Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“Not one more bloody step!”
I look up at Steve’s voice. My security team is near the entrance to the private track, forming a wall between me, Loki, and the man trying to enter the track. I stand, wondering if I’m seeing things. Maybe it’s all the meetings, the short nights, too much black coffee, and too much exercise. Loki rumbles from deep in his throat, his small terrier’s body trembling.
The man has long red hair, some tied up in a ponytail, the rest scraggly around his shoulders. He’s tall and pale, with thick glasses and clumsy tattoos covering his arms and hands. He probably got them in prison.
“Loki, stay.”
My dog sits reluctantly, still rumbling, as I walk over and gesture at Steve.
“It’s all right. Let me talk to him.”
“Do you know him?” Steve asks.
When I give him a look, he nods and steps away, as do the rest of my security. Oliver brushes down his dirty shirt and steps forward with something almost like dignity, though it’s not quite there. I gesture to Oliver, and we walk off to the side, out of earshot. Behind me, Loki lets out a high-pitched yap. I turn and raise my hand. “No barking, boy.”
“Nice dog,” Oliver says.
“I didn’t know you were out,” I growl.
“A couple of weeks now,” he replies, scratching his arm in a telltale junkie way. “Listen, I’m not here to blackmail you.”
I grin tightly. “I didn’t think you were until you said that.”
It’s like talking to a bloody apparition, a specter from my past, somebody I never wanted to see again.
“I’ve just been on a bit of a bender, is all,” Oliver says, “and I think I’ve made a mistake.”
“Slow down and explain.”
“We’ve been following you,” Oliver says.
“Who’s we?”
“Some blokes I met inside.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I snarl. “You and some criminal lowlifes have been tailing me?”
It sounds like we’re in a bad police drama. Oliver nods slowly, fidgeting with his hair. He can’t be still.
“You know I’m grateful for all that commissary dough you sent me while I was inside. It helped a lot. It kept me alive.”
I say nothing. What was it that made me do that? Guilt or a perverse sense of loyalty?
“I’ve put all that crap behind me,” I tell him, “and if you and some criminal bastards want to tail me, go ahead. You’re not getting past Steve and the rest of my men, and if you do, you’ll regret it.”
“That’s the thing,” Oliver says, shifting from foot to foot.
He’s clearly on something. He’s relapsed, or maybe he never stopped, using my money to get his fix inside. Maybe I only made him worse. It’s not like I visited, and I never opened a single letter he sent me.
“This isn’t about you,” he goes on.
“George has security, too,” I snap. “So does his family. Loki has a dog sitter all day in my building with security. That’s it, Ollie, everybody who matters to me.”
I don’t let myself think about how sad that is. I pause, hating how natural it feels to call him Ollie, despite how long it’s been.
“No.” Oliver sighs. “That’s not true, is it? Because yesterday, you visited a house, and there was a woman at the windo—”
He shouts in surprise when I grab the front of his shirt, lifting him up and off his feet, shaking him so his legs kick. I don’t plan on doing this, but at the mention of Amelia, I lose control. It’s a savage instinct that roars at me. Anybody who hurts or tries to hurt her is a dead man.
“Wait, wait,” Oliver gasps, clawing at my hands.
Behind me, Loki barks loudly, rushing over and running in frantic circles, wanting to help with whatever threat I’ve found. Steve and the rest of my security team approach us cautiously.
“What about her?” I snarl, shaking him again. “What have you done?”
“Nothing, just dammit, please, Tommy…”
I put him down, but it takes a lot of effort, and I’m ready to spring forward and grab him again, ready to fold him up if he provokes me.
“Is she safe?” I snap. “Tell me now.”
“Jesus, she’s safe, but I graffitied her house. I put Tommy is a liar. I was high, man, but I’m coming down now. Listen, I came to say sorry. I came to warn you that these men from inside know about her. All right? I rang them and told them where she lives. They’ve been looking for a weak spot, a way to get to you.”
“Steve, take Loki home.”
“Wait,” Oliver yells as I turn and start running across the track. “What about some cash, Tommy? Just a bit, mate. Just a few quid. Just enough…”
But I can’t hear him. I can’t even hear Loki barking or Steve shouting at the rest of my security team, ordering them to follow me. All I can hear is the phantom of Amelia’s voice in my mind, lowered to a deathly whisper, her eyes draining of life. “Why didn’t you save me? You were supposed to protect me.”