Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 106292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Realizing there’s not a lot I can do about it now, I make my way out to the main part of the penthouse, hearing the familiar sound of weights in the home gym. Dalton stands by the elevator, looking as though he plans on spending his morning shooting some hoops. I consider heading up there too, but I need coffee and food before I can even think about facing the day.
“Goddamn, you look good in my shirt.”
A rush pulses through me, and I try to find a little composure before I end up screwing him right there in front of the elevator. “All the guys working out?” I ask, already certain of his answer but needing to make sure.
“Yep.”
“Zade and Sawyer still tiptoeing around each other and making it awkward as fuck for everyone else?”
He gives me a stupid smirk, his brows bouncing. “Wouldn’t have it any other way,” he says, just as the elevator dings its arrival and the doors open before him. He strides in then turns around to meet my stare, holding his arms out on either side of the door, keeping it open. “You coming up?”
“Maybe,” I say, the perfect opportunity to snoop through Zade’s office staring me in the face. “I need to eat first, though. After the workout you and Sawyer gave me last night, I’m starving. I need to replenish that energy.”
“Damn straight,” he says with a wink before stepping back to allow the doors to close. The second I’m alone, I make a break for it, silently rushing through Zade’s home, doing everything I can not to make a sound.
I make my way to his home office and hold my breath as I gently close the door behind me, hoping like fuck it isn’t one of those doors that click when closing into place. The boys tend to check on me every few minutes, whether it be a discreet glance in my direction or a blatant shove through the door to make sure I haven’t drowned myself in the bathtub. So sooner rather than later, one of them will come looking for me. When that happens, I don’t want to get caught in here.
Making it quick, I tear open drawers and thumb through papers, finding a whole bunch of stuff that doesn’t mean shit to me. There are names and black calling cards scattered through the drawers, probably the files of people Empire has sent Zade to kill in the past.
Finding nothing that’s going to help me, I move through the office and scan over the bookshelves. Noticing the framing on one shelf is slightly different from the rest, I furrow my brows and give it a small shove, certain that the stupid thing is probably going to fall and squish me. Though knowing my luck, it would only break a few bones, maybe paralyze me. Not quite enough to kill me though.
The whole shelf slides back and opens up into a hidden storage room, and my jaw drops. This is so much cooler than I ever imagined. It’s like straight out of a spy novel. I’ve always loved shit like this in the movies, though this one doesn’t quite seem like a secret room. The framing is a little too obvious for that. My guess is Zade just wanted his office to look good without having an ugly storeroom door in the middle of it.
Making myself at home, I traipse into the storage room and stare at the huge array of boxes and files. The room is just as big as the office itself, and it’s filled with rows upon rows of shelving, each of them full to the brim. Hell, I can only imagine what kind of crap I’d find in Zade’s father’s home office. Though from what I’ve learned of Zade, he strikes me as the type to be on the ball with that kind of stuff. Zade probably has three hard copies and two digital ones of every piece of information Lawson DeVil ever possessed—one copy for everyday use and the other stored on a secret backup server. Hence why I’m so confident that there will be Empire blueprints in here somewhere. Finding them is the biggest challenge.
I have to give it to Zade, he likes his organization and has this storeroom perfectly set up. The files are separated into groups: members, The Circle, leadership, by-laws, finances, and events. Hell, there’s even a section for their most beloved weapons dealers and lists of dirt that could be used to blackmail every single one of Empire’s members.
Each section has also been organized in alphabetical order, and after realizing this, I take a shot in the dark and head over to the files labeled EMPIRE ESTATE. More than aware of just how quickly time is passing, I pull the big box off the shelf and pry open the lid, doing what I can not to sneeze at the dust collected on top of the box.