Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
“O-okay.”
Chapter forty
What is Wrong with Leo?
Moni
We climbed the stairs.
A gleeful laugh sounded and I knew who that was.
I calmed as I went up more stairs. “That’s TT.”
Lei looked at me. “Yeah?”
I nodded.
“Good. He’s making her laugh so that says she’s not in any danger.”
Alright. Everything will be fine. It’s just a psychotic maniac in the room with my little sister, but it will all be fine. They’re laughing.
When we reached the top of the stairs, the air felt heavy, thick with the residue of violence.
I skidded to a halt beside Lei and we both paused.
The scene in front of us was a battlefield frozen in the aftermath of chaos and we hadn’t heard one sound of it downstairs.
There had definitely been a fight.
A vicious, fast one.
The type that started and ended before most people even realized what was happening.
Several of Lei’s men kneeled on the floor with their heads bowed and the cold gleam of gun barrels pressed against their skulls.
Guns that the monks held.
And there was this eerie stillness that filled the hallway, punctuated only by the faint, distant sounds of the party outside—muffled music and distant laughter—which was all completely out of place in this new reality we’d stumbled into.
The rest of Lei's men lay crumpled on the floor, blood seeping from cuts across their faces.
They were definitely unconscious.
Or worse.
Their weapons were scattered, disarmed, their bodies contorted in awkward positions that told me the fight had been brutal but short.
Efficient.
A masterclass in violence.
Lei got in front of me, keeping his body between me and Leo’s men as they kept their guns on his men’s heads.
Rage laced his voice. “You pull out guns in Lotus Blossom?”
One of the monks spoke, but didn’t look up. “We apologize, Mountain Master, but the Grand Master ordered us to—”
“And you will die with him this evening.”
I swallowed hard, trying to process the scene.
“Mountain Master, your father would like you to come to the little girl’s bedroom for a discussion and then you can kill us afterwards.”
“Take your fucking guns off my men.”
They glanced at each other and then obliged, each putting the weapons up one at a time.
Lei kept that grip on my hand as he led us forward.
My eyes darted to the bodies sprawled across the floor.
Some of Leo’s monks were down too, their blue robes now darkened with streaks of blood. The sweet, metallic tang of it hung in the air.
Oh God.
I looked at Lei.
His whole body was coiled like a spring, ready to snap. Every muscle in his frame tensed with fury, but beneath it, I could see the sharpness of his mind working, trying to figure out the next move.
He was pissed, yes, but he wasn’t stupid.
They may have been outnumbered on the entire property with Four Aces down below and Rowe Street Mob.
However, up here, Leo’s men had the upper hand.
The blue-robed monks—maybe a dozen of them—stood silent and watched us.
While their guns were back in those holsters, I knew they could still kick my ass.
Enough is enough. After tonight, I’m keeping a gun on me. And I will be practicing every fucking day.
Never did I want to be in this position again, especially with my sisters now in the East.
Heading to TT’s new bedroom, we passed some of them and there was no fear in their eyes.
No hesitation.
They were waiting for their next order and that command would come from only one man.
Leo.
I could feel Lei’s rage simmering beside me, ready to boil over.
Please, don’t let anyone die tonight.
Lei was barely keeping it together and all it would take was one wrong move, one wrong word, for the situation to spiral out of control.
We get TT out of here and then we just. . .I don’t know after that.
We got closer and closer.
Jo had picked the room right next to the library due to the view showing her the corner of the garden where Mom had taken the picture.
Chloe grabbed the room further down and across due to it having the biggest bathroom, complete with a massive jacuzzi tub, big vanity table, and decked out shower near it.
However, TT chose the bedroom all the way at the end of the hallway because it was the only one that would fit this huge table for her puzzle pieces. It had the smallest bathroom with just a shower, sink, and toilet, yet these awesome gold and blue dragons were painted on the ceiling.
TT’s innocent little laugh filled the space again.
It was that sound, that beacon in the unknowing darkness, which kept me calmly moving forward.
Lei leaned my way and kept his voice low. “Do me a favor?”
“Okay.”
“Don’t look up at the ceiling.”
I pursed my lips.
Now why would he say that?
I had no fucking intention to look up, but now. . .all I wanted to do was lift my view that way.