Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
She shut the door, staring at me. “Did you mean that?”
“That he can eff off? Yes. I am angry. But not for the reasons your dad thinks.”
“Do you believe you meant nothing to him but a whim?”
“No. I meant something. He is still trying to protect me. He always tried to protect me from everything but him.” I sat down. “And he was what I needed the most protection from. He stole my heart while barely trying.”
Carolina sat beside me. “And broke it.”
I turned my head, meeting her eyes. “He dented it and he made me angry, but it’s not broken. Dante is unapologetic in his ways. He does what he wants, how he wants, and when he wants. He offers no reasons and seeks no one’s permission. For him to be falling all over himself to apologize is total horse pucky. He’s the one with the broken heart, not me.” I stood and paced. “He’s messed with the wrong girl, and I’m going to prove it to him.” I stopped in front of her. “I need your help. And your money.”
She stood. “You got it.”
“Okay, we need to plan this carefully.”
DANTE
I paced the condo on an endless loop. I was beginning to go stir-crazy. From the moment I had seen the serious looks on the faces of the police at my door, I’d known I was in deep trouble. I had gone willingly to the station, making sure to contact my lawyer before leaving. The questioning had been endless, and finally, I refused to speak anymore. The new police chief was young, eager, and had a very low opinion of his wealthier citizens. He and his department managed to hold me for three days before I got out, and since then, I had been stuck in this condo.
I had my lawyers on the case. Investigators. On the surface, it didn’t look good. There were all the witnesses who saw our fight the night before he disappeared. Heard me threaten him. I had no alibi for when he supposedly went missing later. My hands were a wreck from the fight, as well as the fact that I had the black eye I’d gotten when I’d stumbled around drunk the night I sent Brianna away. According to the police, it showed Winters got in a swing or two before I made good on my threats and beat him to death. What they had was circumstantial, but others had been convicted with less. And all I could do was hope we caught a break in the case.
Thanks to the internet, I could run my businesses easily with Zoom and email, which I did to stay busy when I wasn’t on the phone with my team. But I was going out of my mind being stuck in here.
Being without Brianna.
When I’d heard he was dead, my first thought had been relief. She was safe from him now. There was a part of me that rejoiced, that immediately went into planning mode on how to get her back, except I realized he had people still loyal to him. Those who might still want to hurt me, and the best way would be to hurt her.
So, I had to keep her away.
Paolo told me she was safe. Unhappy, but safe. She rarely came out of her room and she wasn’t eating much, but she did visit with Carolina. I forbade him to tell Brianna what was happening. I wanted her to have a clean break from me. Knowing her, she would get a crazy idea in her head and show up, demanding to lead the investigation.
I had to admit, the thought made me smile.
My phone rang, and I accepted a video chat with Paolo.
“Hello, brother.”
“Any news?” he asked.
“No. They have some leads they are tracking down. I wasn’t his only enemy. But it all takes time.” I paused. “How is she?”
“Mad as a hornet.”
“Why?”
He paused, taking a sip of what I assumed was scotch. “Carolina told her.”
“Fuck.”
“She wanted to fly back, help. She said you needed her.”
Of course she did.
“I hope you convinced her otherwise?” I asked.
“I was very blunt and repeated our conversation from the other night.”
“And she was angry?”
“She told me to feck off.”
I gaped at him. “She said fuck off?”
He shook his head. “Feck off. I think that was as close as she could get.” Then he repeated what she had said, and I winced at her words. I hated that she compared herself to a whore. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“But she believed you.”
“I think so. Tell me, was I lying?”
“She is better off without me. Don’t let her come back here.”
“So I was lying.”
I remained quiet.
“Her passport is in the safe, she has no access to the accounts you set up yet. The phone I gave her has limited usage. She can’t go anywhere.”