Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
I blinked at the sudden change in his demeanor, wondering if I would ever get used to his fast-shifting personality.
After we ate, Matteo rounded the desk and sat beside me. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”
I swallowed. “Where are we going?”
“I am taking you on our honeymoon.”
“Oh.”
He handed me an envelope. Inside was a new driver’s license and passport, both with the name Evie Campari.
“The birthday is wrong.”
He sat back, rubbing his finger over his chin. “No, it’s not. You have a new name, a new birthday, a new life.” He met my gaze. “Evelyn Gail Harper is dead. Evie Campari is the only name you have now. I thought you’d want to keep the name your father liked to use.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Last night, Blaine Newson was arrested on murder charges. A woman matching your description and carrying your ID was found, beaten and strangled. His DNA was all over her.”
I blinked and gasped.
“He’s in custody.” He grinned—a cold, frightening grin that reminded me exactly who he was. “He won’t make it to the trial.”
I began to shake as I processed Matteo’s words. I knew I should feel bad for Blaine. But the only thing I felt was relief.
“The woman?”
He shook his head. “A Jane Doe. She was not harmed to help you. Don’t ask.”
I nodded with a long exhale.
“You have no family, and as you told me, you know nobody here and few people to miss you where you came from. Your old life is over. You are my wife, and you will be safe. He will pay for hurting what is mine.” His fingers drummed on his knee. “For hurting an innocent.”
“Is–is that what you do?” I asked. “Kill those you decide deserve it?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes. I need to understand. Are you with the mafia?”
“All you need to know is that I work with an organization of considerable power. I run a very elite crew.”
“You kill people. You’re an assassin—a gun for hire.”
He chuckled, leaning forward, running a finger down my cheek. “No, I’m not a gun for hire. You watch too much TV.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Always so curious, Cara,” he murmured, cocking his head to the side.
This time, I knew what that word meant, and I felt myself blush. He took my hand, spinning the ring he’d placed on my finger around as he spoke.
“I was just a normal kid. We lived in Little Italy, my dad was a cop, and my mom stayed home. We were ordinary. We weren’t rich or affluent. But when I was fifteen, Gianna was kidnapped. My life changed overnight. Every waking hour was spent trying to help my dad find her. My mom was a lost cause, crying and drinking all the time.”
I flipped my palm, interweaving our fingers. “What happened?”
He looked at our joined fingers and frowned. “My dad was one of the good guys, you know? He tried, but he had nothing. Just a bunch of dead ends. Even his fellow officers thought she’d just run away. There was no ransom note, nothing. They’d seen it too often and were sure she’d gone off on her own.”
“But she hadn’t?”
“No. I saw it happen. I saw the men who took her. No one believed me except my dad. Everyone said what I saw was my sister going out with friends. I knew it was something different.” He rubbed his eyes. “One night, I snuck out of the house and went to a bar. My friend was always bragging about his uncle’s illicit life and his ties to the underworld. The power he had. We went and found him. We told him what happened and what I saw. He believed me.”
He inhaled. “Long story short, they found her. Brought her home. They even helped with counseling for her and my mother. And the day they did, in gratitude, I swore one day I would become one of them.”
“What happened to your sister?” Gianna still hadn’t spoken to me. I rarely saw her, and if I did, she averted her eyes.
“Gianna was messed up for a long time. She still is in many ways. But she got help, and she married her childhood sweetheart, who also happened to be my friend who got me to his uncle. You met him—Vince.” He smiled. “She’s protected—just like you are. He would die before he let anything happen to her. He is very good to her, and he understands her limitations. She loves him a great deal.”
“And your parents?”
He grimaced. “They died in a car accident that was no accident.”
I gasped. “What kind of accident?”
“Their car was run off the road on the way home one night. They’d gone to see Gianna at the facility where she was getting treatment. I was supposed to be with them, but I wasn’t feeling well and stayed home.” He was silent for a moment. “Vince’s uncle came and got me. He was honest and told me the car was forced off the road and the evidence covered up. He was sure it was reprisal for getting Gianna back.”