Total pages in book: 767
Estimated words: 732023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3660(@200wpm)___ 2928(@250wpm)___ 2440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 732023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3660(@200wpm)___ 2928(@250wpm)___ 2440(@300wpm)
“Don’t be so dramatic. Why do you always have to bring up the same old accusations? It’s boring.” She gets to her feet. “Shall I speak to your maid?”
“You lost the right to address my staff when you walked out.”
She rolls her shoulders. “Dear God, Gabriel, get over me and move on.”
“I am, Sylvia. You have no idea.”
“Good. It’ll make you easier to get on with.” She walks to the door with a straight back.
“Tell Carly I dropped in.”
“Why don’t you call her tonight and tell her yourself?”
She narrows her eyes. “Fuck you, Gabriel. I love my daughter, and she knows it.”
“Does she?”
She yanks the door open and slams it hard enough to shake the frame. Dragging a hand over my face, I take a moment to calm myself before I go out for the business of the day that requires the end of another scumbag’s life.
* * *
When I get home, I shower and spend time with Carly, helping her with her math homework. I don’t go down for dinner. I can’t bear to look at Valentina. I’m too terrified I’ll change my mind. After a whiskey too many, I call Rhett and tell him to meet me in the gym. He enters cautiously, probably thinking of the last time we wrestled because he shot Valentina’s dog.
Dragging a bench from the free weights section to the metal chains attached to the wall, I sit down. “Cuff me.”
It takes him a moment to find his voice. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Not stupid enough to defy me, he approaches slowly. I hold out my wrists. He secures first the one, then the other in the metal cuffs.
“Take the key with you,” I say, “and don’t give it to anyone, no matter what.”
“The key for the cuffs or for the door?”
“Both.”
His head bobs up and down, like a toy dog on a car dashboard. “When must I come back?”
“At six tomorrow morning and not a second before. Got that?”
He gulps. “Yes.”
“Go.”
His eyes say I’ve finally lost it, but he doesn’t argue. The key scrapes in the lock after he has closed the door, making me a prisoner of free will.
* * *
Valentina
Wearing the new dress Gabriel bought, I bite my nails while I wait in the kitchen. I’ve never been on a date. I should be studying, but I’m curious about what Gabriel has planned. The door opens just after eight, but it’s not Gabriel who steps inside. It’s Quincy.
“Hi,” I say with an easy smile, half-relieved and half-stressed, because now I’ll have to go through the waiting anxiety again.
There’s a flush on his cheeks as he takes in the red dress. “You look nice.”
This is so uncomfortable. “Thanks.”
“Ready?”
I blink. Maybe he’s driving me somewhere to meet Gabriel. “Um, yes.”
“Let’s go.” He looks me over. “Take a jacket. It’ll get fresh later.”
I grab my black trench coat and follow Quincy to the car. He drives. Another car follows at a distance. I peer at the headlights in the side mirror.
“Are they going to follow us all night?”
“Protection,” he mumbles, his forehead pleated in a frown.
“Where are we going?”
“I was thinking the Thai Hut. It’s got five-star reviews for its curry dishes, and it’s fancy without being uptight. What do you think?”
I have no idea where or what the Thai Hut is, but my brain is stuck on something else.
“Wait, you mean you and I decide? Gabriel’s not coming?”
He shoots me a quick look. “Ah, fuck. He didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
He clenches the wheel and faces straight ahead. “This is—How do I put it? He set us up on a date.”
“Me and you?”
“Hey.” He utters a wry chuckle. “I know I’m not the world’s greatest hunk, but there’s no need to say it like you won’t go out with me if I’m the last man on earth, which you probably wouldn’t, even if it was true.”
I’m so gob smacked I have to remind myself to shut my mouth. “I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.” He shifts in his seat. “Look, I’ll be honest with you. All I know is Gabriel ordered me to show you a good time tonight.”
“He ordered you?” Who the hell orders anyone to go on a date? What am I? A piece of meat up for auction? I narrow my eyes. “What else?”
He steals another glance at me. “What do you mean what else?”
“A good time and what else?”
He wipes a hand over his face. “Dinner, candles, and…”
“And what?”
“He wants me to sleep with you.”
“Stop the car.”
“Valentina––”
“Now!” I’m already jerking on the door handle.
He brings the car to a screeching halt on the side of the road and grabs my arm. “Please, calm down. We’ve got his guards watching us.”
I still at his words. I can’t believe Gabriel set me up with Quincy. For sex. I cover my face with my hands. “I’m so embarrassed.”