Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 112382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
I put the phone away without looking. As long as she’s not ordering nukes, we’re good.
Mancini
Shit, I knew I’d be putting out fires left and right, but I thought most of them, if not all, would be started by Lyon. I never in a million years imagined that his daughter would be the one putting me through my paces. I’d had to think fast on my feet to come up with something to tell the senator, and thankfully he’d been too preoccupied with his new daughter and granddaughter to notice the absence of his aide for quite some time.
I’d planned to tell him some variation of the truth, like maybe I’d confronted his aide with his past, and he’d done a runner. That would’ve also served the purpose of showing me what kind of man the senator truly is by way of his response. But in the end, it’s not only him that I’d need to convince, though, and no way was I putting either Catalina or Jason in the line of fire.
So, I lied my ass off when I did finally face him, and besides, I already knew everything I needed to know about the man, his politics, and his life behind closed doors. It’s the reason I’d allowed him to come here after all. Not many know that the island is more than a fun resort. He’d been a bit nervous when I told him that his aide had started to run a fever and so had been whisked off the island away from the women, some of who were pregnant, and the children.
It’s very telling that his first thought was whether or not he himself had exposed his daughter and grandbaby by being so close to them. According to my wife, he’d kissed both their foreheads more times than she or her nosy ass friends could count. I went through the motions of running his temperature though I knew he’d already done that before leaving to come here.
After reassuring him that he was fine, it was easy enough to convince him that his aide had been sent to a secure medical facility where he would be taken care of. In a few days, I’ll let it be known that he didn’t make it, and since funerals are a no-no at this point in time, no one would think anything of it. My PR team is already getting a junket ready for the senator’s people so the news could be spread the right way.
Now I’m sitting here wondering if Catalina had taken all of this into consideration. On the one hand, I’m hoping she did, and on the other, it would be scary as shit if she did. I’ve known for some time that her mind is one of a kind. It’s my reason for providing her with whatever she asks for in the past. But I have to be honest that I never thought her capable of a hit. Lyon knew, though, he always did.
It’s like I’ve told him; she is what he would’ve been had Char brought him in when he was younger, but without the training. Which means she’s a natural. Now Lyon is insisting that we no longer end the men and women we bring down because of a promise he’d made to her, and I have no doubt, like him, that if we don’t hold up our end, she will do it again. There go my dreams of a little mini assassin force.
I closed my eyes with a smile and rested my head back on the chair as I let the sounds of the ocean creep in through the slightly opened window. Things were going much smoother than expected, all things considered. The guys had spent a few hours the first day getting used to the idea of their ancestors’ pasts and asking the right questions as far as I’m concerned. Now they were moving onto what we had to deal with.
Every once in a while, I’d field a question from one of them about said ancestors and the things he or she had done from everyone except Lyon. He seemed to be having the hardest time out of everyone accepting his part in all this. The thing is, though, that the guy is a born leader; he just takes shit over whenever he’s involved. Wilson and I have decided to let things take their natural course instead of trying to force him. That, I think, would only backfire.
Most importantly, though, is the fact that the others don’t seem to have an issue with following him. Something I’d stressed over long and hard since it was first decided to bring them in. I’m still waiting for one of them to question how they’d found each other in this generation, something we’d only touched on so far. But maybe after a while of working together, they’ll more easily believe in the bonds that hold them together by an invisible string.