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)
“Yes, I am. As her only living male relative, I feel that I have the final say in who she is with. Still not sure I approve of her being with you, Bartolli.”
“Zander,” she said with a glare. “You are not my guardian. I’m twenty-six, for fuck’s sake.”
“Do not swear. It cheapens you,” Richard said.
She pointed at him. “And you! You definitely don’t get to boss me around. None of you do. I have a headache. I need cake.”
These guys were way too stressful.
Jared gave her a look filled with concern as he stepped away from Zander. “Come here, baby. No one is keeping you from us. You’re ours, now. Mine and North’s. All right?”
“She’s yours as long as you take care of her,” Zander said.
“Why are you all talking like that? She’s mine! My angel! My muse! I saw her first,” Richard cried.
“Yeah, but you’re a damn psychopath,” Zander said. “I’ve met some crazies in my time. Most of them I hired. Not you. Chopping off heads of innocent women. Not good.”
“I know,” Richard said mournfully. “That’s what the Deity said too.”
“Who is the Deity?” Miles asked.
Richard just stared at him.
“How long have The Children of the Divine been living here?” Zander asked.
“Is the symbol on your back something to do with them?” Zander asked, moving around him. “Ammo? Is this the same symbol as the carving on the closet at that house?”
Ammo walked around and nodded. “Yep.”
“Well?” Zander pressed.
“What?” Richard looked concerned at that. “Someone carved that symbol into a closet door? We’re not supposed to make the symbol obvious to anyone. That’s why it has to be in a hidden spot. Who would do that? Which room?”
They all stayed quiet.
“How did you know when I’d be at the library?” she asked suddenly. “Was that just a coincidence?”
“Oh no, I paid the librarian to call me if she saw you. She really didn’t like you.”
“That bitch is dead,” Zander muttered.
There was a knock on the door and Zander moved to open it. Webb was standing on the other side.
“Boss, we need you.”
“What do you mean you cannot find him?” Jared yelled.
She flinched at the sound and Keira wrapped an arm around her.
“I’ve looked everywhere. I’ve messaged him. We split up to cover more ground and now he’s disappeared,” Eli said.
Eli was still in Achison looking for North who had apparently disappeared into thin air.
Where was he? What had happened to him?
Jared was pacing up and down the security room where they were all sitting.
Miles was looking pale as he typed on his computer. “I can’t see anything on any of the cameras that we had set up. His phone seems to be turned off.”
“Do you think Richard had a partner?” she asked, putting her hand over her rioting stomach. “Oh God.”
What if someone hurt North?
“Right, I’m coming to look for him,” Jared said.
“Me too.” She jumped to her feet.
All sets of eyes turned her and she raised her chin. “North is mine. He might be in trouble. I’m going to help find him.”
“No,” Jared and Zander said together.
Then they glared at each other.
Honestly. Those two were like two bulls in a pen, constantly fighting.
But now they wanted to get along? When it came to bossing her around?
She clenched her hands into fists. “I’m coming. North is missing, he might have been taken by someone working with Richard.”
Which meant he was in real danger.
“I’ll find that out,” Ammo said darkly. “I’ll stay and work on Richard.”
“I don’t get it. The Children of the Divine were a cult that were dismantled by the FBI. The Deity is dead and so are all of his top men. Is this a copycat Deity?” Miles asked, glancing up from the computer screen.
“What do you mean?” Zander asked.
Miles brought up some images on the computer screen. They were news articles.
Cult Dismantled
Cult Leaders Dead
FBI raids The Children of the Divine Camp
“Then why does Richard think that he was a part of this cult?” Honey asked. “Is he just a complete lunatic?”
“That’s how I’ve heard of them. I think that’s the cult that Cat grew up in.” Jared frowned and brought out his phone. “I’ll message Alejandro.”
“Alejandro?” Zander asked. “As in Alejandro De Leon?”
“Yeah, I have some business dealings with him. And I’m sure his wife, Cat, was part of that cult. Leave it to me.”
“Good,” Zander said. “But right now, we focus on finding North. All of us are going to look for him except Eli, Miles, Keira, and Angie.”
She opened her mouth to protest.
But then Jared walked over and cupped her chin. “You need to stay here. Where I know you are safe. I know that you want to help, but this is helping. Because I can’t concentrate on finding North while worrying about you. If you’re here, I won’t worry. For all his faults, Zander does have this place secure. All right?”