Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
The Butcher sighed.
“Fight until the end, Freya. It’s all we can do. This life is hard and it is fucking painful, and it will break us if we let it. It is happy to keep us down in the dirt, and it doesn’t like those of us that keep rising and begging for more, but trust me, you keep rising up, and one day, no one will dare mess with you. The Grid, Harris, they will all be a distant memory, and you will hold your son or your daughter and remember this day.”
And with that, The Butcher got to her feet and left.
Chapter Sixteen
Victor
I was going to be a dad.
Staring down at the ultrasound, I saw the baby was only small. Ivan had arranged for a doctor he trusted, and had all the medical equipment transferred to one of the rooms in my home, where the doctor could come and assess my wife.
It had taken us a long time, but we were finally going to have a baby.
I expected Freya to be panicking. Even though we were living a good life, I know it came with a lot of risks. The Beast and The Butcher in constant residence wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but I put up with them, as they helped to keep my wife safe.
I held the ultrasound photo to Ivan, who took it.
“My little niece or nephew,” he said.
“Yeah.” I still couldn’t get my head around it.
Freya had gone into the kitchen as she was hungry. Her cravings were getting a little strange of late. She did ask for some meatballs and ice cream just last night. Umberto was more than happy to serve her whatever she wanted to eat.
That was just a little too much for me.
She hadn’t really started to show just yet either. I’m glad she wasn’t too upset about the baby. Freya tried to hide her frustrations, but I saw them. I knew my wife better than she even knew herself.
Ivan handed me back the photograph.
“The next generation,” he said, with a smile.
“You know this will only continue if you have an heir of your own.”
Ivan shook his head. “A lot has changed over the years, my friend. I do not expect my blood to take over. That is where things go wrong.”
I looked at Ivan, and I had a feeling he was done with women.
“There will be someone,” I said.
“There will be no one.” With that, Ivan was done. He took a step away.
I knew there was no point in arguing with him. Ivan had made up his mind, and all I could do was change the subject.
“Any news on Harris?” I asked.
“Ah, my ghost is starting to appear,” Ivan said, going to my liquor and pouring us both a glass.
He moved toward me and placed the tumbler in my hand.
“He is?” I asked.
“All you have to do with The Grid is wait, and they start to show through the cracks. You have to learn to read their patterns, and after this long, I have finally figured out the way they move.” There was a smile on Ivan’s face.
“Care to divulge this information?”
Ivan nodded. “They create a diversion. Sometimes it is a crash, or a mass shooting, or something, and while people are looking at the chaos, as people cannot look away, that is when they move.”
“Are you telling me they’re going to attack me?” I asked.
“They have multiple hits out at the moment. Freya is just one cog. Where they hit is the tricky part. I have increased my men around your property. However, there is some kind of politician who is talking about bringing the crime numbers down, and I have reason to believe he is a target. I’ve got everything covered. All I’ve got to do is wait.”
I looked at Ivan. “I want to be there when we get Harris.”
“You’re going to be needed here.”
“I want to bring that son of a bitch down,” I said. “He has ruined Freya’s life for the last time. This can be my gift to her. For her to finally be free. You said so yourself, my house is going to be locked tight.”
Ivan looked at me, and he nodded.
“Fine, I will make arrangements for you to join us. But you follow my orders, and if I feel anything is off, we take off. Got it?”
I knew Ivan wouldn’t get this wrong.
Taking a long hard sip of my whiskey, I feel like everything was finally falling into place. Leaving Ivan, I go and find my wife. Umberto told me she had taken more ice cream and disappeared. I didn’t have to go far to find her leaning up against a wall in the dining room. She was sitting on the floor, spoon in the melting ice cream, staring straight ahead.
“Hey, baby,” I said, sitting beside her on the floor.