Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
The pure venom in his tone as he finishes is chilling. This guy isn't stable, and I already know his little henchmen that are crowding me in here aren't either. The moment he decides he doesn't need me anymore, I'm going to be turned into a statistic. Whether that’s murder victim, mysterious disappearance or something else still remains to be seen.
“Where are we going?”
“Am I supposed to tell you my dastardly plan? Please. We’re getting out of this disgusting city. That’s all you’re getting.” He laughs darkly.
“Do you even believe you’re doing the right thing? People are dying, and it’s not the men you call animals that are responsible.”
“If me being the villain is what it takes to clear the world of the crime that infests this city then so be it. If there's anything I learned from my time in prison, it's that my means are not… good. Just necessary. Look at you. I've kidnapped you, put you in the hands of zealots like Harris and Anderson, and I'm instigating a gang war in the city I once was the mayor of. A city I love. But sometimes, tough love is required, and that means breaking a few eggs.”
Anderson chuckles, making my stomach flip at the mention of eggs.
“I don't expect anyone to remember me as a great humanitarian, a wonderful philanthropist or even some kind of twisted Robin Hood, but if something better can grow out of the rubble I leave behind then that will be my legacy. And you're but a little, but useful, piece of that puzzle.”
“I'm never going to help you.”
“You already are. Everything is playing into my hands. The explosion will be easy enough to pin on the Eagles. So many people have the wrong impression, seeing them as some sort of heroes fighting the power and protecting the sewer of South Side, but they'll be swayed, and once the Eagles are gone, we can bulldoze the whole district and rezone it. Build it up right.”
Built on the deaths of the men I love. My feelings are so obvious now, and I never got the chance to say it to them. I wiggle my wrists against the rope, but it's not giving at all. My hands are getting a little tingly, they're so tight.
The surface under the car changes as we slow and turn. Now it's the crunch of gravel. Wherever we're going, I think we're almost there. God, I could be anywhere, and no one saw me get stolen away. The boys found me once, but I don't know that it's possible for them to do it again.
The car stops, a door opens, and the car rocks a little as Hawthorne gets out. Then the blindfold is removed. I shy back when I open my eyes to see Harris right in front of my face, grinning viciously.
“Boo,” he says calmly. “We're here. Get out.” Then he climbs out, leaving me to struggle out of the limo with my hands tied.
It's awkward and humiliating, which I'm sure is the point, but I manage. I look around while Anderson climbs out behind me. Nobody is ever going to find me.
The place is a mansion in the woods on the edge of a lake. There are terrasses, balconies, and everything shines in white stucco and glass. I bet it’s beautiful here in the summer, but right now a freezing wind is blowing in over the water, making me shiver almost as much as being back with Harris and Anderson.
Hawthorne sets a course up a sloped stone tile path that leads to a big double door with gold handles. There are armed guards on either side of the door and more by the big doors that lead into the garage under the house.
Harris shoves me in the center of my back. “Move it, bitch. You owe me.”
Hawthorne extends his arms and lets the chill of the lake wash over him. “Perfect, just perfect. Let's get inside where it's warm. I think we'll be able to make you see reason after a while, despite your protests. Besides, it's not like your heroes are around to save you this time.” His statement is all flat, like it's just an afterthought. The three best men in the world, dead, and he doesn't even care.
But I do.
I'm trying so hard not to cry. So, so hard.
I want my heroes back.
33
WRAITH
When we pull up in front of the clubhouse, Snark's already waiting for us. Eagle-eye had Badass call ahead with the little info he had. From the shit eating grin on Snark's face, he's already got something for us.
“Talk to us,” I say as I shut my bike off and dismount.
“What the man said,” King agrees. “Time's of the essence.”
“That's for fucking sure.” Snark's expression sobers immediately, as if he just remembered that there's something bigger going on than bragging about his digital skills. “Hawthorne.”