Series: The Circle of Monsters Series by Sam Crescent
Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Galen didn’t like how that sounded. His hands clenched into fists.
“Forget about it. I know it’s silly.”
“Why is it fucking silly?” he asked. This woman was getting on his last nerve. He wasn’t used to a job fucking up like this, and then having to deal with the consequences. When he was sent on a mission, he completed it. No babysitting involved. This was a huge problem.
“Well, look at me and think about the women Mr. Petrov always has around. It makes no sense. Maybe he just wanted to kill me?”
Galen stared at her. She was right, she wasn’t the slender blonde Petrov usually went for, but she was incredibly beautiful. She also had that air of innocence that would fool many men into thinking she was a virgin. To a man like Petrov, even to a man like him, her virginity would be a fucking calling card. Any man, in fact, would like to be the one to finally break her in.
“No, you’re not wrong, Skye,” he said. “You were probably his next target.”
“But I’m his nanny. Why would he do that to me?” she asked. “I took care of his kids and I’m not just saying it, I really did an amazing job.”
He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. He was used to the people who walked in his circles—fellow killers, evil bastards, and horrible bitches. Not innocent little nannies who didn’t know what the fuck was going on. Certainly not a woman who couldn’t seem to tell that her boss was preying on her.
“Power. Greed. Lust. You name it.”
Skye frowned. “That makes absolutely no sense. No sense at all.”
“Does it even need to make sense?” he asked. “That’s all that’s at play here. Nothing needs to make sense.” He shrugged. “Are you going to eat that?”
“No, I don’t even know how you can eat that.”
“Easy.” He picked up her burger and took a large bite. “Yum.”
She rolled her eyes. “At least it’s getting eaten.” She rested her hand on her stomach.
He wanted to tell her it was going to be okay, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to say it. If Viko called to tell him to finish the job, he would. They weren’t like the Killer of Kings. They didn’t have state-of-the-art surveillance to get into everyone’s backstory for weeks or months before a hit. The Circle of Monsters was simple, swift, and brutal.
Skye’s life clock was ticking away, and the sound would end very soon.
****
Skye knew she should have eaten. Now, several hours later, close to two in the morning, she was starving. This was just typical.
Galen, her nightmare savior, had dumped her into one of his spare bedrooms. There was a tiny ensuite, and he’d gone through it to make sure there was nothing sharp—just in case. She couldn’t believe he was worried she would try to kill herself. Should she be considering it? The whole point of her hiding was to survive. She’d even begged him to let her live. He must think she was a fucking fool.
Pressing her palm to her forehead, she groaned, and her stomach moaned. She needed some food.
She didn’t want to anger Galen any further. He threatened to kill her and she had a horrible suspicion he would totally do that, with the slightest provocation. She had even thought he would do it over dinner. He looked so angry with her.
“I can’t just lay here.”
She had to look for some food. There was no way she would allow Petrov to win and kill her through starvation. He was a horrible man. There were so many times when she worked for him and was tempted to throw her resignation in his face.
Skye knew he’d been a cruel bastard.
Seriously? You watched him kill two people and you think of him as a horrible man.
She wrinkled her nose at herself and climbed out of bed.
Food. That was what she needed. She had to have something to rewire her brain and realize the kind of crap she was actually in. Yes, it was fucking terrifying.
She took a deep breath as she padded across the room. Considering it was supposed to be her prison for the next couple of hours, days, or even weeks, it was a very nice room.
Once she got to the door, she stopped, putting her hand flat on the wooden surface.
“I can do this.” She wouldn’t dare speak up too loudly.
She had a horrible feeling the man who had saved her and threatened to kill her was waiting to do exactly that. After turning the door handle, there was no squeak. It smoothly twisted and then opened.
“Ah, freedom.” She couldn’t help but smile and then stepped out of her room and into the hallway.
Galen hadn’t taken the time to tell her where everything was, not that she minded. In the back of her mind, she was constantly speaking a mantra that would keep her alive. Licking her dry lips, she slowly walked down the hall, past the dining room, going toward the kitchen.