Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“I had an associate who was working with him years ago. Malik wanted them to help move some product around the country, mostly light stuff that they could buy their way out of with relative ease. But then heroin was added to that list, and they pushed back. Malik threatened them and gave them a warning, and they gave in.” Xander pauses and takes another drag of his cigar before exhaling it. I watch him, knowing this isn’t the end of the story. “After Malik saw he could intimidate them, he added women to the shipments. Human trafficking. The associate put their foot down and said there’s no way in hell they’d continue with that. They told Malik to find someone else because they wouldn’t do it. Well, Malik had trouble finding someone else willing to do this for him. He asked my associate to reconsider, hoping to sweeten the deal. Of course, they said no. Drugs are one thing, people are another.
“About a week goes by, and they’re away on business, and they get a call from a local hospital telling them their entire family is dead. Coincidentally, they turned Malik down, and their entire house blew up after there was a gas leak.” Xander pauses and raises his eyebrows at me as a silent warning. This is what I would get myself wrapped up in if I chose to work with Malik. This is what my dad chose. “Nobody turns him down and walks away from it unscathed.”
My stomach wrenches, and I feel like I could be sick, but I take a drag of the cigar and try to think. Xander just watches me as I attempt to brainstorm a way out of this. Turning Malik down isn’t impossible. Maybe nobody has done it before, but I am not giving in.
When the conversation is done, we both head outside to the garden to find Harper and Ella sitting on a bench and laughing with each other. I watch both of them as I approach, delighted to see Harper happy for once. I’ve never seen her smile the way she is now. There’s always a tentative nature about her, and now that she’s alone with someone as friendly and welcoming as Ella, she’s carefree.
How am I supposed to see her like this and hand her over to a monster like Malik? Once he has her, she’ll never smile like this again.
There has to be a way to get out of this arrangement without getting either Harper or myself killed for it. I could curse my father for all of this. He knew damn well what he was getting himself into, and he didn’t care.
Xander and I approach, and all of us make small talk before Harper and I excuse ourselves to go to our room. I know where it is, so I turn down the offer to show us there, and I wrap my arm around Harper’s shoulder as we walk. She almost seems a little confused by the affection I’m showing her, but Xander and Ella are friends. Plus, I doubt they’re surprised by it.
She doesn’t say anything as we walk through the mansion, but as soon as the door closes behind us, she whips around and stares at me with her arms folded in front of her.
“Can you please tell me what the hell is going on now?” Her face is contorted in a mixture of confusion and desperation. “I know something is wrong.”
“It’s not for you to worry about,” I say, attempting to reach out and cup her face, hoping it might comfort her. Instead, she backs away and shakes her head.
“Really? Because you forced me to get everything together in less than an hour and travel across the country without any warning. You refuse to talk business in front of me now that we’re here. That’s not to mention you didn’t even tell your dad where we were going,” Harper says, rattling off all the strange things she’s noticed today. “Something is wrong, and I want you to tell me what it is.”
I back away from her and pace for a moment, running my fingers through my hair.
“Do you really want to know what’s wrong?” I ask, turning around and watching if she nods. My frustration with everything today is boiling over, and I can feel it about to explode out of me, and I wish I could stop it. “You’re what’s wrong. This obsession I have for you is what’s wrong. You’re making my life miserable and adding so much stress to it. That is what’s wrong.”
She unfolds her arms from in front of her and stares at me with a mixture of hurt, anger, and confusion on her face. I almost wish I could take back what I said, but I can’t now. It’s out in the open, and it was 100% true. If it weren’t for Harper, I wouldn’t be in this situation.