Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Exactly.”
“So we rule out your dad,” Cash said. “Which brings us back to square one. Who would want to kill Alex?”
Roman looked toward his wife. The smile on her face was infectious. She’d only been with the kids a couple of days and the color was back in her cheeks. She looked so happy. He loved seeing her like this.
He hated hospitals, and keeping her in one had been difficult.
“We have no one,” Roman said. “Alex is … she’s not…”
“There has to be someone. We’re overlooking, or we’re not looking close enough,” Antonio said. “What about an ex-lover?”
Roman frowned and looked at his friend. “What?”
“Think about it, the moment your dad told you, you were engaged to be married, you stopped visiting your women. You ended things abruptly. Some of the women you were seeing, they liked all the pretty things you had.”
“They’re not killers,” Roman said.
“I don’t know, Denise looks like she’d be pretty pissed if someone messed with her money pot,” Cash said.
“She was all about the money,” Marlo said.
Roman chuckled. “So what we’re saying is an ex-lover of mine, who knew of the Smirnov, has arranged to have my wife killed and potentially start an all-out war because of my dick?”
“Some women can be quite possessive,” Antonio said. “Maybe she or they didn’t like being passed over for Alex. Let’s face it, we’ve all heard the rumors. None of the women believe she is good enough for you.”
Roman shook his head. “None of them could have done this, okay? I paid them a huge settlement. They have no reason to even think about Alex.”
“Apart from the fact they think she’s getting your dick.”
“I’m not talking about this anymore. It’s not helping.”
“We’ve got to exhaust all angles,” Marlo said.
What he needed right now was to be near Alex.
After stepping off the porch, he walked all the way toward her. Several of the kids were near her as he approached, and all of them rushed back to their little easels to start drawing again.
“You look angry,” Alex said.
“It’s nothing.”
She looked past his shoulder, and he didn’t need to turn to know she was staring at his friends. “Trouble in paradise?”
“I don’t know, you tell me. Boys and girls, I’m going to take our precious patient for a little stroll,” Roman said, going behind her wheelchair. There was a chorus of okays and a few boos, that eventually turned into okays. Not that he’d stop doing what he was doing to appease them.
“Is everything okay?” Alex asked.
“Just trying to figure out who is trying to kill you.”
“Ah, good thoughts.”
“It’s not funny.”
She held her hands up. “I know. Trust me. I know. This isn’t fun for me either. My classes have stopped. I can’t do anything. Being around the kids is awesome though. They’re a good distraction.”
“Do you love kids?”
“Yeah, I do. Do you?”
“This is the first time I’ve been around them.”
“Don’t you have siblings?”
“I do, but I didn’t spend any time with them. Since I’m the eldest son, Dad focused on me and told me I didn’t need any distractions when it came to learning what I needed to take over. There was no time to get close to anyone. It was just me.”
“That’s sad.”
“I never missed what I didn’t have.”
“I always wanted a brother or sister,” Alex said. “When I got too lonely and Millie was too busy and Dad was as well, I’d put all of my teddy bears around this small table I had. I’d name them all. I even had a chart that told me their name, what they did, if they were good or bad.”
“And if you had a brother or sister, you would’ve been able to boss them around.”
“I was never bossy. Even teddy bears can be so bossy when they want to be.” She tilted her head back and smiled up at him, which he found utterly adorable.
The grounds were beautiful. Liam had outdone himself in picking the perfect location for the kids. From what he heard, an orphanage in the city, on Liam’s turf, had burnt down. All the kids had been saved, including their guardians. As a boy on the streets, and building up his reputation, Liam developed a soft spot and created an opportunity for these kids. The house was stunning. The people vetted and constantly checked. Liam put a lot of anonymous funds into this place.
He also figured this was Liam’s way of apologizing to Alex. If he wouldn’t allow her to adopt or take on these kids, then he was at least going to make sure they were cared for. Liam truly only had one weakness, and it was the woman in front of him. They came to a stop at some benches, and Roman put the brakes on the chair to take a seat opposite her.
“I thought we were going for a stroll?” she asked.