Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“Matt,” I grit out. “I need to know the details.”
This time, the quiet officer beside Matt speaks, “Ma’am, you really don’t—”
“Now!” I yell with a force I didn’t realize I possessed.
Again, my upstairs neighbor jumps on his floor, hollering at me to shut up. He must be wearing space boots, because the ceiling rattles so hard I half-expect it to collapse.
“Sir, this is the police!” Matt thunders back.
“Yeah, right!” He jumps some more. “Nice try, Sash!”
I barely pay attention to the exchange, unable to contain the fireball of emotions growing in my stomach. The heat spreads through my body.
It’s easier to be angry than it is to be sad.
A motto I have always lived by.
I take a calming breath. “I’m…sorry.”
Calm down, Sasha.
“Please tell me.” My voice drops an octave. “I need to know.”
Matt’s eyes close, and his nostrils flare. It looks like he’s fighting an inner battle with himself. To tell me or not. From his audible sigh, I know which side wins, but I’m not prepared for the words he utters next.
“He was tortured.”
My hands tremble. My knees, too. Hell, my whole body is shaking now. On a sharp inhale, I push past the pain building inside me. “Was he on drugs again?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I won’t know until we get the full report.”
I ball my fists and shove them into the pockets of my waitress dress. “When will that be?”
“It’ll take some time for the toxicology reports to come back,” Matt says, eyes dropping to the floor. “I’m sorry, Sasha. I wish…I wish I could’ve done more.”
He isn’t the only one who’s sorry.
I can’t help but feel that my own stubborn nature killed Roman. No matter how ridiculous it sounds. “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t…”
Matt’s arms jut out, grabbing my hands in his. “Don’t say that. It’s not your fault. He went to work for bad men.”
“Who?”
Knowing their names won’t help at all, and still, I need to know.
What will you do? Hunt them down? Get real.
No. Nothing good could come from tangling myself in Roman’s messes.
“Roman had ties to Gideon Byrne and Lorenzo Amanté.”
I shake my head. “Who are they?”
They sounded like overpriced Italian handbags.
“Gideon is responsible for bringing some pretty serious drugs into the city, and Lorenzo…well, you don’t want to even know that name.”
I gulp down the lump sitting in the back of my throat. What could these men have done that even Matt looks a little shaken by their mere names?
“This wasn’t your fault. Your brother was troubled, and it didn’t help that he surrounded himself with people like that,” Matt continues.
I know his words are supposed to help me, but they don’t.
My chest still feels hollow all the same.
I pushed Roman away. I ran from him. Hid here in my crap apartment, saving up money to make my life better. All the while, he was out there making his worse. Maybe if I’d begged a little more, he would’ve straightened up. Maybe he would’ve given up that life.
The sad truth is, I didn’t try, and now I’ll never know what could’ve been.
3
GIDEON
I lurk in the shadows like some fucking psycho, waiting for the perfect moment to make my presence known.
No matter how often I watch her, I can’t stop the need building within me. My desire to look at her, even from a distance, is never quenched.
It’s been a little over a week since the police informed Sasha of Roman’s death.
It’s been ten days since I first laid eyes on her, and it’s never enough.
I’m not sure what it is about this girl that has me so consumed…but I am. She has become my new obsession.
It’s driving me insane.
I’ve tried to play my interest in her off as strictly business. To make it all about the promise I made to her brother.
I know it’s bullshit and so do my men.
There’s only one solution. I need to follow through.
I need to bring her in on everything.
“How long do you want to stay?” Julian asks from behind me.
I don’t turn in his direction. “Not sure yet.”
There’s no reason to tell him anything more. When I’m ready to go, he’ll find out. For now, I’m going to continue to observe her. From this angle, her blonde hair seems too bright amongst the sea of black clothes. She reminds me of a firefly brightening up the summer night sky.
She flits around from person to person, accepting condolences. There aren’t many here, maybe fifteen max, but I’m still surprised by the turnout Roman has received. In the years I’ve known him, he never once spoke of his personal life. He only talked about the chicks he was fucking. No mention of family. He didn’t seem to have friends outside of my crew, and currently, none of them are here. They wouldn’t be.
These people are here for Sasha. That’s the only thing that makes sense, but that leaves me even more confused. I would think someone like her would have more friends and family.