Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Good morning,” Jayda said brightly. “I brought you a suitcase,” she added, and I dropped my gaze to see a lovely cream-colored hard-shell suitcase at her side.
“I, uh…I don’t have anything,” I replied, unsure what she wanted me to do with it.
“Yes, you do. All the clothes that I put in your closet are yours,” she replied, then walked past me into the room, rolling the suitcase beside her. “Mal is already here, but no rush. He’s having breakfast with Linc in the kitchen. You’ve sure made him happy.”
It was barely eight o’clock. He’d come early. He wanted me. So, why didn’t it feel all warm, like it had when I thought Luther wanted me here with him?
Because you have feelings for Luther. And Mal is your biological father, who you barely know.
“I wasn’t expecting him so soon. I thought I’d have a chance to tell you this morning,” I replied.
She waved a hand and smirked. “Girl, within the inner circle of the family, there are no secrets. I knew you’d called him before I went to bed last night. He told Linc, and Linc told me and sent me to get you a suitcase.”
Oh. Had they told Luther too? And he hadn’t come back?
Yes. That was exactly what had happened.
Could this hurt any more?
“I’ll pack up and then head down,” I told her, needing time to be alone before facing anyone else.
“I can help,” she offered.
“No, that’s not necessary. But thank you.”
She nodded, and although she was smiling, it felt as if she understood, and there was sympathy in her eyes. Had I been that obvious? Yes. Most likely. When Luther walked into a room, I forgot about everyone else.
“All right, but don’t try and bring your suitcase down. Just leave it here, and someone will come get it for you,” she replied as she headed back out the door.
I nodded. “Okay.”
Waiting until the door was closed, I sank onto the edge of the bed and let myself have one more small cry before washing my face and leaving.
This was what Luther wanted. This was what Mal wanted. It was what I had to do.
Twenty-Seven
Luther
Three days in Dallas was three too fucking many. I wanted to go home. But not before I had every detail about Lace’s former life and the fucker who had called himself her father. We’d gotten what we needed outside the walls of the Halsten house. The rest resided inside, and that was where we were headed next.
Not glancing at the men on either side of me, I moved quietly toward the security gate surrounding the Halsten residence. Just like Thaddeus had said, there was no human we’d come in contact with. It was all cameras and computers.
Stupid move, Halsten.
But it was a cleaner entrance for us. When we reached the keypad that required a code to get the side gate to unlatch, I stepped back so that Thaddeus could handle it.
Agreeing to let him come with us hadn’t been an option. It was an order from Blaise. But it had also been smart. Thaddeus knew this house, and he knew the exact location of the cameras, the central security system, and how to shut them all down. When someone wasn’t family, they were never truly trusted.
I glanced over at Locke, who was glaring at the house inside the gates with a hatred I understood. Halsten had threatened Linc that he would take this public if Lace wasn’t handed over. Although he hadn’t called her Lace. He still claimed she was Dalia. No one was handing her over. She was ours now. And if Halsten wanted to make it public, then we would reveal the truth behind his lies to take him under.
“When we’re in,” Thaddeus said as the gate unlocked and he pushed open the door, “everyone take the path you were given. It’s a big house, and it’ll take some time to find what all we need.”
I held back my snide comments about not needing his direction. He was making this easier than it would have been. But we’d heard him the first fucking time. None of us needed a reminder.
Bane stepped around him without saying anything more and moved into the darkness. I assumed he was as annoyed with the instructions as I was. He wasn’t one to take them well. Cocky bastard. I followed him, and we made our way toward the back entrance on the ground floor that Thaddeus had shown us on a map. It was closest to the security switchboard and camera controls. He was going to shut it all down, get us inside, then handle deleting all evidence that had been recorded since we’d stepped onto the property, along with downloading all the footage he could, dated before I’d found Lace.
With Thaddeus handling the cameras and security shutdown, that left me, Bane, Locke, and Oz to split up and search the place. Our main goal was to find proof of Dalia Halsten. If she was in there, we’d fucking find her. When we had that proof, then I could blow up Halsten’s world, make him suffer. Then, once I felt like it was enough, I’d kill the son of a bitch.