Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
I already knew what that deal would be.
“Step down and revoke the Fifth Republic—and I let you live.”
“You know I can’t do that, Ivan.”
“Ivan?” He smiled again. “We’re on a first-name basis now?”
“Aren’t all people who want to kill each other?”
This time, he chuckled. “I like you, Bastien. Which makes this a little harder…but only a little.”
“We won’t go back. France’s economy is the strongest it’s ever been. Tourism is up over fifty percent. And all my partners are rich and operating with convenience. Working with the government rather than against it has increased productivity.”
“Perhaps that’s true, but margins are less favorable with paid labor, and with the taxes and tariffs they’re forced to pay, they’re working more and keeping less.”
“But innocents are spared, and the country in which they reside is the most powerful in its history—and that counts for something.”
“Over eighty percent of your partners disagree, Bastien. They don’t care about patriotism or morality. They want the old Republic to be reinstated—and they want you gone.”
I’d hoped in time that the men would accept the new policies, but apparently they were too greedy for that. “The Fifth Republic stays. When I discover the parties who have aligned with you, they’ll be replaced.”
“We both know that’s not going to happen, Bastien. You seem like a smart kid who still believes in the good of people, very commendable.” He sat upright and placed his elbows on the table. “But that shit is gonna get you killed.”
I held my silence.
“If you want to do good in this world, be a cop or a teacher. Be a philanthropist. You’re rich enough for it.”
“In the years since I’ve been doing this, I’ve saved thousands, tens of thousands, of innocent lives, and I’ve strengthened my country’s place within the world. I will never know the true impact of my work because it simply can’t be quantified. That’s more important than money, Ivan.”
“Those who care about money the least are always the ones who have it.”
“And you don’t?”
“I was in a Russian prison for five years. I managed to escape and have had to start over. Eating out of dumpsters and robbing men for their clothes. When I came to Paris, I heard about the infamous Butcher…and I knew that was the job I wanted.”
“I’m sorry to inform you that we aren’t hiring right now.”
“No,” he said with a smile. “You’re one of those pricks who loves to smell his own shit because it smells so damn good. But if you don’t pull your head out of your ass and smell the fresh air, you’re going to get that head cut off.” His smile faded, and he turned dead serious. “You have no idea what you’re up against. This is your last chance to take my offer. Think wisely because it won’t come again—”
My patience had snapped. He was playing checkers with someone who played chess, and I was ready to wipe all his pieces off the board. “I won’t let you destroy my country. I won’t let you burn my city. And I won’t let you rape and enslave my women.”
His eyes narrowed with his frustration. “Then you have chosen death.”
“My power and alliances reach much further than you know, Ivan. But you will know soon enough.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “And if you’re wrong, not only will you pay the price, but so will that pretty fiancée of yours.”
I stilled at the threat, the line he never should have crossed.
“Too late, Butcher.” He smiled. “My offer has expired.”
When I got into the back seat of the car, Luca tried to hit me with questions.
But I cut to the chase first. “Fleur needs to go into hiding. Get a team together. Now.”
“I guess that tells me everything I need to know.” He started making calls and shooting off texts.
I started doing the same, calling in favors to allies near and far, one of them being the Skull King. I’d been taking his drugs through Paris to the Scandinavian countries. He didn’t have a lot of power in Paris, specifically, but he had a lot of power, nonetheless.
When I arrived at the house, I walked into the bedroom and saw Fleur was dead asleep.
It was three in the morning.
I didn’t want to wake her to this news, but I didn’t have the time to waste. Perhaps Ivan knew that was how the conversation would go, and he already had a plan to hit me and Fleur within minutes after the meeting.
“Sweetheart.” I stood at her side of the bed and gently rubbed her arm.
“Mmm?” She didn’t open her eyes. They were clenched shut, trying to hold on to sleep.
“Sweetheart, I need you to wake up.” I flipped the sheets off her.
Her legs immediately tightened toward her chest when she felt the cold.
I gave her a gentle shake.