Total pages in book: 211
Estimated words: 201554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1008(@200wpm)___ 806(@250wpm)___ 672(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 201554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1008(@200wpm)___ 806(@250wpm)___ 672(@300wpm)
“Or,” Savage offers. “Did your father plan to kill off Isaac? I mean, he is a pain in the fucking ass and a pathetic representation of his bloodline.”
I press my hands to the island. He’s not wrong.
Chapter ninety-nine
Eric
My cellphone rings before I can respond to the bombshell, if it even is that. I grab my phone from the island and glance at the caller ID. “Speaking of the pain in the fucking ass himself,” I say and hit decline.
I lean across the island and look at Grayson. “Go to work and stay away. I’m not sure why Blake, and Savage, the fucktard himself, let you come up here.”
“He pays us a lot of money,” Savage replies, “and he means you no harm.”
At least he’s honest, which I value in a person, probably because the Kingstons are all big fat liars. Which is why I stay focused on Grayson. “I can’t do what I need to do while I’m worried about you.”
“And what exactly is it that you think you need to do?” he challenges.
“Whatever the situation calls for. You need to understand that one moment of hesitation could mean someone ends up dead. I can’t be in a position where I hesitate because of you. Where I frame words or actions to protect you.”
“Then let me take Harper with me.”
“No,” Harper says immediately. “I can’t go. I appreciate it very much, Grayson, but my mother is involved in all of this. And they came at me. That makes me a target who doesn’t need to be by your side.”
“Take Mia out of here,” I repeat. “At least give me forty-eight hours, Grayson.”
“I’m not leaving, but we’ll lock down with protection.” He pushes off the island and looks at Blake. “Lock us down. Two days.” He glances at me. “But I want updates.”
Relief washes over me and I give a firm incline of my chin. “Done.” I eye Blake, who motions to Savage.
“At your service,” he says to Grayson. “Actually, Smith will be your man. I’m just going to escort you to him.”
Grayson gives me a quick piercing stare meant to be a command and then heads for the door. He’s the only fucking guy on planet Earth that can give me a look like that and I’ll just take it. And listen. “Gigi knows what this is about,” Harper says, lowering her voice. “We have to get to her.”
“We don’t need Gigi. Isaac is here and knows everything.”
“On Isaac,” Blake interjects. “We have proof that he’s been meeting with Nicholas Marshall, the young, newly-minted prince of the mob, who’s known to have a long history with the unions.”
“Newly-minted, meaning what?” Harper asks.
“His father died,” Blake says. “He took over.” His eyes meet mine. “Sound familiar?”
“Isaac isn’t working alone,” I say. “He and Nicolas have a plan to rule the world together.”
“Exactly my thought,” Blake says. “And about that wording in your father’s will, I tried to pull your birth certificate and Isaac’s as well. I found yours and it reads as expected. Isaac’s is another story. It’s sealed, and there’s no online record. I’ve sent a man to get hard copies any way necessary.”
Harper turns to me. “What the heck is this?”
My mind is chasing the messages we’ve been given. “Good question,” I say, walking to the coffee table, grabbing the message I haven’t decoded, and staring down at it. I sit down and search for birth certificate numbers in the state of Colorado but this one doesn’t connect any dots there. The format and digits don’t add up.
My phone buzzes with a text message and I grab it to confirm that it’s from Isaac and as cordial as I’d expect from him: I’m at the hospital. Where the fuck are you?
Harper sits down next to me and I show her the message. “At least it’s a controlled environment,” she says. “No one can get hurt.”
I snort. “He doesn’t have a chance in hell of hurting me.”
“I was more worried about him,” she replies.
“I second that notion,” Blake interjects, joining us and clearly aware of what’s going on. “You and Isaac don’t need to be alone.” He eyes Harper and then me. “Not after her attack and I speak from experience. I lost a fiancée once. I lived for revenge for years of my life.”
This statement explains a lot to me. It tells me why I’m comfortable with Blake. Why he doesn’t push back at places that would earn him a hard push out the door, though he got close after my father’s attack. I stand up and pull Harper with me. “Can you handle knowing what you know, and standing in front of him like you don’t?”
“You mean will I hurt him? You’ll be there to protect him, right?”
My lips quirk. God, I love this woman. I glance at Blake. “Can we have Savage to stand between us and him if it comes to that?”