’ll have this right here.”
“You want this crazy stuff?” Sophia gestured at his plate. “Caramelized fritters and chorizo omelets.”
“I read about chorizo in jail,” Sherman countered. “I want to try it.”
“It’s really good sausage,” Jasmine added.
Sophia pretended like her daughter didn’t say anything. “Eat what you want, boy. But don’t start asking for my food, when it comes.”
Sherman picked up his fork with those huge hands and commenced to eating the meal up. Jasmine dug into her plate, too, murmuring her pleasure of the flavor between bites. The butler rushed off to put in Sophia’s new order with the chef.
Sophia glared at me. “Do you have a plan?”
“No.”
“You should.”
“Really?” I asked. “And why is that?”
“Just because Benny has been quiet, doesn’t mean he’s not coming for you. In fact, that’s probably the worst time to close your eyes and go to sleep. It means he’s right on top of you.”
I winked at her and flipped the newspaper. “I believe I would know if Benny was on top of me.”
“This isn’t a game, Chase.”
“No, it’s not.”
She pointed at me. “That man shot my son. I want in on whatever is going on.”
At the mention of Troy, Sherman and Jasmine both paused from eating. Tesoro held her fork in mid-air and just stared at the chorizo for several seconds. Sherman put his utensils down altogether. Vivian chose that moment to stop eating, scoot her chair back, rise, and leave the table.
Sighing, I folded the newspaper and placed it on the table. “You’ll be returning home, Sophia.”