Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Jilly raced for him and he caught her, holding her close to him.
Finally, she could breathe. Relief filled her even though she knew that they weren’t out of danger yet.
“Regent . . . Scott . . . Henri,” she said, panting heavily.
“Shh, I know. They’re being taken care of. Don’t worry.”
Kind of impossible to do. But she knew that there was nothing she could do for them now. She just hoped that they had medical help. That they were all right.
Please, let them be all right.
“He’s close behind. Be careful.”
“Don’t worry, baby. Everything will be okay. Head to the house. Maxim is waiting for you.”
Maxim?
Where was Victor? Jose?
“No, I won’t leave you.”
“Jilly, go.”
“I have to get Mrs. Y and Dan. They’re hiding.”
“I’ll take care of them. Now, go!”
“Aww, isn’t this sweet.”
Regent pushed her behind him as she heard Patrick speak. A light filled the tunnel, coming from the other man. He was using his phone as a flashlight as he walked closer. Was he limping? And trembling? But he still held his gun.
“This is a bit sloppy even for you, isn’t it, Patrick?” Regent asked. He didn’t sound worried, just slightly inconvenienced.
Meanwhile, she was terrified.
“Sloppy? I just killed three of your men. That’s a good day for me.”
“What are you hoping to gain from this? Why are you even doing this? It won’t get you anything.”
“What do you think I want?” Patrick asked.
“Power. Money. My life.”
Patrick scoffed. “Once, I wanted that. But now, all I want is you dead.”
“Was it you? Did you hire people to attack the street dealers? Did you call the cops? Why? That’s all petty, small shit.”
“Petty? Small? Maybe. But I wanted to fuck with you as much as I could before I died. You took everything from me! Everything that should have been mine. Even Kimmy.”
“I didn’t do anything to Kimmy,” Regent said.
“No, I did. I killed her. Because I want her with me in the afterlife. See, I’m dying. Haven’t got long to live. It’s my liver. The doctor said if I had anything to take care of, that I should do it sooner rather than later. And all I wanted to do was make you miserable. I thought about blowing up your house or going after your siblings, but then I met the gorgeous Nyx. She intrigued me, see. Imagine my surprise when I followed her home from the club and you were there to sweep her up into your arms.”
So that’s how he’d known where she lived?
“Then I met the lovely Mrs. Yards. She felt sorry for me and offered me a room to rent. Even provided the details for when Jilly would be coming back to her house. It was too easy, really. I wasn’t expecting all this, though. Clever.”
“How did you know about the shipment of drugs?”
“What shipment of drugs?”
“So that wasn’t you? What about the warehouse location for the drugs?”
“Ahh, well, some of your boys don’t know how to spot a tail. Tut-tut.” He wavered, then raised the gun. “Now, I’m sorry, but I’m getting tired. I think I need a rest, which means you need to die. See you in hell.”
There was a popping sound and she screamed as Regent fell backward, pinning her to the hard floor.
Oh God. Oh God.
Nooo! He couldn’t die on her! She wouldn’t let him! She needed him!
“Regent! Regent!” she screamed. Her voice sounded haunted, even to her own ears.
Someone thundered toward them and she whimpered, waiting for them to kill her. But then Victor’s face appeared. He held out a hand and Regent reached up to grab it.
A sob escaped her as Regent turned and gathered her up into his arms.
“How . . . why . . . what?”
“I had Victor go around and come up behind him,” he told her, hugging her tight. “And I’m wearing a bulletproof vest. Still packs a kick, though.”
“What . . . what if he’d aimed for your head!” she cried.
“He wouldn’t have risked missing him,” Victor said. “His head is too small a target.”
She burst into tears, everything hitting her at once. She’d nearly lost him. He could have died!
And all that had saved him was his small head?
All right, she knew that she was acting hysterical, but she couldn’t help it. She could hear Regent talking quietly to Victor before he turned away.
“Dan . . . Mrs. Y . . . False wall.”
“Victor will get them, baby.”
“Scott!” she cried.
“Shh, he’s alive. He got shot in the chest, so it’s serious, but he’s alive. Come on, baby. Stop crying. It will be all right. Everything will be all right.”
She hoped so.
52
“It’s time to go home now.” Regent crouched in front of her as she sat by Scott’s side in the hospital.
The bullet had missed his heart, and while he was in a critical condition, the doctors were hopeful.