Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
I shake my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I know Shades, sure, but I don’t know anything about that. Why would I?”
“You’re fucking him, aren’t ya?”
I gasp. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
A tall Hispanic man laughs. He’d be almost handsome if not for the wicked look on his face. “You’ve got spunk. I can see why Shades is fucking you. But that’s not going to work on me. Where the fuck is he?”
“How should I know?” My body starts shaking with fear, and I shake my head back and forth, eyes closed as if I can somehow block out what’s happening or about to happen.
A heavy hand lands on my cheek with the hardest slap I’ve ever felt in my life.
“Wrong answer. Where is my fucking money?”
I’m going to die. That’s the only thought in my mind as my bladder empties all over the deep red carpet in Pastor Braden’s office.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell him, ignoring the embarrassment of peeing myself in front of complete strangers. “I don’t know,” I say one more time in defeat.
Forgive them, for they know not what they do. I beg of you, Father God, save me from this evil, from these wicked men. Show them Your light. Your power. Your love. In Jesus’ Holy Name, I pray. Amen.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Shades
“What the fuck is this?” There’s a dark look on Ace’s face that I’m sure matches the look on mine. “Santos called me for a sit-down.”
Neither Hector nor his Iron Kings assholes have shown up to a sit-down they fucking scheduled. “This doesn’t feel right.
Ace nods. “Motherfucker!” He looks around the secluded location a good fifteen miles outside Angel Harbor with a dark expression on his face. “That motherfucker never planned to show up,” he says confidently.
“Then why the fuck are we here?”
I shake my head because I knew it was a bad idea to believe anything coming out of Hector’s lying fucking mouth. My fingers twitch and tingle, and I know this is some fucking ploy to get back at us—or worse.
“Shit.”
Ace turns to me. “What?”
I pull out my phone and tap Letty’s number as soon as it appears on my screen.
“Call McKenna,” I growl just as Letty’s voicemail message sounds in my ear. “Fuck!”
“Hey, it’s me.” Ace’s shoulders sag in visible relief. “Yeah, I’m just checking that you’re good.” Whatever McKenna says fills my Prez with relief. “Yeah, love you too.”
He ends the call and looks at me with so much sympathy I want to fucking scream. “She’s fine. No signs of trouble.”
“Letty’s not answering. We need to get there ASAP.” I’m heading toward my bike before Ace can say a fucking word, trying Letty one last time before I start the engine.
“I’ll call Jordi,” Ace shouts over the roar of the chopper engine.
“Check on Letty,” he barks into his phone. “Shades and I are on our way!” He ends the call, starts his engine, and we race back to Angel Harbor, winding through the city until we make it to the fancy neighborhood where Letty and her family live.
“Where is she?” I bark at Jordi the moment my feet hit the concrete.
Jordi pales visibly and takes a step back. “She’s not answering the door, but I swear, man, I’ve been right here the whole fucking time.”
“Yeah, then where the fuck is she? You were supposed to protect her!”
“You’re the one who wanted me outside,” he shoots back angrily, and he’s right, but I don’t give a shit.
“If you’da let me go inside, I would have known.”
I pull my arm back and release a jab right to his nose. “You had one fucking job, man! One fucking job, and you fucked it up! I’ll make goddamn sure you never get patched in.”
I’m furious as I walk away and pound on the door.
“She doesn’t fucking answer man,” Jordi shouts, holding his bloody nose. “Look around. Her car is still right fucking there. Maybe if I wasn’t sitting outside like the goddamn help, I could have kept her safe.”
He’s pissed, and he has every right to be, but Jordi isn’t my focus right now.
“Letty! Open up!” I bang on the door with both fists knowing that Jordi is right. If she’s inside and safe, she would answer the door.
“Goddammit.”
Ace puts a hand on my shoulder. “I checked the perimeter of the house and found an open window on the first floor. Bathroom.”
“Shit.” My shoulders sag as I think of Hector’s men getting inside to harm her or take her.
“That window is too fucking small for a grown man to get through it, Shades.”
His words penetrate my anger and fear, and I look up. “Show me.”
Ace gives a curt nod. He walks to the side of the house and unlatches the ornate metal gate. Right in the middle of the house is the open window. There’s no screen, but when I peek inside, I see the soap dispenser moved to the back of the toilet.