Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Her cousin’s words were rumbling inside her, but she shoved aside the way they made her feel—antsy and angry with a big spoonful of doubt—because something was wrong. Kala wasn’t sitting up straight anymore. There was a hazy look to her normally predatory stare. “How much have you had to drink?”
Kala shook her head. “That was my third, but like I said there’s not much vodka in it. It’s mostly tonic. Fuck. It’s drugged. Car…run.”
“Miss Taggart,” a deep voice said. Carys started to slide off the barstool but found herself dragged off by a tall man dressed in all black. He loomed over her, staring down with a nasty smirk on his scarred face. “I’m afraid my boss would like a word. Not with you, of course. You’re nothing but a pretty pawn. My boss wants to have a word with a man who we hope cares enough about you to not want you hurt.”
Another man moved around them, easily hefting Kala’s unconscious body over his shoulder.
Panic threatened to overtake Carys. Was Kala dead? What the hell was happening? Calm. She needed calm. What was she supposed to do? Kala had gone over all of it, and it fled her damn brain now. Tris was here. Zach and Tash were here. They probably already saw something on the CCTVs.
They were supposed to be safe here.
She tried to kick back, but he was an unmoving mountain behind her.
“She didn’t drink as much as the other,” Pierre said in heavily accented English, holding up a hypodermic needle. “You’ll need this.”
“Help,” Carys shouted out. There were other people in the bar. Or had it been these men? Had this whole thing been a setup? Except they couldn’t have known she would be down in the bar. Her brain was moving a thousand miles a minute, trying to process what the hell was happening. They’d done everything right, down to testing the damn drinks.
A hand snaked around her throat. “Won’t help you. No one will help you here. Now the boss is ready to start a fire. Let’s see if you get burned.”
Something sharp sank into her arm, and the world immediately went hazy.
And clear all at the same time. She loved them. She was going to die and all she wanted was one more moment with them. The past? Didn’t matter. The lies? She could forgive them.
All that mattered was loving them.
It was her last thought as the world went dark.
* * * *
Aidan didn’t want to leave Carys behind, but he couldn’t think of a reason not to. Kala was with her. He stepped onto the elevator, following Tasha and Zach. He hit the button for their floor and caught sight of the camera in the corner. “Is someone watching us? Like from our team?”
Tash stared straight forward. “Of course. Lou took over the CCTV cameras before you checked in. I’m more worried about tomorrow. I don’t think Huisman will have cameras all over his property. I wish we could have gotten someone on the catering staff.”
“We talked this through.” Zach’s tone was calm as though they’d already been over this a couple of times. “There are going to be sixty doctors walking around the compound at any given time. Aidan’s going to stick to the public places. He’ll be fine. The last thing Huisman wants is a scandal at his premiere event.”
“Unless Ben Parker is right and Huisman’s insane,” Tash said under her breath.
“What does your instinct say, Tash? You’ve met the man.” Tris hadn’t, but Ian and Tash had talked to him.
Tasha’s head shook. “My instincts tell me he’s kind and intelligent. But there’s something deeper that tells me I’m seeing what he wants me to see. After what happened with TJ, I think we have to consider what Ben has to say. I know Kenz is pissed at him, but I think he was desperate. I’ve thought a lot about it. What would you do if you knew there was a bomb waiting to go off but no one would listen to you? Ben might have been playing Cassandra for years now. He didn’t mean to hurt Lou, but he felt he had no other choice.”
Cassandra. He knew that one. He was never going to admit he only knew the story because of the Taylor Swift song. He hadn’t paid a lot of attention to Greek mythology, though he could see where Parker might sympathize with a woman who foresaw the fall of a whole civilization and no one would listen to her.
The doors to the elevator opened, and Aidan led the way. He kind of wanted those glasses now. He wanted to be able to watch over her. Despite what everyone told him, there was an anxious place in the pit of his gut. He took his key card out and led them into the suite.