Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“I can explain to her—”
Rainier cut him off. “You aren’t listening, Jack. If you want to keep your marriage and, ultimately, your life, you should listen closely.”
A chill went down Jack’s spine and for the first time, real fear crept in. He tasted bile. Rainier was capable of carrying out his threat—and that was a direct threat to Jack’s life. Rainier came and went from his heavily guarded home at will, showing his ability to end Jack’s life easily.
“I’m listening.” He choked out the words. His voice sounded strangled even to his own ears. Rainier’s calm demeanor was getting to him. In truth, he’d always been a little afraid of the man, which was one of the many reasons he had for despising him.
Men were afraid of Jack, not the other way around. He gave orders and everyone listened, but not Rainier. Rainier gave the orders, and no matter how Jack tried to get around the man, he never came out on top in an argument between them. He’d tried to use his considerable clout to get Rainier fired from his job with the idea he would lose government protection as well as his information sources. Jack discovered very quickly that Rainier had much more power and influence than he had. He hadn’t found a way to remove the “ghost” from their lives.
It wasn’t just Jack’s marriage Rainier had threatened. He warned Jack his life might be forfeit. If he knew anything about Rainier, it was to take everything he said seriously.
“Shabina doesn’t want to see you or talk to you, and you’re going to respect her wishes. She does want to be able to talk with her mother and see her. You’re going to allow that to happen. You’re going to encourage Yasemin to call her daughter and suggest a visit because you must go out of town and Yasemin can’t go with you. Tell her you’d feel better if she was with her daughter and under my protection.”
Jack found himself shaking his head, his heart pumping wildly. “No, I can’t do that. Yasemin stays with me, where I can look after her. We don’t separate for any reason.”
“That’s too bad, Jack. I’m sorry you see it that way.” Rainier stood up. He was no more than a faint shadow of gray in the unrelenting darkness. “Make sure your affairs are in order. You have two weeks to get that done. Make the most of your time with your wife. Teach her anything she might need to know about running your business in those two weeks. Prepare her.”
Rainier spoke so casually that it took a minute to sink in, to realize what he was saying.
“You’re going to kill me.” Jack made it a statement. He was so scared that he feared he might disgrace himself by vomiting, or worse, his bladder letting loose.
“What did you think I’d do when you tried to lock my wife in a mental institution? When you put a hit out on her? I gave you my terms, and you refused them. I’m not going to argue with you. For me, I find it much easier just to kill you and get you out of the way. Yasemin will grieve for a while. Shabina probably will too, but they’ll both get over your death. Life goes on.” He sounded pragmatic. “Believe me, Jack, after what you did to Shabina, I will find great satisfaction in ending you.”
Jack swore under his breath. Rainier was the man the government sent to carry out dark deeds. A “ghost.” One of the best, if not the best. He had walked into Jack’s home dozens of times, right past the guards. He had come into Jack’s home tonight despite the number of security personnel scattered through the house and on the grounds. No alarm had gone off. Jack could almost believe Rainier was an apparition. He did believe he would carry out his threat and never look back. There would be no way to stop him.
“I agree to your terms,” he capitulated.
Rainier sighed. “If you think you can renege on our agreement, Jack, even if I miss somehow, if you manage to find a way to kill me, my men will lock on you so fast you won’t know what hit you. You climbed to the top of our hit list the moment word of what you’d done got out. We all stick together and look after one another’s families. You’re already considered a dead man walking. Don’t be stupid enough to make it real.”
“I understand,” Jack said. “I agreed to your terms, and I’ll stick with them. That doesn’t mean eventually I won’t try to get back in my daughter’s life. Hopefully, she’ll be able to forgive me.”
“I’m sure she will, given time,” Rainier said. “But I won’t.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I screamed,” Theresa admitted. “We were there to have fun. We’d been talking so much about how Felicity and Eve were helping us. Miguel sometimes too. I had pointed out this one boulder and said it looked epic and I wanted to climb it, but Eve said no, that was a ‘highball’ and I wasn’t ready for a climb like that. Janine loved the name and wanted to see it, so Edward offered to take us out early in the morning.”