Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Kayla shook her head, unwilling to take on that particular guilt. “That wasn’t my fault. If I hadn’t been born, it could have turned out the same way.”
Her sister’s eyes rolled. “But you were born. She told me she decided to keep me because it was fate. Her firstborn. She gave up the second. You were one too many and yet you were the one who got all the treats. Imagine my surprise when I realized you were still alive and happy and healthy. You were a smart girl. I got your testing scores. Near genius level, and you’d been a gymnastics prodigy until you wimped out.”
Another time her fathers had saved her. “My dads pulled me out when they realized how unhealthy an obsession it was for me. I was starving myself. I listened to coaches who told me I was only worth the medals I could bring in. My dads taught me differently.”
“You were a quitter,” Kun said with a triumphant smirk.
“Oh, baby, is that how you do that thing with your thighs?” Josh asked. “I know it must have been rough as a child, but you are still so fucking limber it makes me crazy.”
She knew what he was doing. He was using humor to tell her that he was here with her. Always here with her. This was what they did when it got bad. They found the humor because they knew it would be okay in the end. He accepted her weirdness and she eased him out of his natural broodiness, and if they managed to not get murdered they were going to be such an awesome team.
“I love you a lot, Joshua Hunt,” she said.
“You’re going to love his corpse in a minute, sister.” Kun let Kayla get a good look at the gun in her hand.
“You want to explain how we’re going to deal with the dead body of a Hollywood star?” Morales asked, biting off his words. “I only agreed to this because you said we wouldn’t have to kill anyone but the girl, and no one would realize she was dead.”
“What was I supposed to do?” Her sister paced. “He figured it out. He was going to tell the bodyguard and we’d have even more trouble. Because that fucking bodyguard killed a bunch of your guards and he took off in his car. He’s gotta be calling the authorities.”
“Shane Landon ran?” Levi asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Like a scared baby,” Kun replied. “I’m not worried about the local authorities. We own them, but the minute he calls Taggart in we’re all fucked. I don’t know how much Landon knows. Also, where did you stash the Agency asshole? Levi’s got to get his story in before Taggart does.”
“My men are dealing with it,” Morales explained. “No one will find Fain’s body.”
“Landon wouldn’t run,” Levi was saying. He stood in front of Josh. “He knows something, but leave Taggart to me. Ezra won’t be a problem. He wasn’t supposed to be down here. I might be able to pin a lot of this on him now that I think about it. Someone get me something I can tie this asshole down with. We need to know everything he knows and what he told Landon.”
“You don’t have to tie me down. I’m not going anywhere without her,” Josh replied, his shoulders straight.
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you,” Levi shot back. One of the guards held out a set of handcuffs, but Levi ignored him. He pulled a nasty-looking knife out of his pocket. “Who was in that car?”
“Shane Landon and Ezra Fain,” Josh replied, his voice as calm as if he was talking about the weather.
Levi’s hand tangled in Josh’s hair and pulled his head back, the knife straining at Josh’s throat. “I want the truth.”
Josh smiled fiercely, the skin of his throat taut and vulnerable. “As one of my favorite movies will tell you, you can’t handle the truth.”
Oh, god. She could already see a hint of blood. Panic threatened. She couldn’t lose Josh. This was it. She had to get out of this game because she suddenly had way too much to lose. This was why Big Tag and Damon didn’t do undercover anymore. Their lives, seemingly easy to trade before, were suddenly precious because of the years they could spend with the person they loved. The idea of having a family slammed into her brain. Josh, walking the beach with a small hand in his. Her dads spoiling their grandbabies rotten. Her friends coming out with their own children to visit. None of it would happen if they died here. Her normal calm was utterly blown by the need to protect their future.
“Please, Levi. Please don’t kill him. I’ll be a good girl. I’ll do whatever you want. Let Josh go. You’ve got more than enough on him to keep him from talking. Hector’s right. You can’t explain Josh’s death or disappearance. Well, Hector can’t. The heat will come down on him hard. You wouldn’t treat your partner that way.”