“Awww, I was just starting to finally have fun,” August croons.
Ignoring him, I address Rich, “Wise man, start spilling.”
“We were hired to grab the girl,” he starts, but I cut him off.
“We already fucking know that. Get to what we don’t know, or Wy will go back to turning your limbs into mashed potatoes.”
Gulping, he takes in a choppy breath but proceeds, “We were told she was to be taken and that her presence here is fucking with the plans of some important people.”
Liam chimes in, “What important people? Who are they?”
“Filiae Bellonae. I only have their name. We don’t know anything else about them. You can’t find anything about them anywhere,” he rushes out.
“Why are they interested in Emma?” Karl snarls as he continues to filet Paul.
Rich eyes flit to the pieces of his partner being dissected. Karl’s knives are sharp, so they cut through skin like he’s slicing butter, not flesh.
Rearing my fist back, I hit him in the side of his head, watching as it bobbles back in my direction.
“Focus, or we’re done here,” I demand.
“They just said she’s important to their cause. We were supposed to take her by any means necessary.” Blood drips from the cut at the side of his face, and he begins to sob.
He knows his end is coming. There’s nothing more humbling to a man than his last moments on earth. Knowing there’s nothing he can do to prolong his stay here. Death comes for us all.
“That’s it. That’s everything I know,” he murmurs.
Patting his face, I reply, “Good.” Then turning to August, I say, “He’s all yours.”
Rich’s protests begin immediately.
“You promised me a quick death,” he seethes.
August’s whole body shakes with laughter. Amused that the dumb fuck didn’t pay attention to my actual words. “No, he promised you a swifter end. This means as long as I kill you before Karl kills your buddy over there, he’s kept his word. Now keep still. I wouldn’t want to hit something important just yet,” the twisted fucker says.
I leave him and Karl to have their fun.
Screams follow me as I head over to Liam.
“Have you heard anything about this Filiae Bellonae before?” I ask, running my fingers through the black waves of my hair, and sit down.
“No, and so far, I can’t find anything on them, but now we have a name and an account number. I’m sure I’ll have something soon enough.”
He stops typing, bewilderment lines his face, and his jawbone flexes. He takes another moment, collecting his thoughts, then speaks, “Why the fuck are they after Emma? Who the hell could she be that she’d be so important to this organization?”
He’s asking all the questions playing on repeat in my mind, since the first package was delivered to her.
“I don’t know, but I do know that her being in this town is no coincidence, as we’ve been saying. So, we need to find out more about her. Obviously, there’s more to her story than we’ve been told.”
Whoever Emma Elaine Bishop is, if she’s here to destroy us, she’ll regret the day she was born. But if the niggling in the back of my mind is true, then she might need our protection. That would also make me wrong about her, but I’m not ready to fully believe that theory.
EMMA
“You have to remember that you have your watch. It can be the difference between life and death,” Thomas reminds me as we pull up to the school.
He recommended I stay home today, but I saw no reason to do that. Yesterday was scary. However, I’m physically unharmed and refuse to be locked in a tower.
“Did we increase security around the kids?” I ask him as he pulls to a stop.
Placing the car in park, he reaches for his door and responds, “Yes, they now have five guards on them. One inside each of their classrooms and two outside the school. I won’t let anything happen to them or you.”
The tension leaves my body, and my muscles ease. Allowing me to release some of the mounting anxiety I feel when I think of the danger they could be in.
I should probably be more worried about myself, but I’d never recover if something happened to any of them, especially if it was because of me.
I’m so distracted by my thoughts I don’t realize Thomas has left the car until I hear my door open.
My wine-colored Converse hit the pavement as I say, “Thanks, Thomas. I’m supposed to work with Wy and Liam on our project. So, I’ll catch a ride with Wy. Just grab me around seven from his house.”
He nods before he replies, “Excellent, Miss Bishop. I’ll be outside until I see you safely in Mr. Grant’s car.”
“Riah, I feel like I haven’t seen you in days,” Shay walks in step with me once I reach the sidewalk.
Rolling my eyes, I smirk, “We literally saw each other last night.”
She rushed to my house, up in arms and ready for a fight once I told her about the incident yesterday. She’s really a great friend.
“I know, but I was worried. It feels like so much is happening so fast, and it’s coming at you from all directions.” She sighs, her freckled face looking weary.
Completely agreeing with her assessment, I add, “It feels like some scripted reality TV show.”
August strides up the sidewalk, reaching the front entrance as we do.
“Riri, Love,” he whispers, leaning in and kissing my cheek.
I flush scarlet, my face heating.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.