Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Emilio’s entire demeanor changes. He was loose with me, almost happy. Now he’s suddenly on edge, a predator, ready to kill.
“What happened?”
“Cask has her.”
Chapter 18
Emilio
I bring Nathan, Dom, and Terrence down to the beach. Everyone else remains back at the house—that was the deal. Me and three others, no more, or Malcolm wouldn’t even bother coming to talk.
We wait beneath a small bunch of palm trees on the edge of the beach. The Cask House isn’t far—I can see it half a mile away. Figures come toward us, but none of them are Lesley. My hands clench and unclench and I’m buzzing with rage but doing my best to keep it under control.
Back home, in my old world, I’d have a sniper in the dunes. I’d have him murder anyone stupid enough to show their face.
But we’re not back home. This is a goddamn college, and I can’t act like it’s a mafia turf war. I can get away with a lot of things, but murder isn’t one of them.
I keep telling myself that—they won’t hurt Lesley either, not too badly at least. They’re not stupid enough to think I’d let them get away with it.
“Easy, bro,” Nathan says quietly under his breath. “Don’t lose it now.”
“I should kill them.”
“These are college kids.”
“They don’t know who they’re fucking with.”
“Bro—”
“Don’t give me that.” I glare at my little brother. “You don’t know what I’ve been through with Lesley. But you’re right, I can’t start murdering anyone. Not yet at least.”
He sighs. Normally, Nathan is the life of the party, always smiling, always laughing, but right now his face is grim. There’s a fight coming and he knows it, and there are very few people in this world I’d rather have at my back than my brother, my cousin, and Terrence. They’re all good fighters, brave men that will do whatever they have to do, and I trust them with my life.
“I know you care about her, but you gotta keep it together,” Dom says, sounding tense. “Just, don’t do anything stupid. We’re here to negotiate.”
“For now.”
Malcolm approaches with three of his cronies. I recognize them from the night of the party when I ambushed them with Terrence. They still bear the scars, fading bruises, a crooked nose. It would make me smile under other circumstances, but not right now.
“You came. Very smart.” Malcolm remains ten yards away, arms over his chest. He’s tan, handsome, with dark hair and dark eyes. Of all the society leaders, he’s one of the most clever and capable.
But still a child in comparison to me.
“Where’s Lesley?”
“Back at our house. Did you know she got caught sneaking onto my boat?” Malcolm laughs lightly. “It’s crazy, really. I don’t know what she was thinking. See, I knew she had that fucking key, and it was only a matter of time before she showed up to snoop around. Imagine my surprise when she barely waited a few days.”
“I want her back.”
Malcolm waves a hand in the air. “Sure, sure, I bet you do. We’ll get to that. First, let’s talk.”
I barely manage to suppress my rage.
“How do you think this is going to play out?” I step forward, staring him down. “You think you can take one of my people and you won’t get hurt? I promise you, Malcolm, whatever you do to her, I will do so much worse to you.”
His smile doesn’t falter. Either the bastard’s got a death wish or he knows something I don’t. “You love to threaten, don’t you? Everyone’s so fucking afraid of the mafia boy. Unfortunately for you, right now I hold all the cards, and if you want to get your friend back then you’d better shut the fuck up and listen.”
I gesture at him. That little outburst is going to cost him. I’ll make sure to take it from his flesh—but not right now. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“I want to be reasonable about this. I’m not going to demand that you stop making smuggling runs because we both know you’d rather kill me than do that. Instead, I propose we split the island. You sell to the student body, and I sell to the societies and the administration. Simple, elegant.”
I snort once. That sounds almost reasonable, except the societies and the administration buy twice as much as the general student population. They’ve got all the money and all the power, and as soon as I’m not useful to the teachers and admins, they’ll come down on me and destroy my operation. I shake my head slowly and take another step forward.
“Not going to happen.”
“Then negotiate.”
“All right, I’ll negotiate. You give me back Lesley in the next twenty-four hours, unharmed and happy as a clam, or I’ll come to your house, drag you into the ocean, and hold you under until you drown.”