Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
We had a job to do.
The receptionist, Andrew, stared open-mouthed as the elevator doors to the penthouse opened.
London, cool as a cucumber considering the circumstances, waved her fingers at him. “I got the key from Nick. Like we thought, just a misunderstanding.”
The receptionist nodded, and we stepped into the elevator.
“You’re good at this.”
London glanced up at me. Her tone was brittle, bitter. “You get used to masking your true feelings when it might get you punched.”
Silver muttered angry curses under her breath.
I ground my teeth together, promising Nick Huston a wee bit of retribution once London was free and clear.
The elevator doors opened to a swanky apartment with an impressive square footage that would make most New Yorkers weep with joy. There was no time for looking around. “Safe?”
London shoved her sunglasses up her face and I saw that beneath her outward calm, she had a deer-in-the-headlights look that spoke of oncoming panic. “This way.”
We followed London left down a hallway off the main open-plan living area and into a large bedroom suite. Behind the wall the bed was set against was a walk-in closet. She shoved aside a row of suits and there was the built-in safe.
“I’ll start packing for you.” Silver caught sight of a duffel bag and pulled it down from a shelf.
London murmured her okay and selected a six-digit code. The safe bleeped red. “Fuck.”
“It’s all right.” I attempted to keep her calm. “Maybe the last digit was wrong.”
“Yeah.” She nodded, her breathing increasing. “He moved slightly so maybe it was three instead of six.” She pressed in six digits, but it wasn’t the same as before. The safe bleeped red. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” London slammed a palm against the side of the black metal box.
“It’s all right,” I repeated. “Last time you entered 498126. This time you entered 489123. Try 498123.”
“I did?” She gaped up at me. “Oh. Okay.” With trembling hands, she selected the code I’d suggested.
The light on the safe turned green, and the door swung open.
London let out a slight sob before she reached in to pull out her passport and wallet. “This is it.” Turning to me, she blinked back tears. “Thank you.”
I nodded, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “No problem.”
Two minutes later, Silver looked up from shoving a top into the duffel bag. She was slightly sweaty and out of breath. “Done.”
“Already?”
“I packed what you needed to get started. Underwear, a few pairs of jeans, a couple of tops. It’s stuff I recognized as yours before you met Nick.”
“Is there anything here you need before we go?” I asked.
“No. Everything else is his. Let’s go.”
Unfortunately, we all heard the elevator ping as we departed the bedroom suite. London’s steps faltered as a man in an expensive suit stepped out of the lift.
I waved a hand at London and Silver to stay behind me but to keep walking. Nick Huston was recognizable from the images that had popped up on my quick Google search. Good-looking and not in a smooth way like Silver’s ex. He had a sharp-edged quality to him. No warmth in his cool blue gaze as he faced us.
Nick was smart enough not to dismiss me, giving me an assessing, wary look before he turned his focus on London. The bastard didn’t even hide the avarice in his eyes. His expression told me he thought he fucking owned London.
“How did you get in?”
London pressed into Silver’s side behind me. “Key card.”
“I had the key card changed.”
“I don’t know what to say. It still worked.” She shrugged. But her voice shook. The cool, collected calm from earlier was gone. “I came to get my stuff.”
Nick laughed softly. “You really think you’re leaving me?”
Some of her fire crackled to life again. “This is the third black eye you’ve given me, Nick. Of course I’m leaving you.”
“So, you brought muscle with you.” Nick sneered at me.
I wanted to wipe that fucking sneer off his face. Permanently.
“You can tell people you dumped me. I don’t care.”
“I won’t be doing that.” Nick took a step toward her, anger tightening his jaw. “Because you’re not leaving me. What did I tell you would happen if you tried?”
“You piece of shit,” Silver hissed. “Don’t you threaten her.”
“Like I’d listen to you, you cunt.”
My hand was around his throat before he could blink. His eyes popped out of his head as I squeezed and thrust him back against the hallway wall. Nick clawed at my hand, pushing at my wrist. He thought because he could beat up a woman half his size, he was strong.
I enjoyed making him look and feel weak.
“You come near London again, you contact her, threaten her, or try to directly and/or indirectly harm her in any way, I will deal with you. And that is the last thing you want.” I released him, stepping back.