Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Could it really be true? Was he finally gone?
“It happened fast,” Emiliano told him.
“You’ve got proof?” Jared asked. “You know how sneaky he can be.”
“I will send you photos. It’s over. He’s finally gone, Jared. Now, we can all get on with living.”
“Did you hear anything about him hiring an assassin to kill me?” Jared asked.
“An assassin? No. I mean, I wouldn’t put it past him. But an assassin would cost a lot and it seems like he was living on the bones of his ass.”
They talked through a few more details and then ended the call. Jared flicked through the photos on his phone.
That was definitely Beltran.
And he was certainly dead.
North walked into the room, pausing as he saw Jared’s face. “What is it?”
“Beltran is dead.” He showed him the photos and then told him what Emiliano had said.
“This is good news, so why do you look concerned?”
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t be. He’s finally dead. I guess, in a way, it feels anticlimactic. I knew I probably wasn’t going to be the one to kill him, but I guessed I hoped I would be.”
North nodded. “I know what you mean. It would have been far more satisfactory.”
“Exactly. I’m going to go check on Angie and let her know the good news. Are you coming?”
“In a moment.”
North waited for the door to the office to close before pulling out his phone.
If Beltran had hired The Collective to kill Jared and Beltran was dead . . . surely his mission would be called off?
N: I need to meet with you urgently about the mission.
Nothing.
Fuck it.
Think about this. About what could be going on.
N: If Beltran is the one that hired my skills and he’s dead, do you still want me to take out the target?
It was a risky message. He wasn’t supposed to ask questions.
However, he had to know.
N: I’m not doing anything without a reply and confirmation about what is going on.
Fuck it.
Could he deflect without putting Jared and Angie at risk?
What would The Collective do?
Kill him and everyone he loved?
Christ. No matter which way he looked at it, he was fucking screwed.
Deciding he needed to be with Jared and Angie, he started searching through the cameras to find them.
He discovered them in her playroom and headed up that way. He paused at the open doorway.
“No, Daddy. You’ve forgotten what I taught you last time. The knives have to be on the other side. Yes, and Miss Melanie would like some vanilla cake.”
“I don’t think we have vanilla cake,” Jared replied.
She sighed long and loud. “That’s very disappointing, Daddy.”
“I hear you, baby girl. I’ve been disappointed about this fact for the last week. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to make vanilla cake. So Miss Melanie might have to settle for a piece of apple.”
“A piece of apple! Daddy, you can’t have a tea party with apples. Everyone knows you have tea and cake. Not tea and apples. It’s a crime!”
“Pretty sure it’s not a crime,” Jared replied dryly.
“Well, it should be! And the punishment should be high. Like having to spend a hundred years in jail.”
“That is severe.”
North pushed the door open further. “Perhaps we can try and make a vanilla cake. How does that sound?”
It would be the perfect distraction while he was waiting on a reply.
Angie was seated in an armchair that they’d brought up here for her. She couldn’t sit on the floor with her stitches and bruising and the rocking chair wasn’t ideal either.
She clapped her hands in delight. “Northie always has the best ideas.”
“Does he?” Jared said suspiciously. “Does Northie know how to bake a cake?”
North just shrugged. “How hard can it be?”
61
It turned out that it was a lot harder than he’d imagined.
Of course, his helper did get a bit carried away. If North had been allowed to follow the recipe, he was certain the baking would have come out fine.
“Hmm, great at everything you do, huh?” Jared said with a smirk as they all stared down at the flat, slightly crispy cake.
“I’m not sure where we went wrong,” North said.
Angie, who was perched on a seat at the counter, beamed. “I’m sure it will taste good, Northie.”
Jared eyed her. “Did you get any flour into the mixture? Maybe that’s where you went wrong.”
Hmm. He could have a point. Angie was basically covered head-to-toe in flour. There was also flour all over the floor, the counter, and his shirt.
Shit.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a mess on his shirt like this. He was always immaculate.
Grabbing a towel, North tried to clean himself up. But the mess just seemed to spread.
“I never knew baking was so messy,” he said as he attempted to clean himself and the kitchen simultaneously.
“I think it was fun!” Angie cried. “I want to bake something else.”
“Absolutely not,” North replied. “Look at this place. Look at you. Look at me.”