Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 125020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Ulysses promised me revenge, not knowing I took part in killing his wife. He bankrolled all of this. Once his son did what he wanted, I was supposed to get my revenge.
“Then he and everyone else started changing their minds and their plans. All of them useless. None of them thought about what I lost.
“Just taking the money and fucking things up. Each and every one of them. No one stuck to the plan. Now Ulysses is gone. I could have made things work, got him back on track, but he’s gone.”
Something outside catches one of Atlas’s guy’s attention. He turns as the other one is distracted by something he’s reading on his phone.
In a split second, I make a decision and rush for my purse. I have the bag in my hand when everyone cries out. I look up to find Atlas with his gun trained on me.
Vernice rushes over to throw herself in front of me. I pull my gun and drop the bag to the floor. My stomach turns, I’ve made the wrong decision, but I’m going to die on this hill to save this baby.
“Mister, I don’t know why you’re here or what you want, but my ancestors don’t play about me. Put your gun down. ’Cause I promise you if you take my mom from me or hurt her in any way, you’re not going to make it out of this day breathing. On God.”
“I’d listen to her if I were you.” I glance out the corner of my eye to see Josh, Pit, and Ven all aiming for Atlas and his two men. “You wanted me, I’m here.”
“Kids, I need you all to come upstairs with me,” Ven says calmly.
“Go on, no one’s going to harm you,” Pit adds.
“This place, you people. All you do is take. Jeremy didn’t deserve to die like that. You all shouldn’t have walked away with no consequences.”
Now I’m pissed. I lose my temper and growl, “No consequences? No consequences? Danny almost beat me to death.
“Two broken ribs, a broken jaw. Oh, but you were beating your wife’s ass, so that’s no big deal to you. Your nephew nearly killed my cousin and my husband—”
“It was only meant to be him,” Atlas bellows.
“What?” I breathe.
“Jeremy and Jeff were supposed to get the device on his car. Jeff, the idiot, chickened out and didn’t do what he was supposed to.
“Jeremy died being loyal to me. I owe him someone’s blood. I owe him all of your freedom.”
“Enough,” Josh snarls.
I catch a glance of one of Atlas’s guys going to pull the trigger as he aims at Josh. Before I can think about it, I aim and fire. He falls back with a bullet between his eyes.
“Go on, take the shot. Your grandfather would love to hear you killed someone. You’ll be trapped in this life, in this grief I’ve had to live with. Your out will be gone. Do it,” Atlas taunts Josh.
I look to Josh and see the anger on his face. My heart breaks as I think of his words last night. He doesn’t want to do this.
He wants a different life. I turn my gun on Atlas and go to fire again, but he drops to the floor with a hole in his chest as a pool of blood forms on his shirt.
I look around and my gaze lands on Zoe. She drops the smoking gun in her hands and stumbles to the nearest chair. I jump as another shot is fired.
I turn to find Blake and Ox aiming at the last guy. However, it’s Ox’s gun that’s smoking. Before I can register all that has happened, Josh has me in his arms.
He’s holding me so tight I can’t breathe. I wrap my arms around him and return his embrace. Pit starts to bark orders and the room buzzes with movement.
Ox comes to pry my gun from my fingers. I break down as the events of the last few months settle in.
“It’s over. This is all over,” Josh says into my hair. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I sob.
Chapter 75
Burning It All
Kelex
I walk into my study with the package that was just dropped off by a courier. I close the door and move to my desk. Looking at my watch, I see I have about two hours before I need to head out. Still plenty of time to check on Helios in the hospital.
I open the envelope and pull out the recorder inside. My curiosity is piqued. I look at the envelope and turn it over. It doesn’t say where it’s from.
I press play and the voice that comes through is unmistakably my father’s. I sit back in my chair and stare up at the ceiling. Even in death, this man invades my life.
“Joshua, if you’ve received this, I was right. Atlas couldn’t be trusted. He and his pets have turned on me. My son, I am sorry. I was too hard on you and I made many mistakes and I’ve been trying to right them.