Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
She sent him one emotion-laden look from under her lashes. “Don’t ever tell me you aren’t a good man, Andrii. Not ever again.”
He flashed her another one of his heart-stopping grins. “Doesn’t mean we aren’t going to be discussing dreams in the future, Zelie. We’re just putting that on pause for today.”
He handed her a box of the most delicious Thai shrimp, along with chopsticks. She sat in the sun with him, fueling for her tests and enjoying every bite. It was perfection.
EIGHT
Azelie used the private side entrance that was for employees only. Not all employees. One had to have a special microchipped card to gain entrance. An armed guard sat in the hallway behind a desk supposedly to check IDs. She knew he was there to ensure no one took that small left corridor that led beyond the underground Adventure Club. The door was built seamlessly into the wall, impossible to see. If one didn’t know it was there, the entrance to the underground offices would be difficult to find even when looking for it.
The guard looked up as she approached. It was always the same. He recognized her, she knew him. His name was Bobby Aspen, and he’d been working the security in that corridor for as long as she’d been working for Alan Billows. At sixteen, she’d been silly enough to find the intrigue exciting—thrilling even. She wanted to help her sister by paying for her own clothing and also to give something to Janine toward the household expenses. If she was being honest, she had wanted to show off. Few people had her skills, and even fewer had them at her age.
“Hey, Bobby,” she greeted and pulled back the hood of the sweatshirt she wore so he could see her face and clearly identify her. “How are you?”
“I’m good, but Sandra has a nasty virus,” he said. “Being a schoolteacher, she gets every single illness those kids bring to the classroom.”
Sandra was his wife. They didn’t have children, and after getting to know Billows and understanding the extent of his criminal activities, Azelie thought it was a good thing he didn’t have a large family. Anyone associating with Billows lived under a threat—including her. Maybe especially her, since she had been doing his books for so many years. She knew if she quit, she would have to disappear for a while. She knew too much about their activities. Not really what they were doing so much as that the amounts he brought in were massive and came from illegal activity.
Over the years, she’d been in the office working while Billows had visitors, seedy men dressed in suits. They smiled at her when they greeted her, but their eyes were speculative and moved over her face and body, leering and giving her the creeps. Billows had hustled them from the office she was working in and later would come back to reprimand her for not locking the door. He had a policy that she was never to lock the door. It was a direct order, but the few times she had locked the door after he yelled at her, he seemed to change his mind.
She detested Billows’ mood swings. She detested him, but she’d learned to stay calm and act friendly and a little spacey, as if she didn’t have too much in the brain department. She knew he had begun to believe she was gifted when it came to making his books look legitimate, but he also believed she wasn’t quite bright in any other field.
“Tell Sandra I hope she gets better,” Azelie told Bobby.
Bobby lowered his voice. “He’s in a mood and he’s texted four times to see if you’re on your way down.” There was concern in his tone.
Whatever the problem was, Billows was really acting out of character. He had never come to her house before or waited by the bus stop for her. Something was really wrong. Clearly, Bobby thought it was unusual for Billows to text him about her arrival time or he wouldn’t feel the need to warn her.
“Thanks.” She lifted her hand at him. “Let him know I’m on my way.” She gave Bobby a vague smile. She knew from experience not to trust anyone no matter how friendly they seemed. If Billows employed them, he bought that loyalty and kept it through fear and money. She’d learned that much about him.
Billows tended to surround himself with men like her brother-in-law. Yes-men. Men who had addictions and failings and could be taken advantage of. It seemed to be Billows’ specialty to spot men and women he could use.
When she’d first been shown the door that fitted so seamlessly into the wall, she thought it was super cool. She’d been so excited to discover that beneath two dance floors was a maze with hidden rooms. The idea of it sounded so much like spies and fantasy. To a sixteen-year-old, the concept of secret passageways, guards and special IDs was intriguing.