Series: Penny Dee
Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Although I can certainly be creative in how to make someone disappear, I’m best kept in the shadows. I wasn’t in my right mind just now, and I never thought the person who would pull me back to the edge of reason would be one of the most ruthless killers I’ve ever met.
Silas walks away without even glancing at the dead man on the floor. But I do. Silas’s bullet got him right between the eyes.
I should be shocked. Horrified, even. Because it’s one thing to want to shoot someone for the pain they’ve inflicted on someone you love, but shooting someone without even breaking a sweat is something else entirely.
When I look back at Silas, he’s standing with the owner of the club. A man in his sixties in a too-tight suit and dripping in gold jewelry. He looks like he’s part of the Nero crew. They do, after all, own all the strip clubs in Boston.
Silas pulls an envelope from his pocket. “Pay all your staff to stay silent and send them home.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” the man says, not with an ounce of authority. It sounds more like he’s scared. I’ve noticed, in the way of the bodies coming across my table, that Silas has been targeting Nero’s crew. They all cross my table with the same branded tattoo.
Only Silas would be so ballsy as to walk in here like he owns the club. Or maybe he really wasn’t here because I was. Maybe he’s here on business, trying to find more information.
I shake my head because I don’t care. Until he needs me, I’m not looking into his politics any further. Because that would mean I care. And I don’t do that.
The boss looks at the envelope, then nods before telling everyone to leave. I walk over to where Nessa sits on a lounge, holding her head. Soph sits beside her, tenderly rubbing her back.
I try to let all that adrenaline crash to the wayside. It’s not entirely gone, but I focus on what’s most important. Nessa. She’s okay. She’s alive.
I kneel in front of Nessa. “You okay, honey?”
She’s been crying. She has panda eyes, and her makeup is streaked down her face.
“Is he dead?” she asks, her voice detached.
“Yes,” I reply.
Her chin quivers. I think she’s about to yell at me again about needing this job, but instead, she says, “Good.”
My heart sinks. I know I did the right thing, even if I didn’t finish the job.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I push gently.
Her face cracks. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer. I fought back. So he hit me.”
My blood runs cold. If he weren’t already dead, he certainly would be now.
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” I say gently, trying my hardest to keep the lethal edge out of my tone.
Her voice drops to a whisper. “He was going to hurt me, Leo. With his beer bottle.”
“He won’t be doing that again.” I gently squeeze her knee. Now I wish I could resurrect him just to make him suffer a little more. “You’re safe. Now let’s get you checked out.” I go through the motions, reminding myself that Nessa is okay. She’s rattled and scared, but safe. And I will protect and look after her.
“She won’t let me call an ambulance,” Soph says.
“That’s okay, I can fix her up back at her apartment.”
Nessa shakes her head. “No, Larissa is asleep there with the babysitter. Can we go to yours? I don’t want her to see me like this.”
My heart softens, and I nod. “Come on. My car is out front.”
I help her to her feet, and we make our way to the entrance of the club. When I look back, Silas watches me as one of his men speaks with him rapidly. The club owner also seems to agree with what he says.
His dark sapphire blue eyes bore into me, and as I help my best friend walk out on wobbly legs, everything else seems to fade.
There’s only Silas and me in this room.
A predator and a part of me I never meant to expose to anyone—and certainly not him of all people.
I haven’t heard the last of this because I can sense his curiosity has only grown.
That in itself is a very dangerous thing.
12
SILAS
She’s usually reserved, and not someone I would consider a threat, but when I watched her shoot one of my men with such ease, I realized I had mistaken her for who she really is. Under all that exterior that she presents to the world is someone who is fiercely protective of those in her circle. And that is something I understand completely. I am the same way with my family. So while the rest of my men would expect me to kill her for what she did, I actually approve and respect it.