Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Oh god. What do I do? Macy’s awake now, so I grab her by the hand and pull her into the bathroom. I close and lock the door, and we huddle together in the bathtub with the lights out. Maybe they’ll think the room is empty if they don’t look behind the curtain.
It’s silly. I should have a weapon so I can protect Macy if anyone gets inside. Why didn’t those men give me a gun or a knife? Shouldn’t I have something? The panic has me thinking like a crazy person. The closest I’ve ever come to a battle was a heated argument with another girl in the orphanage, and it ended with both of us crying.
Macy is shaking in my arms, and I hold her closer to me. I’m scared to death, but I try not to let it show.
I don’t know how much time has passed, but I hear someone rattling the door handle.
“Miss. It’s alright. You can come out now. The boss says we need to move you. They know you’re here now, and they might come back.”
Who might come back and what do they want with us? I help Macy out of the tub, my knees almost giving out, and unlock the bathroom door. I open it just a crack and peer out, confirming that it’s Jack’s men out there.
I sag against the wall and let out a huge breath.
“Where are we going now?”
“Out of town,” the man replies.
I shove Macy’s coloring book and crayons back into the backpack and hand it to the man.
“We aren’t flying, are we?” I ask.
“Yes, Miss. We are.”
I look over at Macy, her eyes wide and lips and chin trembling, beads of sweat on her forehead.
“Macy, have you ever ridden in a helicopter before?”
“No, Miss Jessie.”
“Well, I have and it’s really fun. You get to look down at everything. It looks like a little city made for dolls, and the sky is so pretty. It feels like you can reach out and touch the stars.”
“That sounds cool.” She offers me the hint of a smile.
“It is cool but nowhere near as cool as you.”
“We need to go, Miss,” one of the men says.
“Come on, Macy. You can sleep in the car. I’ll wake you up in time for the helicopter ride.”
When we reach the airport, the two men accompany us on the helicopter. Macy seems to forget about what just happened long enough to enjoy the ride. We land and a large black car rolls up to retrieve us. Our sort of bodyguards escort us into the car and sit by the window. I guess we’re keeping them for the long haul.
We’re driving to another hotel, but this one is deep in the woods at the top of a mountain. It’s a luxury resort, I think to myself as we pull up to the grand building.
Jack seems to have his hands on everything. The men take us to our room and tell us to get some rest.
As I reach for the polished brass handle on the double doors, I realize this must be the grandest suite in the resort. When we step inside, Macy yelps and runs toward the small table where a tray of cookies and bread and a steaming pot of hot cocoa are set.
Macy helps herself to the sweet treats, and while she’s busy munching, I amble to the floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a panoramic view of the mountains.
It’s beautiful, but it’s hard to appreciate all of these when Jack isn’t here with us.
“This is a big room, Miss Jessie,” Macy says in between bites.
“They call this a suite. It has a living room area and a little kitchen.”
I just hope the room upgrade doesn’t mean we’ll be staying longer.
11
JACK
The boys tell me that my enemies sent a team to the hotel, and it takes six big men to stop me from going in with guns blazing.
This war started because they killed my best friend and closest confidant. Now, they want to make a move on my girls? No, I’m not stopping until every one of them is six feet under.
Rory explains that the threat was eliminated and the girls have been moved to the secondary location we discussed. This doesn’t do anything to quell the fire in my belly, but it helps me slow down and strategize rather than run into an emotionally raged firefight.
“We need a plan. We know where they are. It’s time to end this.”
“We could arrange a meeting with…”
My head spins around and the fire in my belly moves to my eyes, “I’m finished talking. After tonight, there won’t be anyone left to talk to. Are we clear?”
“We’ll lose people, boss.”
“Isn’t that part of what we signed up for? Everybody knew the risks. This conversation is finished, and I’m not repeating myself. Your job is to get the men and the firepower ready. You have two hours or I go in alone.”