Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 128307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“Thought I’d check on my grandson.” Something in his tone sets my nerves on edge, though I lose the chance to clarify what it is when Mason squeals before he races our way.
My dad scoops him up, bouncing him gently on his hip. “Hey, buddy. How have you been?” I can’t understand a word Mason replies, but my dad acts as if he is fluent in baby talk. “You want to talk to Mommy? Sure. Let’s see if she’s available.”
“Dad…” I growl out in warning.
He ignores me. With Mason balanced on his hip and his phone in his hand, he hits the call button as if he preloaded Macy’s number.
Macy answers his call four rings later. “Hello.”
“Hello, dear. Mason is missing you, so I thought we’d ring to see how you are. How is your grandmother? Sick, I hear.”
Macy maintains her cover. “Grandma is good. She’s doing a lot better than the doctors let on. I don’t think I’ll need to stay as long as first perceived. I should be back in a couple of days.”
“That’s good.” My father’s eyes meet mine. They announce that he isn’t here for a visit. He’s here for Macy and the operation, and perhaps to call me out as a big fat liar. “You should be back in time to help the bureau mop up the mess of a recent mafia takeover bid.”
“When?” Macy’s one word, though clipped, is full of impact.
Ravenshoe is our home because it is secure from threats such as mafia wars and takeovers. We never expected anything like this to happen here.
I curse under my breath when my father answers, “Last night.”
“How many casualties?” Macy queries as I approach my makeshift command center, where I lower the surveillance feed tracking her movements and bring up the reports I ignored since her safety was my utmost priority.
Things get even more complicated when I speed-read the reports. Besides multiple casualties, the man Macy needs to bring her sister home knows the leading players well.
“There are multiple casualties,” I answer on my father’s behalf. “Nikolai and Justine Popov are missing, and Dimitri Petretti is under guard at a local hospital. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds.” Returning to the foyer, I take my father’s phone from him. “Do you want to bring someone in to help brief Maddox on the situation?”
“No, no, I’ll tell him.”
“Are you sure, freckles?” My voice is pleading. I trust her. She is as smart as she is beautiful, but the last time someone taunted Maddox, he ended their conversation by inflicting fourteen stab wounds to a man’s stomach. Since that man was Arrow Moses, I don’t believe Maddox is dangerous, but there’s no harm in being cautious.
“I’m sure.” Honesty is the only thing present in Macy’s tone. “We’ve developed a weird bond over the past four years.”
It kills me, but I can’t say I trust her and not display that. “Okay. But stay in touch. If anything feels wrong, leave immediately.” I imagine her nodding when a whoosh sounds down the line. “I love you, freckles. Do what needs to be done, and then come home to us, safely.”
She exhales deeply before she replies, “I love you too. Always. Bye.”
The line goes quiet, and I stare at my father’s phone while silently praying for the takeover bid not to interfere with Macy’s mission.
My dad takes it a step beyond prayer. “From now on, we do things my way. Understood?”
Crew eyeballs my father through the monitor of the live feed before he sheepishly nods. What else can he do? He’s an intelligence officer, but the CIA has no law enforcement powers. They focus on the gathering of intelligence overseas. Their powers are restricted stateside.
Well, they were until my father jumped ship.
Now I do not doubt Macy’s safety. My father outranks everyone on Crew’s team, both in terms of seniority and experience. He will bring Macy home. I’m just praying like fuck Kendall returns with her.
MACY
After some hiccups from telling Maddox about the attempted coup of his sister’s fiancé’s sanction, I’m back on track. I can feel it in my bones. The atmosphere is charged with possibilities, and every step I take feels like it’s leading me toward something magical.
The bureaucratic snags and double-crosses are behind me now. I’m moving forward, and I am not alone. Grayson’s and his father’s confidence boosts mine, and their combined experience guides me through the endless mazes of the past twelve hours.
The scent of charred wood and dirty secrets fill my senses when I arrive at a compound with a team of twelve agents. It’s nothing but a skeleton now. Blackened beams and concrete pillars jut into the sky, while ash litters the ground.
The underworld’s murky fingerprints are all over this place, but tonight, it’s mine for the taking.
Grayson’s timber cracks through my team’s earpieces. “Watch your footing. Vladimir was infamous for booby-trapping his compounds.”