Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
“Surely to God neither him nor the senator could be this fucking stupid. There’s got to be a simple explanation.” Shotgun sounded as perplexed as I felt. Thing was, I absolutely could believe this guy was that stupid.
“I mean, no one ever accused anyone in Washington of being smart. Right?”
“Humm… You have a point there. OK. So, if we assume they are that stupid, is there any possibility we’ve interpreted this wrong? I mean, maybe the phrase, ‘get top dollar for the bitches’ could mean almost anything.” Shotgun actually said that with a straight face.
“I want you, Eden, and anyone else you want to have eyes on it, to make sure this is legit, not some blackmail scheme or political entrapment or whatever bullshit they do in Washington to get and hold power. I want concrete proof, Shotgun.”
The other man raised an eyebrow. “You givin’ me orders, pup?”
“I’m lead in the field on this one, so yeah. I’m givin’ you fuckin’ orders.” I kept my gaze leveled on Shotgun until the man burst out laughing.
“You’re so full of shit. And a dumbass.” Shotgun looked genuinely amused, not like he was calling me out for not showing respect for my elders. Which reminded me, I needed to apologize to him for that very thing. And phrase it that exact way. Should be fun. “You were trying to stare me down, bro.”
When I continued to stare at him, he cracked up again. “Over a video call! Which means you’re lookin’ at my eyes, but you’re really lookin’ into the screen. Not the camera.”
“I don’t know how Eden puts up with you, man. Now I’m thinkin’ you’re the one who’s stupid.”
The other man grinned at me. “In all seriousness, Jax. Don’t kill the fucker. In fact, stay as far away from him as possible. Let Razor babysit.”
“You afraid I’d kill him?”
“Absolutely that’s what I’m afraid of. Not that I care overmuch, but El Diablo will. You know he takes killin’ seriously. And if these guys really are guilty of human trafficking, El Diablo gets to set and carry out their punishment.”
“I can be as creative and diabolical as El Diablo.” I winced. Because yeah, I sounded sulky.
“Not sure I’d bet on you there, Jax. Just get Holly as far away from that guy as possible.”
I started to tell him I could absolutely get behind that plan when there was a bloodcurdling scream. Followed by several battle cries.
“The fuck was that?” Shotgun’s eyes were wide. You comin’ in hot?”
I hurried out of the little room to the main part of the plane and to where the women had been sitting in a group. Razor leaned against the bulkhead in front of the seating separating the passenger section from the crew section. In one of the seats, Chris Alistair was tied with his hands behind his back and his legs tied at the knees, spreading them as far apart as they’d go in his chair.
“Nothing.” I shrugged. “The girls are having a, err, therapy session. Yeah. Therapy session.”
“Great.” Shotgun’s dry tone and the roll of his eyes nearly made me grin. But I honestly didn’t feel like it at the moment. And yeah. I knew the other man was trying to take the edge off my anger. “I’ll let El Diablo know you guys are bring home a half-dead senator’s son.”
“You’re assuming he’ll be only half dead.”
“Point.” Shotgun gave me a little wave before ending the call.
I wasn’t sure how much I trusted myself to be anywhere near Alistair at the moment, but I had to get Holly and make sure she was ready to face everyone when we landed. No doubt her mother and father would have some words. Wrath and Celeste would give Holly time to process, but I was feeling more than a bit protective of her.
With a shrug I went forward to the crew section. Fuck that little prick, Alistair. If the girls castrated him, so much the better. There were usually soldiers at the monitor banks, but this mission had been extraction only. This close to home, Mechanic kept up with the flight instrumentation and Razor would be back in the cockpit before they got ready to land.
Holly sat in one of the console stools. She was spinning around and round. Whenever she slowed, she’d push off with the workstation and start spinning again. I’d seen her do this same thing all the time at the bar in the compound. It always meant she was stressed about something. When she was little, it had been her cancer. Having childhood leukemia meant she’d grown up used to needles and medications and chemo treatments…
Part of the reason she’d caught my interest was because, when she first came to Black Reign, she’d given Wrath what-for when he and Celeste had been going through a rough patch after they’d first gotten together. The door to Celeste and Holly’s room hadn’t been fully closed, and I heard Holly’s shrill little voice in the hallway. She’d said, “Don’t you hurt my mommy again, or I’ll get Blade to do surgery on you. He said if it hurt when I woke up, it would hurt even worse if he hadn’t put the needle with the medicine in my arm to make me sleep.” I’d only been a teenager, but even I could tell the child meant it, and she was fully confident Blade would do exactly what she described. That show of protection for her mother told me how much she loved Celeste, and how brave she was to stand up to a man as big and scary as Wrath. She’d been all of about four at the time, and already hell on wheels.