Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
I tug it away and she looks hurt once more. It’s an act, and she’s very good. I open my mouth to tell her to go for the last time, but she speaks first.
“I used to watch him when he’d get home from the errands Daddy had him run. His jobs.”
I bite my lip and wait for more. It’s what she wants, I know, but I can’t help myself.
“He was a wreck afterwards. I mean, not always. Daddy was… Let’s just say he was all about an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but like multiplied by a million gazillion. He never forgot anything. Never forgave anything. It’s how he got to the top, right? He was ruthless. Even Thiago was afraid of him. Did you know that?”
I shake my head.
“Liam too, but he’d never admit it. Not me, though. Daddy loved me the best. Anyhow, back to your husband.” She emphasizes that part. “Some of the jobs he’d do, the people were bad, you know? They deserved what they got. But some of them had wives and kids and families, and I know he hated that part so much.”
“What do you mean?”
“When he’d have to hurt them. You know he did that, right?” she says with a pitying look, her lip curled like the thought of hurting anyone is unpalatable to her. “Well, sometimes he’d have to make an example, you know? So others would know if you crossed my daddy, you’d have to deal with the consequences. Between Santos and Thiago, let me tell you, not a lot of people went against my father. I mean, imagine, Thiago and Santos together beating the crap out of your kid while you watched. Doing terrible things to your wife or daughter.” She turns away. “No father wants to see that.”
“Get out, Camilla.”
“Those cuts on his body, that’s how he kept a tally.”
I’m about to repeat that she get the hell out, but that makes me stop.
“They’re the innocents. That’s what he called them. He’d cry over them some nights. I’d hold him but he didn’t want comfort. Caius, now he took all the comfort Daddy sent, all those rewards. But not Santos. I guess if you can be good in this world, he’s it. I mean, if you can overlook all the damage he did. I get it, too, you know? What happened to Alexia, poor thing. Murdered so brutally. It broke him. Made a murderer out of him.”
I push my hand into my hair and take a deep breath. Someone knocks quietly on the door then opens it, and we both turn to find Liam standing there. He looks at me, then his sister.
“We’re leaving,” he says to his sister. “Finally.”
“Just a sec. Close the door behind you, Liam,” she tells him, very clearly dismissing him. When her brother obediently leaves, she looks at me. “Just be careful with him. Everyone who cares about Santos Augustine disappears or dies. Alexia. His father. Thiago. Like I said, you seem sweet. Watch your back.”
With that warning, Camilla gets to her feet, smiles down at me, then reaches to the desk to take the book she’d asked to borrow.
“Mind? I’ll return it. Promise.”
“Take it. Just go.”
“Aw, thanks!” She looks down at her prize and I rub my forehead, a headache forming. Without another word, she’s gone.
14
SANTOS
The text I receive is an address four hours out of town. When I enter it into Google Maps, it comes up with a motel that looks about as inviting as the Bates Motel. As much as I hate leaving Madelena at the memorial service, I have no choice. Val will be with her, though, and I’ve instructed him to bring her home as soon as she’s ready.
My mind is racing. Did Thiago survive the fall? The cliffs? The water was high. It’s possible—if you’re very lucky. But he’d have to be a hell of a swimmer, and I can’t remember that he was… and he was never lucky.
Could it be that he didn’t have his phone with him when he was up at the lighthouse? Does someone else have it, and are they sending me on a wild goose chase? Or have they accessed his account and are sending the messages from another source? It’s a possibility. It could be a trap. But I can’t ignore the message.
I pull up to the parking lot of the motel in just under the four hours my GPS predicted. It looks to have fifty rooms spread over two floors. About a third of them are occupied, based on the number of cars.
I double check the message and park the SUV at the far end of the lot. Room nineteen is what I was sent and that’s on the second floor.
First, I text Val to ask about Madelena. They’re still at the house, apparently, which surprises me, but he’s got eyes on her.