Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“More than you know. My wife is my everything.”
“That’s adorable. True love is very rare in our line of work.”
“Then you must understand how angry I am.”
His lips press tighter. “You started this nonsense with your hit on Yuri. My father was inclined to leave your organization alone until that happened.”
“Your father has been harassing our organization for years. There’s a reason I was ordered to take Yuri down and you know it.”
He tilts his head side to side. “Possibly, yes, but what does that change? Cousin Yuri was a good man.”
“Doubt that very much.”
“Okay, he was a piece of shit and an annoying asshole, but he was still family. How do you expect this to end?”
“I can give you options if you like.” Bianca’s laugh distracts me for a moment. The Russian girl seems more at ease now. I’m impressed at how my wife is handling herself, but I force myself to concentrate on Taras. “I can kill you and your father and everyone else in your family. I’ll do it slowly, one at a time. It might take years, but we both know it will happen, if that’s what I want.”
“You seem overconfident.” Taras shows his teeth in a hard sneer. “But I think you’re in over your head.”
“The other option is much simpler. You can speak with your father. You can convince him that peace is in his best interest. And you can donate five million dollars to my wife’s charity as a show of good faith.”
His eyes widen. His hand twitches to the gun at his belt. “You fucking prick. How insane are you?”
“Very.” I lean in close and my eyes move down. He follows my gaze and finds the knife I had pressed against his inner thigh, right at the artery there. “But I keep my blades very, very sharp. Call it obsessive if you want.”
He stiffens but doesn’t move. One flick of my wrist and he’s dead. We’re close together now, huddled against the wind.
“You fucking wouldn’t. There are too many cameras.”
I shrug slightly. “My family’s Irish. Do you have any idea how many cops we have on our payroll?”
“Motherfucker.”
“Five million isn’t such a big number, and think of all the good it’ll do for the city. Bianca is very dedicated to her vision.”
“My father is going to murder you, Ghostman.”
“Really? Threats?” I apply the slightest bit of pressure to the knife. “Don’t be an idiot like Fyodor. Be useful instead.”
Taras works his jaw. He’s thinking hard. Probably wondering if I’m bluffing, but he knows my reputation. He knows what kind of monster I am.
I’m good at killing. I’m great at making people disappear.
And I’m the best at getting away with it.
“I’ll do what I can,” he grunts, grimacing as if I already cut him open.
“That’s what Fyodor said. As you can see, that didn’t work out great.”
“Yes, but Fyodor was only the accountant. I will speak to my father on your behalf.”
“Peace, Taras. No more attempts against my wife. We will end this amicably.”
Taras stares at me as the ferry nears the far station. I pull the knife back, flick it closed, and slip it away. He shakes his head slowly, backing off.
“You know, Ghostman, it’s hard for me to believe you really want peace. Everything I know about you says it’s either kill or be killed. You don’t stop. Death is inevitable with you involved.”
“I’m a changed man.”
“I doubt that.” He looks at my wife and back to me. “You have more blood on your hands than anyone else in this city.”
“That’s an opinion.”
“I’ll tell you this, my father likely won’t believe any of this. The Whelan Ghostman? No, all you ever want is more killing. I’ll see what I can do though.” Taras turns away and strides off into the crowd. The Russian girl looks startled, says something to Bianca, and quickly hurries after him.
I watch the pair go as my wife rejoins me.
“How was that?” she asks, leaning into my chest. I wrap my arms around her. Most of the ferry passengers are gathering toward the exit.
“Productive. I think we really hit it off.”
She laughs and snuggles tighter. “I liked that girl. Did you know she’s only twenty?”
“She was having an affair with a man over twice her age.”
“So what? She’s going to law school. Wants to be a social worker one day.”
I groan and brush her hair lightly from her face. “Don’t tell me you tried to hire her.”
“Oh, I absolutely did. Good talent’s hard to find.”
I roll my eyes. “She was fucking a mobster.”
“I’m fucking a mobster.” She kisses me quickly. “Now let’s get out of here. I want you to spend the rest of the day giving me a tour.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “For you? I’d do anything.”
“I’ll settle for a little walk and some lunch.”