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)
“I need your help. I have copies of the ledger with an old lawyer associate of mine and he’s got instructions to mail them to the DA if I die in the next few months, but that’s not enough. I want you to hold on to copies too.”
“Why would I do that? You realize Arsen is my brother in law, right?”
“I know, and I hate putting you in this position, but he’ll listen to you.”
“This is my husband’s business too.”
“I’m sorry, Riles, I really am, but I’d do anything for Tallie.”
She sighs, leaning back like that’s the most satisfying thing she’s ever heard. “You can’t even imagine how happy I am right now.”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
“Seriously, Brenden, this is incredible. You’re in love! And you’re married to her!” She drums her fingers on the table. “I mean, it’s a problem that you’re going to blackmail my brother-in-law, but still, this is incredible.”
“I have a plan. I don’t know if it’s going to work, but I’ll need you to do one more thing for me.”
Riley shifts her weight and nods sharply. “Anything.”
“Even if it might get you in trouble?”
She waves that off. “They love me. I can do no wrong.”
“Then in three days, I need you to open a door for me.”
CHAPTER 27
TALIN
Iresist the urge to sneeze and wave a hand in the air, warding off more spiderwebs. They’re in my hair and all over my clothes, but I’m doing my best to stay presentable as I shuffle through the narrow passage between walls.
Brenden’s a silent shadow at my back. We only got this far because his sister let us in through a side door. She hugged me so hard my shoulders are still hurting, which was a surprise, but it was also nice.
My family has never been very affectionate. I get the feeling Riley and Brenden aren’t, especially when he barely gave her a single nod in thanks, but that hug meant a lot to me. It makes me think I might have a good relationship with my sister-in-law one day.
First though, we have to survive the next half hour.
Instead of heading toward the private residence area of the mansion, I angle to the right. Riley told us where Arsen’s currently working and fortunately I know the way. It takes a lot of silent shuffling and more than a few curses as nails and other splinters snag on my clothes, but eventually we find ourselves in a wider junction.
Brenden touches my hand. He slips past and leans into me, his mouth finding my cheek before moving to my ear. “Follow my lead. And if anything goes wrong, you run. Riley will help.”
“We’ll run together.”
He’s already moving away toward a makeshift door cut into the wood ahead of us.
I never thought much about these passages when I was younger. They were fun, but it never occurred to me how they could be used. Arsen and his brothers probably snuck around this house all the time, ghosting around like wraiths, appearing out of nowhere like they popped into being right in the middle of thin air. That’s how it feels, stepping from the passage and into Arsen’s massive office, exiting through a door hidden behind a section of bookshelf in the back corner near the fireplace.
Brenden holds a hand behind him, cautioning me to go slow. He’s hesitating, but I can’t see why, until I edge around him and out into the relatively cleaner air of the main room. The space is immediately overwhelming: lots of wood, lots of green and gold, an office built for a king with a huge desk at the far end set in front of several enormous stained-glass windows. There’s a crown, a wolf, a rose, and Arsen’s sitting with his feet on the desk, a bottle of whisky in front of him, a glass in his hand, and a gun in the other.
The barrel doesn’t waver as he takes a drink.
“Took you long enough.” Arsen’s voice is low and resonant. He’s surprisingly calm.
“How’d you know?”
“If you’re worried your sister sold you out, you shouldn’t be. There are motion sensors in the walls now, ever since your last trick.”
Brenden stiffens. I nearly curse. We should’ve thought about that. Of course Arsen would increase security after we used this ploy to rob him.
“Why’d you let us come?”
“Because it’s easier than hunting you down.” Arsen motions with the gun. “Come in. Get comfortable. We have some things to discuss.”
It’s a real struggle not to openly groan. All this time, I thought we were going to get the drop on Arsen, surprise him for once, but instead he anticipated our move and caught us in the act. Now he’s got the power.
That’s not a good sign.
But Brenden strides into the room. He sits confidently in a plush, padded chair, and gestures for me to join him. I take the seat to his right, struggling not to tremble.