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)
Leo and I made it to the helicopter next.
“After you, Monique,” Leo motioned towards the door.
Feeling out of my depth, I stepped up and into the cabin. It smelled like new leather and expensive cologne.
Song followed, taking a seat opposite me.
Leo boarded last and placed himself right next to me.
Song looked my way. “Fasten your seatbelt.”
I obeyed, feeling the cool metal click into place across my lap.
Leo merely smirked at him, not bothering with his own belt. Instead, he pulled out Yan's finger again from his pocket and began turning it round and round in his hands, as if it were just an antique relic rather than a piece of his deceased daughter.
Then, he looked at me. “Whose idea was the cookout?”
“Banks.”
“So then I will give you credit for that because Banks would not have done that, if not for you.”
Song spoke. “How did the emergency Diamond Syndicate meeting go for the Four Aces? The one that Dima led.”
“We were fined but no major penalties.”
Leo smirked. “You said we.”
“I’m a part of Four Aces now.”
Leo bobbed his head. “You sure are.”
And even Song smiled and it was an odd one, small and hesitant, as if he were unsure of how to express the emotion of happiness. His lips barely turned up at the corners and his eyes remained guarded.
Leo watched me. “It was good that you put Einstein in his place.”
That caught me off guard.
I studied him. “You heard that conversation?”
“We were behind the bookshelf as you two talked.”
I swallowed down fear.
“Through the whole conversation, you focused on protecting Lei and solidifying power in the East.” Leo pointed at me. “And not one time did you waver from that loyalty.”
I froze, knowing that if I had said some bullshit. . .well. . .Leo might have appeared in that library and killed us both.
The last man climbed onto the helicopter and shut the door behind him.
Song gazed over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Yes sir.”
The helicopter engine began to hum.
Leo turned to Song. “I think we can celebrate now, don’t you?”
Frowning, Song stuck his hand in his jacket, pulled out a bag of blue marijuana and tossed it to Leo.
Leo caught the bag mid-air and then looked at me. “Monique?”
“Yes.”
“Are you ready for a special educational adventure with me?”
I shivered. “No. . .I don’t think so.”
A dark laugh left him and even Song smiled again.
“Smart girl.” Leo opened the bag of marijuana and sniffed it. “Smart girl. Indeed.”
God. . .just please stay watching over me.
Chapter three
A Magician’s Truth
Moni
This unknown threat of dread loomed ahead, thick and suffocating, like walking into a room without light, not knowing if there was a hole in the floor or blades in the floor or a killer waiting in the corner to grab you.
Stay calm.
The low hum of the helicopter’s engine vibrated through my body.
How are Lei and my sisters doing?
My heart ached for them but I also knew that I had to focus.
Leo was insane and always thought a good twenty steps ahead of everyone else. This was no time to wander about Lei and my sisters, I had to make sure I remained alive to see them again.
As the helicopter rose off the helipad, I leaned back in my seat and gripped the leather armrests.
This is really happening.
I thought back to that moment on the dance floor earlier tonight. Lei had pulled me close to him and wrapped his arms around me. Those big muscles flexed against my body.
The music thumped in the background but all I could feel was the electric connection between us.
When his lips brushed against mine, the world disappeared.
“I love you, Moni,” he had whispered, his voice full of emotion.
“I love you too.”
I blinked that memory away and put my focus back on Leo.
He sat beside me calmly rolling a joint with Yan’s finger on his lap. “Have you sampled a good bit of the East’s weed?”
“A little bit but mainly I’ve been busy.”
He grinned, probably knowing that he was part of why I’d been so damn busy. “Well. . .this is a new strain. They call it Tiffany. After the color.”
“Tiffany Blue?”
He nodded, his fingers expertly twisting the blue-tinged paper. “You ever hear about why they called the color that?”
“No.”
“It’s genius branding. The world’s most iconic color. Tiffany trademarked it—tied it to their name, their packaging, their products.” His voice was smooth, almost casual but there was something about the way he talked about it that made me sit up and listen. “Charles Lewis Tiffany knew what he was doing. Turquoise was popular in Victorian times—brides loved it, gifted it. He capitalized on that, turned it into a symbol of luxury.”
I imagined this Charles Lewis Tiffany sitting in his plush, mahogany office. I could see him taking a small, innocuous box and wrapping it with that distinct blue paper—a color that mirrored the endless depths of an ocean.