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)
She breathed in and grinned. For a second, she was a kid, all bright eyes and full of excitement. “This is Paris? I’ve never been. I wouldn’t know if I was or not. I know Paris has the Eiffel tower, but I don’t see it from here. Jasmine had tons of pictures of—”
“This isn’t Paris.” I’d held onto the news long enough.
“No?” The expression changed to sadness.
“Not at all.”
“Then where are we?”
“London.” I studied her reaction.
“Oh!” She giggled. Her amusement returned. “I’ve never been to London either.”
She’s excited. Is that good or bad? Does she even know where Benny is, or is she just riding this out for the finish?
“I’ve never been out of the States. I’ve always had a kid to watch or things to take care of.”
“Were you scared to?”
“Maybe.” Her gaze brightened as she took in more of the airport. “Sometimes I was scared to leave my kids. I wasn’t the best mother in the world, but I didn’t want them to die from me not being there. Then once they got bigger, I just forgot about traveling. I let South End and the kids be my main focus. Something is always dragging down a black woman’s ankles.”
A limo drove forward. We waited for him to park and then headed his way, right as the driver jumped out.
“We’re so amazing that everyone’s always trying to drag us down,” Sophia continued. “There’s just something about a black woman in our world that makes men want to chain and treat us bad. Keep us low and far away from the rest of the world.”
She drank the little airport in. “You wouldn’t know anything about being a black woman. All you do is point and things happen. You got me a passport in barely twelve hours. That’s that rich, white man stuff right there. No matter how much money a sister gets, she still wouldn’t have power like that.”
“Would she? I bet Jasmine could run my corporation in a few years.”
Her eyes twinkled. “I bet she could.”
“Wouldn’t that give her power?”
“I’m hoping, Chase. I’m seeing if it’s possible.”
So all you want is power, or do you want Jasmine to have it? Who would have to die for that to happen? Who has the most power in your mind, Benny or me?
Before I started my plan, I decided to talk to her a little bit more. “I’m shocked that Benny never took you out of the States.”
“I’m not. Benny’s a bird keeper by heart.”
Bird keeper? No. More like bad, a lion tamer. It took him years to realize how bad you were.
“Maybe Benny had other reasons for not taking you out of the country.”
“He would always say that being out of the country was a dangerous thing.”
“Let’s hope he’s wrong.”
I have to play the rest of these days safe. Benny thinks I’m on a wild goose chase. Sophia believes I trust her. Jasmine just wants to save everyone. I’ll have to break Jasmine’s heart. The only one who’ll be protected is her. I’ll do my best with keeping Troy and Vivian safe, but that’s it. I meant what I said. Everyone else could die.
“You look happy.” Sophia hooked her arm around mine. “Help me to the car, sweet Chase.”
“Of course, Mother.”
A line crossed her forehead. “Mother?”
“That’s what you are.” I couldn’t stop the confident smile as I helped her along.
“Why are you so happy?” Her gaze remained on the lit landscape far off in the distance of the airport. I could bet all of my money that she hoped to ravage the city. I doubted Jasmine lay on her mind, or that Jasmine’s psychotic father Benny would lose control and hurt her daughter.
“You look happy, too,” I said.
“I am.”
“Me too.”
“But,” she turned away from her enjoyment of London’s night time view, “you would think that you’re not worried at all about Jasmine.”
“Oh, I’m worried.”
We arrived at the limo. A cool breeze passed through her wavy hair. It lifted above her shoulders just like Jasmine’s did before she cut it all off.
I released my grip of her hand. “It’s just that finally things have changed.”
“Changed?” She smirked. “How?”
“Before, I was two steps behind Benny.”
“Benny has his ways of knowing things.” She raised one of her fingers as if to put a period at the end of her sentence.
“I agree.”
She eyed me suspiciously. “So how are you going to stop him?”
“I have some ideas. I think my plans are strong.” Before my phone call with Jasmine, I’d briefed all of my guards on the plane and held a short phone conference. They had clear instructions, and now was a good time as any to execute them.
“What’s your plan?”
“I’m going to be two steps ahead of Benny.”
“How’s that?”
I signaled for my two guards to flank Sophia. “I’m going to change the game.”
Both men towered over her. Sophia’s excitement disappeared. It was in the change of her expression. Her eyes lowered to almost closed, like a wild animal would squint at its prey right before attacking. She let go of my arm and arched her fingers. Those nails could’ve been a great weapon, if not for my men’s guns which they held pointed to her chest.