Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“Hello?” I held my breath.
“Mi hija,” he said, voice booming. “You can come home now.”
I felt my entire body go limp as I fell to the floor, tears pricking my eyes. “Are you serious?”
“I’ll be making dinner tonight. Pescado con coco,” he said. My mouth watered instantly. “You may want to get here before your brother eats all of it though.”
“I’ll be there.” I felt myself smile wide. “Oh my God. I’ll be there.”
“See you soon.” He hung up.
I looked at the tub of ice and debated not soaking my feet after all, but the throbbing convinced me otherwise. I’d just put them in there for a moment. I was lost in thought, texting back and forth with my brother, when I heard the commotion coming from downstairs. There was shouting and the sound of something crashing. I inhaled sharply, hands shaking for a completely different reason. I looked at the doors on either side of me, at the cabinet in front of me. Would I fit there? Did I have time to hide? Another crash. This time, I did drop my phone. I got my feet out of the tub quickly and set them on the towels I’d set down, walking over to the door of the gym. I rushed in there, grabbed a ten-pound dumbbell, and ran to the door next, trying to listen, to see. My heart pounded loudly. This was supposed to be the safest place in the city, but it couldn’t be, right? Because in theory, Dominic may be able to protect me, but it was only a matter of time before things caught up to him. It was only a matter of time before this happened. I swallowed back my fear and tried like hell to think of something positive. Maybe he was fighting with Marco over the bruises, and if that was the case, I had to go down there. I opened the door slowly and tiptoed to the top of the stairs, heart in my throat. I listened to the voices, trying to make out who was speaking, or rather, screaming. Definitely Dominic. I braved a peek over the stairs and saw another version of Dominic. Somehow, I managed not to drop the dumbbell as I rushed downstairs.
“Gabe?” I set down the dumbbell as both brothers turned to face me.
I had to take a step back for a moment. I hadn’t seen them side-by-side in ten years. Back then, they looked so much more similar, but now, the only resemblance they shared seemed to be a few features. I did a quick sweep of Gabe and breathed easier when I realized he was intact. When I looked at Dominic, his expression was intense. It was one that practically screamed “mine.” I looked down at my feet for a second, hating that the room was filled with animosity, instead of joy and relief. Before I knew what was happening, Gabe was charging me and I was in his arms.
“I am so sorry, Rosie. Holy shit. I can’t imagine what must have gone through your mind. Are you okay?” He set me on the ground, but kept me facing him, his arms loosely around me.
I glanced over at Dominic and noticed that his face had gone from pissed off to murderous. I took a step back to set some distance between me and his brother.
“Yes, I’m okay. I thought you got killed or something. I thought maybe it was my fault for the shit I’d told you and then . . .” I shook my head and looked at him, really looked at him. “Did you get a fucking suntan?”
“Yeah.” He had the sense to look embarrassed as he looked away. “I called Dom because I had to skip town on short notice, and I was worried about you. I kept thinking about Tommy and Anthony and – ”
I pushed his chest with both hands, moving him back with the force. “We were freaking out about you, and you were sunbathing?” I pushed him again. He took another step back.
“I wasn’t just chilling the entire time. It wasn’t like that.” He took a breath. “I’m sorry. That’s why I called you. I didn’t want you to worry.”
I turned my attention to Dominic, who was still standing in the same spot. “Are you just going to stand there, staring?”
“Trust me, you don’t want me to walk over there right now.”
Gabe waved a finger between me and Dominic. “So this is a thing then.”
“Yeah,” I said quietly, looking at the ground. “He’s good to me.”
“Yeah.” He let out a short laugh. “I bet he is.”
“Gabriel.” Dominic warned.
“No, you stole my fucking girlfriend.” Gabe looked over.
“What?” I shouted. “I was not your girlfriend, you liar!”
“She was never yours to begin with,” Dominic growled, and I could tell he was fighting to stay at a distance.