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)
He rolls his head back. “I’ve heard.”
“Are you going to fight me?”
For answer he turns his head and looks at me, reminding me of our father for the briefest of moments. “No.”
I narrow my gaze. “Are you lying?”
He snorts. “No, I’m not lying. I’m not fighting you. I don’t want Hologrid Hub.”
I shake my head. “What game are you playing?”
He places his folded jacket neatly on his pants. “I am not as good at charging the crystals as you are. It drains me for days afterward.”
I blink. “You don’t get a rush? You don’t gain strength?”
“No, I hate it. Cal and I together could do a decent job, but he’s been killed. The fact that we haven’t gone after his killer, whoever that might be, has definitely weakened the organization.”
“They don’t trust you,” I say softly. Neither do I. He is a good liar, and I respect that.
He shakes his head. “We don’t know who killed Cal, and the fact that we haven’t just taken somebody out for the murder has lost us respect.”
“Who do you think killed him?”
“I don’t know. He was a jerk with women. It could have been anybody.”
I sit back and tap my chin. “What about Thorn Beathach?”
Hendrix lifts his shoulders. “I’ve heard the rumors. The families arranged a marriage between Cal and Alana Beaumont, but Alana didn’t want it. Cal was going to force it, but I don’t know of any instance when he and Thorn crossed paths. So if Thorn did kill Cal, he did a good job covering his tracks.” Hendrick shrugs, looking tired with dark circles under his eyes.
“So you truly don’t know.”
“Nope. Plus, I don’t want to go to war with Beathach,” Hendrix says quietly. “Can you imagine the disaster of the local Irish mob and the local Russian Bratva in an all-out war?”
Yeah, I actually can. I don’t want that either. “There’s no evidence that Thorn killed Cal.”
“No,” Hendrix says “My gut feeling is that he didn’t, and that Cal just pissed off the wrong husband. But again, nothing.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Why did you get in my car?”
Hendrick smiles, all charm. “You’re not exactly going to kill me after all those press people took our picture, are you? I mean, you were reckless years ago, Alexei. I assume that has changed.”
“That has most certainly changed. I’m not reckless. You set me up seven years ago by throwing that knife in the Fairfax pond.”
“Obviously,” Hendrix says.
Garik looks with flat, dead eyes at him through the rearview mirror. “Did you kill Fairfax?”
“No.” Hendrix says. “I took a knife from the kitchen, rolled it in the blood from the floor, and then tossed it into the pond.” He winks, almost in slow motion. “Are you recording me?”
I want to punch my fist through his face. “I went to prison for seven fucking years.”
He looks at the panther prowling across my neck. “You needed it.”
I cock my head. “Excuse me?”
He shrugs. “Come on. You were in no state to run the Russian mob. You were a playboy. You were stupid. You’d be dead if you hadn’t gone to prison.”
Unfortunately, there may a bit of truth in that statement. That doesn’t let him off the hook, however. “Now you’re going to prison.”
“We’ll see. I’ll find myself a good lawyer. A video from seven years ago could definitely be altered.”
He’s not wrong, and it’s doubtful Ella will ever testify as to how she decrypted the damaged disc. Even so, I now have enough money and power that I can make sure he goes to prison. “I don’t know. I think you may do a little time,” I say.
He sobers. “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”
“Yes. After you’re released, I’ll make you and your mother a deal.”
“What’s that?” Hendrix looks outside at the dreary, gray day.
“I’ll give you enough money to go somewhere else. Pick a country, not this one, and live. Have fun. Start your own company. I don’t know and I don’t care.”
Hendrix nods. “I’ll speak with my mother. Part of that deal is that I don’t go to prison.”
“No.” I lose any expression of civility. He’s lying and thinks he’s playing me. I’m giving him the truth. “You’re going to spend a couple years there. In fact, you’re going to plead guilty when they charge you and reach a plea deal. I want you in for at least two years. A little payback, you know?”
His eyes narrow. “Go fuck yourself.”
“Very well.” We reach the palatial grounds where he and his mother live. “Drop him at the gate,” I tell Garik. “He can walk the distance to the house.”
“Sure thing.” Garik pulls to a stop near the gate.
“Hendrix,” I say. “You’ll love prison. You’ll make so many friends.”
He gets out of the car and slams the door.
Garik looks over the seat at me. “What now?”