Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
God only knew what kind of sick game he was going to have her play.
I knelt down, inspecting the bottom of the wall now trying to see if there was any shift in the baseboards, anything that could give us a clue.
It looked seamless.
Too perfect.
Duck sighed and turned to TT. “Are you sure this is the right spot?”
“Yes,” TT checked her watch. “I can tell you now.”
I rose and looked at her. “Tell us what?”
“Tell you how to get in.”
Goddamn it. Of course she would know.
It was clear that I would have to get used to the fact that TT was a smart-ass kid. This meant that the first thing we did should have been to see what else she knew.
She checked her watch again and then lowered her hand. “Uncle Leo wanted me to wait ten minutes for you to come in and then five minutes before telling you how to open the wall.”
“He taught you how to open it?”
“No but I saw how he did it.”
He knew you would remember without him having to show you.
“Leave the closet and let TT through.” I headed out.
Hu and Duck followed.
Then TT stepped inside. “There’s a special knock.”
“A knock?”
“Yep.”
Of course, my father wouldn’t just leave a visible handle or latch—he’d make sure only he could access the passage. It was another layer of control, of manipulation.
She pointed to the top of the wall. “I can’t reach it but right there in the corner. You have to knock up five times, really hard and really fast then after that you lower and knock three times hard with three seconds between each knock.”
I hurried in, raised my fist and did exactly as she told me. The sound echoed faintly in the closet.
I lowered and did the same thing. Once done, I rose.
“Step back,” TT said.
I did that too and stood still, waiting.
Hoping.
For a second, nothing happened.
There was a soft click, so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.
TT looked up and smiled. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah.”
Slowly, the wall slid open, revealing a narrow dark passageway beyond. Cold air drifted out and the scent of dampness and earth hit me like a slap in the face.
My stomach twisted.
Moni had walked in this darkness with my father?
Duck sighed. “They had a fifteen minute head start, Lei. They’re gone.”
I turned to him. “Still, take some of our men down there and see if you can track them. If you see Moni, do whatever it takes to get her back.”
But even as I said those words, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were already too late. My father had a plan and we were playing catch-up, as always.
I put my view on Hu. “If my father feels like he truly has Moni, then we can release Dima. Take some men to the carousel.”
“And what do we do with the monks at the carousel?”
I sneered. “Tell Dima he can have them.”
Hu blinked. “Lei. . .”
“The East handles the East but I’m too busy tonight. Let the North have their revenge on the monks for now.”
They shouldn’t have killed the cat.
Surely displeased, Hu shook his head and left.
Duck rushed to get more men.
I looked down at TT who had been watching me the whole time and I realized this wasn’t just about getting Moni back. I had to protect TT and her sisters too. They were all caught up in this mess.
I let out a long breath. “I’m sorry, TT. I didn’t want him to take her. I was going to try and stop this.”
“I know.”
Duck quickly returned with seven guys. They rushed through the passageway. I hoped they could catch up with my father, but. . .I doubted that they would.
Moni. . .you’re gone.
A cold chill ran up my spine as my bottom lip quivered.
I was supposed to keep you safe.
My eyes watered but I would not let one tear come out. I returned my attention to TT. “I will try to get her back and. . .I think at least for now. . .she will be safe.”
“I know she will be.”
I widened my eyes. “You know it?”
“She’s going to be okay. Uncle Leo said he was going to make her powerful, so powerful she wouldn’t need you or him in the East.”
I tensed. “Did my father say how he would make her powerful?”
“No, just that by tomorrow evening all would know she was dangerous.”
My heart pounded in my chest. Officially, my father was a serial killer, a complete psychopath. The very thought of whatever plans he had was unsettling in a way I couldn’t even fully process yet.
What the hell did that mean? How could he make Moni stronger? And stronger without me? That would mean. . .she would have her own reputation of violence, right?
I didn’t trust this.
Not for a second.
Whatever my father had in store for Moni, it wasn’t just about power. Not really. He didn’t empower people. He manipulated them, twisted them into brutal tools for his own twisted goals.