Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
“Do I look like I give a flying fuck who you are?”
“You should.” Brent keeps running his mouth. I’m not an advocate for violence, but I wouldn’t mind Nikolai putting this cocky jerk in his place. Because Brent is definitely not a nice person. He may not have been a jerk to me yet, but I've seen him in action on a few occasions.
A slow smile starts to spread across Nikolai’s face. I sit back in my chair. Nikolai jerks his shoulders forward in a quick move, but his feet stay planted. Brent stumbles back, thinking Nikolai is lunging for him. He slams into a bookcase, sending a few books tumbling to the floor.
I put my hand over my mouth, trying to stifle my laugh, still respecting the library rules. It takes Brent a second to get his bearings. “You’ll regret that,” Brent snaps, but there is a quiver of fear in it. He’s the definition of a bully. All big, bad, and tough until someone puts them in their place.
“Is there a problem here, boys?” Dean Soto asks. I snort when I hear someone refer to Nikolai as a "boy." Nikolai flicks his eyes toward me. I want to slide down in the chair. Why do I have to snort like a dork? But Nikolai smirks at me. It’s not a cocky one either. His eyes went soft for a second.
“No problem,” Brent says. Embarrassment flushes his cheeks red.
“Then let's move along.” Brent does as Dean Soto instructs, but as he passes Nikolai, he lets his shoulder run into him. Brent almost bounces off of Nikolai, who doesn’t move even a millimeter.
"Nikolai," Dean Soto says with a sigh. “You’ve only been here a few hours.” The dean picks up the fallen books, putting them back onto the bookcase.
“Only an hour,” Nikolai corrects him, pulling out a chair to sit diagonally from me. He pushes the tray of food toward me. I wonder if the dean is going to say more or comment on the food, but he merely shakes his head.
“Tell Cattaneo I said hello” is all he says before he leaves Nikolai and me all alone.
“The crying.”
“Oh my God.” I can’t help but laugh at this point. “You’re relentless.”
“You have no idea.”
He’s right. I don’t. However, I'm sure he's going to show me.
11
NIKOLAI
"Iswear, please. I’ll never do it again. It was an accident. I was—” Church interrupts the piece of shit's words when he shoves his hand into the man's mouth, keeping it open to make room for the pliers.
How the fuck do you accidentally beat the shit out of a woman? You don’t. Not to mention there are more than just this one woman. We’d picked this fuck up as a favor to Detective Stark. I’m guessing he couldn’t get the evidence he needed to toss him into jail. Stark walks a dark line. He does the right thing, but sometimes the right thing isn't always the legal thing. He often trades favors with us.
I turn around, ignoring the scream, when my phone vibrates in my pocket. It could be Riley. I put my number in her phone, but she’s yet to use it. She is still a little flighty with me. Maybe I should go back to my overbearing ways. I had more time with her then. It’s not her. I’m sure she’s asleep by now.
The text, however, is the next best thing. Zero just sent me the information I requested on Brent Rothschild. I want to know why this kid is so goddamn cocky.
Before I open it, I send Riley a good-night text. She always gives me a wary expression when I leave the house at night, but she never asks what I might be up to. Shit, should I tell her? In this life, you don’t ask those kinds of questions, but it would fuck with my head if Riley were up and leaving most nights without some sort of explanation. Not that it will ever happen.
I glare at my phone when her only response is to heart my message. “Maybe save me a few teeth,” I mutter to Church, irritated. When he doesn't respond and I realize the sound of screams has stopped, I turn back around. Church is still standing over the man tied to the chair.
“Motherfucker.” Church slams the pliers down on the floor. Did he pass out already? That often comes after they piss themselves.
“He dead?” I don’t see his chest rising and falling. Church lets out a few curses. I’m sure he’s pissed that he didn’t get to have his fun. I’m guessing the guy had a heart attack. Lucky bastard.
I return to reviewing the documents that Zero forwarded to me. Matteo relies on him for everything related to electronics. I have never met or even seen the man. For all I know, I could pass him in the street and never know it.