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)
Later Sophia called and asked for a car. I purchased one. Then she requested a driver. Once Jasmine and I reunited, Sophia suggested I open up college funds for all of her grandchildren.
“Just a suggestion,” Sophia had said, but her eyes held an edge as if she’d crush my world if I didn’t oblige.
I never told Jasmine any of that. She hated that I paid her own bills. There would be no way Jasmine would love me clearing her family’s debt. Finally, after a few more of Sophia’s uneasy visits at my corporate office, I simply opened up an account that offered her a reasonable yearly allowance.
“Mmmhmm. This Louie is good.” Sophia returned to the bar to get more. “Come on, Chase. You should take a glass for the road.”
“What?”
“Field trip time.”
“Excuse me?”
“We’re going to Benny’s garden, sweetie.”
“His garden?”
“Benny likes to study things. He’s got this apartment that we all call the Penthouse. It’s in the tower. Do you know anything about the tower?”
“No.”
She chuckled to herself. “Then this should be fun.”
“I’m not interested in having fun. All I want to do is find Jasmine.”
“Focus.”
“Focus?”
“Yes, focus. And when you find her, what are you going to do? Beg her to come back? Benny will shoot you in the center of your forehead before you even mutter ‘I.’ Focus. I know you’re used to being in charge, but it’s time to follow. Jasmine is safe. Benny won’t hurt her. He’s got both of my babies now.”
“Troy?”
“Yes. I don’t know where they are, but he’s trying to play daddy. Let him have his family time in these last days, because when we come for Benny, we need to do it quick and fast. This isn’t a movie. If you get that man in front of you and you’re holding a gun, shoot it. There’s no need for discussion. You carry out a monologue and your intestines will be wrapped around your throat, while he spends the rest of the day taking his time as he cuts you.”
My body had hardened to a stiff brick. “I think I got it.”
“Good. Let’s go. My driver can take us.” With her newly filled glass, she strolled out of my office.
What the fuck just happened? What’s going on?
ACT TWO
Chapter 6
Jasmine
The flight took eight hours.
Once we’d gotten on his plane, I went straight to the back, pulled a blanket and pillow out of the overhead bin above my seat, sat down, covered myself, and cried one more time.
I’d never gone through something like this before. It wasn’t heartbreak, just emptiness. My love hadn’t been broken, Benny had viciously snatched it away. And he did so by shedding other’s blood, torturing people, and then bedazzling a corpse.
It’s going to work out. I’ll be okay. Chase will be okay. I’ve gotten over others before. I remember that pain. It leaves after time.
But this wasn’t the same hurt. It sliced through to the bone, caused my walk to be unstable, my mind to be restless, my chest to ache, and head to spin anytime I pictured Chase’s face.
When we landed, Benny had to shake my body to wake me up. For some odd reason, I opened my eyes, and thought those hard, rough hands were Chase’s. When I saw Benny’s face, I jerked back in confusion, and then all of yesterday’s events ran through my mind.
In no time, we got off the plane and climbed into a new rental.
“What do you think of London?” Benny asked as we rode in the back of another classic Rolls Royce.
“London is fine.”
“Do you like the car? I think I’m going to call her Silver Shadow.”
I don’t care.
“It’s fine.” I stared out of the window. I’d never been to London, yet no excitement came my way. It was a rush of nervousness and anxiety.
“You’ll love this city. It’s cold and hard sometimes, but it’s full of rich food and history.”
At ten in the morning, London was alive with traffic and people taking care of business. In the back of his car, Benny and I traveled through the streets, and I had no idea where we were. A few double decker buses rode by, the perfect symbol of movie London.
Gray clouds hovered over, threating the chance of rain. No sun sat in the sky. Skeletal trees dotted the blocks, which were rows and rows of connected three to four level houses and buildings that seemed to never divide and have their own middle-space.
It could’ve been my mood, but I wasn’t impressed. It was all dark roads and gray sidewalks, cars upon cars, and the threat of cold rain. Although in March, people wore jackets and hoods. In Oshane City, springtime had come. I only wore a light jacket at night. Here, that wouldn’t be the case.
“These are the popular dragons.” Benny pointed to silver dragons with red, spread-out wings and a crimson tongue. They stood on one rear leg with the other lifted against a shield. “They’re boundary marks for the City of London. That’s why they’re holding up the city’s coat of arms.”