Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
If the bratva doesn’t get him, we will, Wraith assured her complacently. We always do.
The symptoms of the heat had subsided enough to allow Maya to breathe evenly and think rationally.
“Believe me, Wraith, an Amurov isn’t going to let it go that Theo stole so much money,” she reiterated.
Then they will kill him for us. Did you take the money from the others and put it somewhere it can’t be found by them or these leopards that are disgusting?
She felt Wraith curl her lip. She held the male leopards in contempt just as Maya did. “I found the money. It was funneled into three offshore accounts. And yes, I removed it from those accounts. The names on the accounts are fake; at least I can’t find anyone with those names in a quick search.”
Maya closed her laptop, carefully wrapped it and put it away in her bag. Everything had to be waterproof. She began to pace the length of the room, inspecting every inch of it again. Clearly this was used to bring prisoners for interrogation. There was a small bathroom and shower, which meant there was running water to drink. Mostly, there were instruments for torture. Instead of intimidating her, she saw them as weapons.
There was a long oven; clearly bodies were burned there after the interrogators were finished with them. The entire basement had been designed like some medieval dungeon. She looked up at the slivers of windows again. Beads of sweat began to trickle down her body, and she wiped at the ones on her face with her forearm. Once again, the burning had started. This time she ached everywhere.
“Wraith, we’re in so much trouble. We’re giving off enough pheromones to call to every male shifter for miles. If we can’t get ourselves under control, we’ll never be able to hide our presence if we do break out of here. Clearly, this is a true heat.” As far as Maya was concerned, it was pure hell, and it was just starting. They couldn’t be anywhere in the vicinity. They would have to get out of the area as fast as possible.
I will settle again. I am very tired.
Maya didn’t know if that was bad or good. If Wraith went to sleep, their bodies would settle and there would be no way for a male shifter to know they were in heat. On the other hand, she might need Wraith to escape.
“Go to sleep if you need to. I’ll wake you if things get dicey.”
Wraith had faith in her. She’d never let them down so far. Maya was afraid there was always a first time, and she hadn’t been paying attention the way she should have been. After splashing cold water on her face, she made her way to the door and peered out the window at Theo. He was still on his laptop, looking triumphant.
“Bids still coming in?” she questioned through the grille.
Theo looked up, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of money men are willing to pay for you. There’s a shortage of female shifters, so you’re at a premium. The two of us could make so much money. Even if we just ask for half up front and then take off, we could make a killing.”
“You don’t think word would get out and they’d send someone after us?” she asked, putting just a single note of interest in her voice.
She appeared to be looking through the window at him, but she was studying the door. It was heavy steel. Thick. The bolt on the outside had slid easily into place and was about at the height of her cheekbones.
Maya was small and slight despite being a shifter, causing her appearance to be very deceptive. She thought perhaps being starved as a child during the time she and Wraith were growing had caused her to be smaller than normal—or maybe that was just her genetic makeup. Her size did give her an advantage in quite a few ways. She gave the appearance of being fragile and delicate when, in truth, she had the muscles of a shifter running through her diminutive frame.
Maya’s size allowed her to slip into spaces few others could go, particularly larger male leopards. Over the years, she and Wraith had honed their fighting skills, something very unexpected in female leopards. Both were good at acting out whatever role was necessary to get done what was needed. There was no hesitation on either’s part.
“I knew if you thought about it, you’d come to your senses,” Theo said, taking a step closer to the door. “It’s a real moneymaker, Maya. We can’t stay here. Sooner or later, that bastard who took over the lair will come looking for me. He killed the men challenging him for leadership. That isn’t done.”
Her heart dropped. It was common for several members of a lair to challenge for the role of leader when a pakhan died. Most of the time, because every leopard was needed, the fights were bloody, but once the losing leopard submitted, the victorious leopard allowed the loser to swear allegiance and that was the end of it. The Amurovs were brutal killers. They took no prisoners. They were known for their swift retaliation and cruel ways of dealing with anyone they thought was against them.