Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 123575 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123575 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
He pauses, listening to whoever is on the other end. Whatever they’re saying has his anger rising tenfold, his voice becoming murderous.
“Listen to me very carefully,” he continues, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “I’m executing this my way. If you have a problem with my methods, perhaps we should reconsider our agreement.”
Another pause, longer this time. He yanks open the desk drawer I’d searched earlier, rifling through it with increasing frustration.
“It’s not here,” he growls into the phone. “I’ll look in his other hiding places—if I find it, I’ll tell you. But I want to be clear: this changes the timeline. I’ll need more time if you’re going to have me searching the countryside for shit.”
Whatever the response is, it isn’t one he wants to hear, as he ends the call with a vicious jab to the screen and hurls the phone onto the bed.
“Fuck!” he shouts, slamming the drawer shut with such force that the entire desk shakes.
I press myself further into the closet, willing my breathing to remain silent, my heart to stop its frantic pounding. He’s looking for something—something important enough to warrant this rage. The USB drive burns in my pocket like a red-hot coal.
Aries moves to the closet, and I shrink back against the wall, using the clothes as a shield, praying the darkness conceals me. My heart pounds so loudly I’m afraid the sound will give me away. I hold my breath when he reaches up to the shelf where I found the shoebox, pulling it down and rifling through its contents.
“Where is it?” he mutters to himself. “Where the fuck did you hide it?”
What does he mean, you?
I watch through a small gap in the clothes as he dumps the box’s contents onto the bed— newspaper clippings, photographs. When he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, he shoves everything back inside and returns the box to the shelf.
For one terrifying moment, his hand brushes against the sleeve of one of his trench coats I’m hiding behind. Thankfully he’s too preoccupied to notice the slight movement, the whisper of fabric against fabric. After what feels like hours but is probably only minutes, he makes a disgruntled sound and stalks out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
I wait, counting to one hundred before daring to breathe normally again. My legs tremble as I emerge from the closet, adrenaline coursing through my veins.
Whatever is on this USB drive is important enough to enrage him. Important enough to potentially disrupt some agreement he has with an unnamed associate.
The first thing I need to do is get out of here and examine its contents.
I’m willing to face Aries’s, wrath, but if this is related to his father’s work, then...am I willing to face his wrath, as well?
What if I screw something up?
Since I was a child, I’d had a problem keeping my nose out of other people’s business. I notice every tiny detail, all of the changes. What if this gut instinct has nothing to do with Aries being different? I guess that’s a risk I have to take.
I return the fake journal to the drawer, thankful he didn’t notice it was missing. I do a quick sweep of the room to ensure I’m leaving things exactly as I found them except for the drive now burning a hole in my pocket, along with the watch and the journal in my bag.
All are a small token of the Aries I thought I knew, the one whose journal entries suggest he cares more than he’s ever allowed himself to show.
Carefully, I crack open the door, peering into the hallway. Empty. I slip out, locking the door behind me with Lee’s key. Each step down the stairs feels like a potential disaster, but I make it to the ground floor without incident.
Lee is gone, but several people are engaged in a heated video game battle. With their attention fixed on the screen, no one notices me. I place Lee’s key on a side table where he’ll find it later, then slip out the front door.
The night air hits me like a shot of clarity. I’ve done it—I’ve survived my first real act of rebellion, of investigation. The best part is that I found something that might change everything.
Once in my car, I clutch the USB drive, turning it over in my palm. Whatever secrets it contains, whatever Aries is searching for, I now possess.
This is the first real leverage I’ve had over him...ever.
There’s a newfound confidence in my blood. I have the chance to understand Aries, to figure out what exactly is going on with him.
This is only the beginning…
Arson
The flashing of Lee’s name on my cell phone screen interrupts my review of the warehouse security footage.
“Yeah?” I answer in Aries’s voice—slightly softer than my natural tone, with that hint of consideration my brother always affects.