Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I tap my bottom lip with one finger. “We could give it to Alexei, but I’m not inclined to help him right now. I do have an idea. It’s not a nice one.”
“Tell me.”
For answer, I reach in my pocket for my phone, only to find it empty. “I don’t have my phone.”
“It’s okay. You can use the laptop.” She reaches over and types something quickly. “Who do you want to call?”
“Alana,” I say quickly.
Ella types another code with one hand before focusing back on her driving. I marvel at her when the laptop rings like a phone.
“Hello?” Alana answers.
“Alana,” I say. “Hi.”
The sound of the ocean filters through the background. “Hi. Are you coming to visit?”
“No, we’re in the middle of something. However, how would you like to have one of the best social media posts of your life?” I ask.
“I’d like that a lot,” Alana says.
I smile. “I don’t know if you want to post it on Aquarius Social or Malice Media, but whichever it is, the stock’s going to gain value immediately.”
“Ooh,” she says. “I love it. What do you have?”
“A little video of a crime scene. Give me the email address where you are, and I’ll send it your way.” This is probably a bad idea, but it might also save several lives. If the truth is out there, then there’s no reason for Hendrix to continue with a hit on Alexei. Maybe. Maybe not. But now the police will have to arrest Hendrix. He had the murder weapon. At the very least, he interfered with an investigation. At the most . . . maybe he killed David Fairfax to set up his brother.
Alana chuckles. “I can’t wait to see the video. Thanks for this.”
Ella giggles. “Alexei is going to be beyond pissed.”
“Then he shouldn’t have kidnapped you,” I say smartly.
“Amen, sister,” she agrees.
THIRTY-ONE
Alexei
I scroll through the phone in the back seat of the car as Garik drives, fury engulfing me. Alana Beaumont comes up on the Aquarius Social feed, and I watch the post again.
“Hello, friends. You are not going to believe the dish that I have,” she says. “The tea is about to be spilled.” She looks around and, apparently, she’s somewhere tropical because the ocean rolls beautifully behind her. “I just received this video. You remember good old Alexei Sokolov and how he was just released from prison because of the corruption of the judge and prosecuting attorney? Well, apparently, the poor guy really was set up. Wait till you take a look at this.”
A video comes up on screen of Hendrix, my half brother, tossing what appears to be a bloody knife in the pond at the Fairfax mansion. No doubt the fucking murder weapon. He’s dressed as a cop and nobody notices him. As smoothly as he enters the scene, he walks right back out. Oh, we’ve never been close, but still, a sense of betrayal cuts through me.
I scroll to another video of Hendrix being arrested and handcuffed at Hologrid Hub. He’s stoic, with his jaw set, and frankly he looks pissed. I understand. I just used every contact I now have to put a dent in his mother’s attempt to bail him out, and it won’t last long. Maybe a few more hours.
“We’re here.” Garik pulls up to the police station where the jail is located. “This place makes my skin itch.”
“Me too.” I open the door just as Hendrix walks out wearing a gray suit with a jacket over his arm. His shirt is unbuttoned and he’s lacking his usual power tie.
Reporters dash toward him and he pushes them away. “No comment.”
His gaze meeting mine, his chin lifting, he crosses toward me. I shift over and leave the door open while reporters shout questions at us both, taking pictures. Without answering, he shoves a couple out of the way, enters the car, and slams the door.
“Hello, brother,” I say.
He rolls his neck and looks at Garik and then at me. “Why did you bail me out?”
“Because I made sure your mother couldn’t.” I study this brother I barely know. After our father died, I was sent away to live with relatives. We weren’t even raised together. “The evidence is pretty damning.” I want to punch him in the face.
He stares at me. He has our father’s size but Lillian’s looks, with his narrower features. Most women probably find him attractive. I can change that for him. “We wanted you out of the way. That’s not a surprise to you.” His voice is as deep as mine.
“No, it’s not,” I say. “Still, we do share blood.”
He smooths down his expensive pants. “Half. Again, why did you bail me out?”
“To talk. I’m taking over the organization.” A part of me, one I don’t want to admit, really doesn’t want to kill my own flesh and blood.