Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
It almost makes me nostalgic.
“Nasty slut!” Mr. Davis screams as I haul ass toward the back fence.
Brenden
“Nasty slut!”
I freeze on the drainpipe. Below me is thin white hair, and streaking past him, is my wife.
I watch her go in astonishment.
This wasn’t exactly the plan. I have no idea what went down but clearly she had to do some improvising of her own. Mr. Davis shouts more curses at Tallie but he eventually heads back inside, which gives me enough space to crawl down the pipe and to sneak out after her.
I don’t know when they’ll find the woman in that office, but I hope it’s soon. When I left, her heart was still beating.
I find the spot where Tallie went over and climb behind her. I land on the sidewalk and nearly turn my ankle when a blur rams into me. I grunt, smashed to the ground, the pavement biting into my side and arms.
“You old—oh, shit, Brenden?” Tallie stops hitting me in the face.
“Did you think Mr. Davis was going to climb after you?”
“I kind of hoped! Crap, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She moves to get off me, but I grab her with one hand against the small of her back and push her in closer. I kiss her hard, biting her lip with a smile.
“What’d you do in there?”
“It went a little sideways, I’ll be honest.” She presses her hands to my chest. “Did you get it?”
I grin and slip the ledger from my jacket. “It matches.”
“Are you sure?” She takes it breathlessly and flips through. A laugh bubbles up from her throat. “Holy shit. It’s real, isn’t it?”
“It’s real,” I confirm. “And it’s our ticket out of this nightmare.”
I don’t mention that I only had to possibly kill a woman for it.
“Come on. Let’s run before the Davises call the police.”
“Seriously, what did you do?”
“Well, I think unfortunately we won’t be getting any Christmas cards from them anytime soon.”
CHAPTER 26
BRENDEN
Ilinger outside the coffee shop for longer than I should.
Baltimore’s cooling off. It’s late summer heading straight into fall. We’ve been hiding out for a week ever since the Davis job went sideways. I haven’t wanted to make a move, not with so much up in the air, but Arsen’s going to run out of patience soon.
I push my way inside, hat pulled low. She’s sitting toward the back reading a book and drinking coffee. I scan the room but don’t spot any Sarkissian handlers before slipping into the chair across from her.
“They let you out without minders now?”
Riley looks up and smiles. “I get to make the rules these days. What’s with the spy gear?”
“Can’t be too careful.” I take off the hat and put it on the table. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too. I was getting worried.” My sister glances down at the bag by my feet and arches her eyebrows. “You brought presents?”
“Something like that. Riles, how much do you know about what’s going on?”
Her smile instantly evaporates. “Arsen’s livid. What did you do?”
I rub my temples and let my eyes drift toward the counter. I could really use some caffeine for this.
A part of me wishes I was still out in the suburbs in my dumpy safe house with my beautiful wife. Even though we’re stuck hiding, we’ve made the best of our time, getting to know each other better than I ever thought possible. It’s like she’s become an extension of me, and all I can think about is how badly I want life to go back to the way it was, if only so I can make her happy again.
I tell Riley about the Sam job. I tell her about what we found and what it means for him if Arsen gets it. I talk about my plans, about my dream of getting out of the life once and for all, and how I was going to use the ledgers against the Sarkissians, to buy my own freedom.
It hurts to say it all. Riley’s a part of them. Her person is Alexan Sarkissian, and that’s about as deep in the Brotherhood as it gets. She has every reason to despise me, to turn me in, to curse me out and tell me never to contact her again. I’ve done nothing but cause her trouble from the start.
“If all that’s true, why are you here right now?” she asks it softly. I expected anger and instead she’s giving me curiosity. “If you have the ledgers, why aren’t you long gone?”
“Because if I run, Sam’s finished. Arsen will go scorched-earth.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because—“ I take a breath and level my gaze so she knows I’m not messing around. “Because I love her, that’s why.”
Riley lifts her cup to her lips and takes a sip. She’s grinning when she puts it back down. “You really do, don’t you?”