Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
When I’d satisfied myself he was really here with me, I pulled away from Alex. “Are you really okay?” Tony chirped at him as if asking the same question.
“Yeah. I… I am.” He looked at Tony. “This little guy is really Lancelot’s pet?”
“Yes, he really is. This is Tony.”
“Can I pet him?” I was sure he was okay then. He wouldn’t be asking that if he was freaking out too much.
“You can.”
Alex scratched Tony behind the ears, and the little monkey jumped over to his shoulder. Alex gave him more attention as he said, “Is Adenine all right? Did you leave food for her?”
“I did. She’ll be fine. She used to live on the streets, you know?”
He looked up at me then, and as he held my gaze, tears came into his eyes. “I thought I was going to die.”
I pulled him into my arms again, and Tony began combing his hair, trying to soothe him too. Alex clung to me, burying his head against my neck.
“I’ve got you, baby. You’re never doing anything like that again.”
“I was so fucking scared,” he said.
“I was so scared for you. I knew we’d made a terrible mistake with this plan. Thank God you’re all right. Let me get you to my car so we can get out of here.”
“What about Lorenzo and Lancelot?”
“They’ll contact me when they get Ivanov or…”
“When they lose him. How the fuck did he run after being shot?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but we will eventually catch him and make him pay.”
I texted Lance and Renzo to let them know we had Tony, and we were heading to Bébé’s house. Tony sat on Alex’s lap as I drove.
“Is your arm really okay for driving?”
“Yes, my stitches are mostly dissolved, and I’m fine.”
“Right. You said that hours after you were shot.”
“I was fine then too.”
Alex snorted, but my phone rang, ending the conversation. It was Lance. I answered through the car’s speakers. “We fucking lost him,” Lance said. I could hear the anger in his voice.
Alex dropped his head back against the seat, and I had to take a calming breath before speaking. “How the fuck did he run that fast after the tranq shot?”
“I don’t know. Unless something went wrong and the drug didn’t go into his system, it seems impossible.”
“We are going to get him.”
“Fuck right we are,” Lorenzo said.
“Are you both in Lance’s car?” I asked.
“Yes. We aren’t far behind you.”
“All right. We’ll make a new plan when we have everyone together.” Tony made some loud chattering sounds as if he agreed, and Alex petted him. “Your monkey is going to expect some treats when he sees you.”
“I’ve got them ready.”
40
ALEX
When Dante pulled up in front of a mansion in Metairie, all I could do was stare. I knew that his family must have plenty of money; what was the point of running a criminal organization if it wasn’t lucrative, right? But this house was unbelievably beautiful. It made my grandparents’ enormous house seem small.
“Your uncle really lives here?”
“Yes, and at various times, some other family members stay here or temporarily live here as well. This is where Remington, Lancelot, and their younger brother, Corbin, grew up.”
“Wow.” It was so majestic it almost made me forget the reason we were there. “So Mitch is here? This is where he’s staying?”
“That’s right. And this is where I was headed the night you tried to follow me.”
“I wish Rafe hadn’t stopped me.”
Dante shook his head. “Come on in. I know Mitch will be glad to see you.”
Everything from the moment I heard Ivanov’s footsteps behind me felt surreal. Being here, in this place, with this family, didn’t seem any more grounded in reality. The idea that Mitch was here seemed beyond strange. But as soon as we stepped inside, I saw Mitch seated on a beautiful white sofa between an older woman and a blond man who looked about our age.
Mitch looked like a smaller version of himself. He’d always been so big and loud and full of bluster, but he seemed shy and small now. Would he ever recover from this?
“Mitch? Are you really okay?”
“Alex.” He stood, and I rushed over to him and pulled him into a hug.
An older man stepped into the room as we held each other. “Lance just told me Ivanov got away.”
“Yes, sir,” Dante said. “We don’t know how. He was injured and should have had a dose of tranquilizer, but he ran faster than Lance and Renzo.”
“Son of a bitch. We’re going to bring him and everyone connected to his organization down.”
“Yes, sir. We are.” Dante turned to me. “Uncle Bébé, this is Alex. Alex, this is Remington’s father, and this lovely lady”—he gestured to the woman on the sofa—"is his stepmother, Marjorie.”
“She’s great,” Mitch said. “Like a real grandmother, not like mine.”