Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
King moved sideways through two of them. “Watch your head, and there might be spiders.”
“Perfect.”
“Kills in cold blood, still hates spiders.”
I laughed. “Kills in cold blood, still scared of his wife.”
King glared.
“What?” I grinned. “It’s true.”
“She’s fierce, not scary.” He pointed out. “And don’t tell her I said that.”
We walked through the eighth aisle until a small house came into view. It was maybe six hundred square feet and almost looked like an old logging cabin.
I crossed my arms. “So, you really are here to kill me and bury the body?”
“Nah, I just had a present for you, and I didn’t want anyone to hear the screams, have fun, I’ll send clean up later, but I figured this was the easiest way to prove your worth. You’re the boss, now act like it and send them scrambling back to theirs with a message.”
“What do they all have in common?” I asked while King started looking away. “Other than they’re all De Langes.”
King sighed and looked down at the grassy dirt. “They originally used to be personal bodyguards.”
My stomach lurched. “To whom?”
“Mil De Lange.”
And with that chipper news, he left.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“It’s so much easier to be patient when you have a grudge, it makes the end so much sweeter.” —King Campisi
Bella
“Seriously, the stains not that bad.” I grabbed the black towel and started dabbing cold water on my white skirt. It was barely the size of a quarter; Ivan got the brunt of it.
I appreciated his attempt at saving me from sad looks around the table, it’s like everyone knew I was with someone who didn’t love me.
But I couldn’t tell them the truth.
That at night he talked to me, that at night he held me and kissed my neck, that nights were becoming my favorite thing because they were normal, and I was understood.
I couldn’t tell Family that, he said to trust him, and he had to act a certain way just in case any of the men talked to the ones who were currently trying to take over the De Langes and eliminate us one by one.
Serena grabbed the other towel and started furiously wiping at a nonexistent stain on my shirt. “I need you to listen to me very carefully.”
“Um, okay?”
“Sometimes, we’re asked to blindly trust, and I think, no, I know that’s what Ivan is asking you to do. But you have to decide, in the end, how far that goes. Will you trust him until you get caught in the crosshairs again or will you protect yourself? I need you to think seriously about this, when Junior—when he would come home from meetings it was constant fighting within the ranks of the men, a few spoke out, it got really ugly despite the many punishments that were given and then, there was money so much money that didn’t add up and wasn’t from any of the Five Families, when he found it he knew something sinister was going on and figured he was most likely the next target.”
“And you’re telling me this because?”
“Because…” Serena lowered her voice. “He never said goodnight.”
“What?”
“That night, after date night, it’s a ritual between us, he always tucks me into bed and takes care of Bam-Bam, he reads him a story, we’ve been doing that like clockwork since we had him and he promised that no matter what sort of meeting came up he’d always pop his head in and say goodnight and make sure Bam-Bam was okay. He didn’t do that.”
My sister was losing it. “Serena, he got killed, that’s why he never said goodnight.”
She shook her head. “No. No matter how many times I think about it, something isn’t adding up, it’s Junior, he’s impossible to kill.”
“Ivan was his protégé, Serena, he taught him too well and Ivan saw an in, you know how bitter he is.” Why was I semi defending him?
He said to trust him.
I trusted in him and that something else was going on.
Serena leaned against the counter. “He’s spending a lot of money, your husband.”
“He’s greedy.”
“He’s trying to piss off whoever’s money that is, and he’s trying to show them that he’s not afraid, tell him to watch out, before he’s next.” Serena dropped the towel onto the counter and looked over her shoulder. “He might still betray you, even the strongest of bonds can be broken—for a price.”
“He won’t.” I shook my head. “I know it.”
“I hope you’re right.” She left the bathroom door open. My phone went off from the counter.
Ivan
I need you to meet me, take a left by the orchard sign, walk straight until you see the poplar trees I’m waiting on the other side.
Me
Okay.
I went down the hall and used the back door to the laundry room and started my trek toward the creepy orchard. During Halloween the first two rows were haunted, Phoenix made three kids cry—he didn’t get the memo that clowns, however happy they appear—are terrifying.