Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“You’re saying you want to leave her where she is.” Czar attempted clarification.
“Fuck no! That’s the last thing I want, but that’s what she needs. I’m asking every one of you to be vigilant if we leave her there. The moment we have the information from Billows we need, and if we manage to find the victims, we’ll get her out of there. Hopefully, she won’t be in any danger once Billows is gone, and I can just come clean with her.”
There was another long silence. The other members of Torpedo Ink stared at him in astonishment. He couldn’t blame them. He’d been spouting so much shit for years, voicing his opinion of women and what they should or shouldn’t do, none of it good. He was telling them he thought they should do just the opposite of what he’d always proclaimed should be done.
“Maestro.” Alena’s voice was soft and soothing. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Steele,” Keys said to their resident doctor, “you should check him out immediately.”
Maestro gave them the finger when the snickers started.
“Are you certain, Maestro?” Czar asked.
“We’ve got eyes on her,” Code pointed out. “We keep someone on her all the time.”
“I want her out,” Maestro reiterated. “But if I choose that path, it will be for me, not her, and not the other women caught up in this mess. She wouldn’t forgive something like that.”
“You going to be able to live with this choice?” Savage asked. “Think about it, Maestro. Things can go to hell fast. We all know that. We’ve lived through it.”
He had been thinking about it. He’d been thinking of nothing else. It wasn’t as if he could move in with her, lock himself to her side. He had the feeling Billows would sweep her up the moment he realized she was with Maestro.
“I know what can go wrong. I’m putting a tracker on her tomorrow when I take her out.”
“She knows his entire business. She might not know what he’s doing, where that illegal money is coming from, but if she turned on him and talked to the Feds, he would go down fast,” Master said. “What I’m saying, Maestro, is that Billows might decide to kill her, not traffic her.”
“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?” Maestro demanded. “I’m finally trying to do the right thing here, not for me, but for those women we’re looking for and for Azelie. You’re all trying to talk me out of it. It isn’t going to take that much.”
But he’d lose her. He’d have to go to the grave never admitting the truth to her. The lies would stand between them for the rest of his life. She would always know something was wrong because she had intuition, awareness. Especially when it came to him. She saw inside him where few others ever did. That was part of the reason he had leapt with both feet down the path he was taking them on. She saw him—the real man under his armor—and she was okay with that. She even seemed to admire that man. Definitely she wanted him.
Maestro was not only certain that Azelie was attracted to him physically—the chemistry between them was off the charts—but convinced she could love him. He’d never once thought that of another human being. Not even his Torpedo Ink brothers and sisters. They were loyal and protective toward him and even affectionate, but it wasn’t what Czar had with Blythe. Or what Savage had with Seychelle. He needed what Savage had. A woman willing to love him despite his many flaws.
“Do we want to put it to the vote?” Czar asked again. “If Maestro is right, and he reads people better than any of us, he will lose his woman if we take away her ability to choose to help.”
“She isn’t choosing,” Lana pointed out. “No matter which way a vote goes, she isn’t choosing, we are.”
Maestro knew that was true, but he also knew what her choice would be.
“Can’t risk pulling her out or letting her in on what we’re doing,” Reaper stated. “Sorry, brother, she may look in control when she’s talking with Billows, but she’s scared out of her mind. Anyone with a brain should be able to see that. Billows is an asshole.”
That much was true as well.
“He sees only what he wants to see,” Mechanic said. “He wants a behavior, and he uses threats and intimidation to get his way. He does it with his employees as well.”
“When we work something this hot, we can’t afford to bring in an untried person,” Steele agreed. “I’m sorry. Maestro, I’m with you. I think if we lose this opportunity, we’re not going to get it back. You know how I am with Breezy. I don’t want her out of my sight. I lost my mind when I first had her back. And I’m not much better now, although I’m trying to give her freedom.” Even as he said it, he winced visibly. “She understands when we communicate. If Azelie is the woman you think she is, it’s my belief she’ll understand the reasons why you left her in play without telling her what’s going on.”