Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
King
I recognized his voice before I reached the underground cellar, where Blaise Hughes stood with Stellan, my father, and Thatcher. The prisoner was hanging from the ceiling with his wrists bound in a metal latch. He wasn’t near death, but he was pale, and there was some blood from where Thatcher had lost his temper while getting him to talk.
Blaise cut his eyes from Stellan to me. Although I was bigger than the boss of the family, he still wielded power that intimidated men much larger than me. Like his main enforcer, for example, Huck Kingston. Huck was the son of Barrett’s second cousin, Creed Kingston, who had died, along with Huck’s mom years ago. The man was huge. Even by my standards.
“You get her calmed down?” Thatcher asked, sounding amused.
I ignored him. I wasn’t going to take his bait in front of Blaise. When I said nothing, Blaise narrowed his eyes.
“Well, did you?”
Thatcher and his big fucking mouth.
“Yes, sir, she’s fine. In my room.”
Blaise continued to study me. “She’s developed feelings for you.”
You didn’t lie to the boss. Even if it was something you wanted to lie to yourself about.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“You’re thorough,” he replied and shifted his attention back to Stellan. “If he has nothing more to tell us, then there is no reason to keep him alive.”
“I have more to tell you!” the man cried out behind us.
Blaise turned around to face him. He tilted his head to the side as he studied the prisoner. “Do you know what I do to those who lie to me?”
“What do you want to know?” The man sounded close to breaking into a fit of tears.
“Who is involved. Exactly what they are after—and don’t tell me the woman. I want names. Locations.”
The man let out a panicked laugh. “They’ll kill me.”
“So will I,” Blaise replied. “I can promise your death by their hands will result in less agony.”
The man whimpered, but said nothing.
“I don’t have time to dirty my clothes. My son has a soccer game this evening. Thatcher, make it brutal,” Blaise said, turning back to us. His gaze swung to me. “As for the woman, I think it’s time I take her to Ocala. She’ll be safer there. If we have to shut down the Insantos, then we need everyone focused. She is clearly under your skin.”
I shook my head. “She needs me. She’s safe here.”
“KING!” my father shouted.
I knew speaking back to the boss wasn’t smart, but he couldn’t take her from me. She’d be scared.
Blaise didn’t seem angry, but that meant nothing. The man could put a bullet in my head and walk away without a single glance or trace of remorse. I waited to see if I had stepped out of line too far. I was no help to Rumor if I was dead.
“I’ll let her make that decision. It’s her life. If she wants to stay with you, then so be it,” he said, then glanced over at Stellan and my father. “Have her brought to your office without King.”
“Yes, sir,” my father replied.
She would choose to stay with me. Unless they told her things. About us. Who we were. She’d ask questions. She would want to know who Blaise was and why we would send her with him. If he told her even a sliver of the truth…she’d know I had lied to her.
As Blaise walked past me toward the exit, my father and Stellan followed behind him. I didn’t look at either of them. Instead, I stood there as a frantic energy began to pulse through my veins. I had to get control. Find a release. Focus. I had to calm the fuck down.
• thirty-nine •
“I had read The Godfather. This was nothing like that.”
Rumor
Sebastian waved a hand for me to go inside the room. He had come to get me from the stables and said there was someone that they wanted me to meet with. I asked where King was, but he said he was currently held up elsewhere. All I had been told was, this was about my safety and King wanted me to go.
I stepped into the room and instantly recognized Stellan and Ronan. This was an office, and since it was Stellan’s house, I assumed it was his. But the man behind the massive, ornate desk was not Ronan. It was a younger man. Closer to King’s age than his father’s. He was also gorgeous. Where King was dark, this man was light. Blond hair, green eyes, with features that seemed to have been handpicked to create the perfect face. I still preferred King’s.
I scanned the rest of the room and found a man in the far-right corner that caused me to pause mid-step. He was massive. The scowl on his face didn’t help matters. He was downright terrifying. His arms were crossed over his wide chest, and I found myself afraid to move.