Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 60768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to shove the thoughts away. They’re poison. If I let them in too deep I’ll freeze up, and freezing gets people killed. Enley needs me sharp. Not drowning in guilt.
The mattress dips a little as Orchid moves around the room. She’s still fully dressed, holster snug against her ribs, like she expects me to sprout claws in my sleep. I crack one eye open and watch her. She’s beautiful in this sharp, dangerous way that makes it hard to look away. Dark hair still pulled tight, a few strands escaping like they’re trying to rebel. Those eyes that seem to catalog every twitch I make. Lips that could probably talk a man into walking off a cliff or into her bed, depending on the mood.
She’s lethal. And she knows it.
I wonder how many guys have underestimated her right before she put them on their fucking knees. I wonder if I could be the one who surprises her.
She said she sleeps light. Armed. But maybe if I wait until her breathing evens out, I could move fast. One hand over her mouth, pressure on the right nerve in her neck, take the gun before she wakes fully. Then the door, the van, disappear into the city long enough to regroup. Find a way to reach Enley without walking straight into another trap.
Except even if I get past Orchid, what then? I still don’t know where they’re holding my sister. Serafina’s people have her buried deep. One wrong move and that photo of Enley’s bruised face becomes the last thing I ever see of her. I can’t risk it. Not yet.
Serafina herself is the real ghost in all this. I’ve chased her digital footprint for months and come up with smoke. Now she’s somewhere in this building, pulling strings, and I’m supposed to dance while she decides whether Arthur Charles lives or dies. Whether Enley lives or dies. Whether I live or die.
My chest feels tight, like someone parked a truck on it.
I shift on the bed, trying to get comfortable on my side of the mattress. The sheets smell like industrial detergent, nothing personal. Orchid finally sits down on the edge, back straight, like she’s ready to spring up at the first wrong sound. She doesn’t look tired. She looks like she could do this all night and still win.
I keep my voice low so I don’t wake Arthur in the corner. “What happens next?”
She turns her head, studying me for a long second. The corner of her mouth lifts, not quite a smile. More like she finds me amusing in a pathetic sort of way. She swings her legs up and settles against the headboard, close enough that I can feel the heat coming off her body but far enough that she can still reach her gun easily.
“You just need to obey me,” she says quietly. “Do what I tell you when I tell you. Answer every question. Keep your friends chasing shadows. And everything will be well.”
I almost laugh. It comes out as a tired huff instead. “You really believe that? Just click my heels three times and everything goes back to normal?”
Her eyes narrow slightly. “I believe in results. And right now the results depend on you staying in line.”
I stare at the ceiling again, tracing a water stain that looks vaguely like a middle finger. Obey. The word still feels like a collar tightening around my throat. I’ve spent years fighting people who think they can control the world with money and fear. Now I’m supposed to roll over for them?
“I don’t buy it,” I mutter. “Serafina doesn’t let people walk away clean. She collects leverage and she never lets go. Even if I play nice, what’s to stop her from deciding Enley’s more useful as an example than as a bargaining chip?”
Orchid doesn’t answer right away. She shifts, the mattress dipping again, and I feel her looking at me. Really looking. Like she’s trying to decide if I’m worth the trouble or just another broken toy she’ll have to discard later.
“Serafina rewards loyalty,” she says finally. Her voice is softer than before, but I don’t trust the gentleness. “You deliver what she needs, she delivers what you need. Simple transaction.”
“Nothing about this is simple.” I turn my head so I can see her face. She’s close now. Close enough that I notice the tiny scar just above her left eyebrow. Close enough that I catch the faint scent of something clean and expensive on her skin. “You know that. You’re not stupid.”
Her lips press together. For a second I think she might snap at me, but she just exhales through her nose. “No. I’m not stupid. Which is why I’m telling you to stop fighting the current and start swimming with it. You fight me, you make this harder on everyone. Especially your sister.”