Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
I saw my brother’s already hard expression harden even further. I couldn’t blame him.
The guy on the phone kept talking.
“We didn’t know if we’d bring her out of that. She was traumatized. Her trauma was from a combination of being Frost’s full-time slave for several months and that. He was very dark. Surprisingly, she did come out of it and she became exemplary once she was in general population. How resilient she was is one of the reasons she was on the potential acquisition list. Jason caught wind and tried to purchase her. We didn’t think that was a good idea. He repeatedly tried. It was decided he would not be permitted to visit Kruna. When your father requested a redhead for you. we determined it would be in everyone’s best interests that it be Felicia. She would be out of bounds for Jason, who we’d hoped would stop being a thorn in our side. And we knew she was exemplary and would meet your needs. A win-win.”
Dare and I locked gazes and I know we had twin expressions, grinding our teeth.
“We are very sorry for this inconvenience, Dario. Had we known Frost would become a problem for you, we would have taken action sooner. If you’d like to turn him over to us, we would be happy to ensure the problem is no longer a Ferrano problem. Permanently.”
“I’ll be interrogating him today. I’ll either dispose of him myself or we’ll arrange for a transfer,” Dare said to the guy on the phone.
“We will leave that decision up to you. Let me know.”
We said our goodbyes and then I looked at him and his expression was cold, calculated. It didn’t sit well. It reminded me of myself.
Dare and I were heading back to the farm so I could pick up Tia. Tia and I had barely spoken in the past few days. She wrapped around me at night and it was a soothing balm for me but during the day I’d been wrapped up in this stuff and all my shit and she’d been keeping busy with my sisters. And I was pissed at her and she was digging in her heels with me so we’d yet to hash things out.
Lisa was gonna be spending hours each day with Oliver, my counselor, and he was trying to spend time with me, too, but I’d been dodging him with excuses so far.
He was staying in the pool house. He’d be here a week or two and recommended I meet with him daily. He recommended that we send Lisa to a special retreat for intense therapy for a few weeks after he left but we weren’t sure about that. He also recommended to me that Dare do the same for Angel, but I hadn’t approached that subject with my brother yet.
When we got to the farm I waited in my car and Dare sent Tia out.
“Hey,” I said as she got in.
“Hey,” she replied.
I leaned over to kiss her. She moved in and our lips touched.
“How is she?” I pulled out of the driveway.
Tia shrugged. “She didn’t really come out. She came down for a drink and I asked if she wanted to talk and she didn’t. She went back to bed. I checked on her a few times and she was either sleeping or looking out the window. I think she needs Dario. How is everything?”
I blew out a breath. “We probably won’t get out of this association any time soon, unfortunately. It’s gonna take time. We have to play their game for now. We might have to go to Thailand in another couple weeks for their partner summit. I don’t know yet.”
She made a face. “God, no.”
I shook my head. “Baby, let’s save this until we know what’s what.”
“If you think I’m going to be okay with you going to a sex slave resort…”
“Baby. Seriously. Not now. I’m fucking tired. Let’s go back to the house; I need to sleep.”
She folded her arms across her chest. Great. More fucking attitude.
We got back to the house and the place was quiet. Sarah was in the yard with Luc, Tess, and the kids and I didn’t see Lisa or Oliver. I grabbed Tia’s hand and pulled her up to the bedroom we were staying in.
I slammed the door, locked it and stalked her as she backed up, looking a little freaked out.
“So, we’re doing this now, are we?” She folded her arms across her chest and tried to look tough.
“I am not fucking happy about what you said to Lisa,” I said.
Tia and I needed to iron shit out.
“I know. But it needed to be said.”
“That’s not an apology, Athena.”
“No. It’s not. It’s all out in the open now and we can all move on. You’ve been beating yourself up for this. Part of moving on, I think, is talking things out with those who were involved and impacted by what happened. You’re getting therapy. Lisa’s getting therapy. Your sisters don’t understand the full scope of what Lisa has been through so they need her truth, too. That’s next, I think.”