Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“What about M-Mom?” she asks.
“Luca is scouring the neighborhood with several of our men,” I tell her. “I’ve given up on trying to keep this quiet. The whole Family is on the case. They’re all over the city. We’re going to find her.”
“What if the men who hurt Dad find out?”
“We can’t delay any longer,” he tells me. “Anyway, once these bastards hear the Marino Family wants her back, there’s a good chance they’ll simply deliver her to us.”
My woman leans back, looking up at me with red eyes. “Dad never loved me,” she whispers. “He never wanted kids. He ruined my and Mom’s life, honestly. He got her addicted to those pills because it was easier than dealing with her, but he didn’t deserve this.”
She breaks down again, pushing her face against my chest. I hold her tightly, kissing the top of her head, knowing I’m probably less than useless right now. A long time passes like this.
Finally, she crawls up on the bed and lies down. Without a word, I join her. I pull her into my arms and hope she can feel the support burning through me. I hope it makes a difference.
After a while, it’s strange. It’s like I can feel her wanting to say something. Maybe it’s the unspoken connection we have. The connection that was there the first moment I saw her. Or maybe it’s the fact she keeps shifting around.
“What’s going to happen with his…” She swallows audibly. “His body?”
Somehow, I know this isn’t what she was going to say. Maybe I’m placing way too much emphasis on my ability to read her, but I don’t think so.
“It’s in a safe location,” I tell her. “I can help you and your mother with the funeral.”
“I don’t want to think about any of this until Mom is back and safe.”
“I’m going to find her,” I say. “I swear.”
“What about the men? The ones who… you know?”
“They’re gone,” I tell her gruffly.
She swallows. “Gone?”
“We searched their place. You don’t want to know the filth we found on their computers. We had no choice but to end the pricks.”
She kisses my chest, a shiver moving through her. “You did the right thing, and it’s true. I don’t want to know what you found. I think my imagination can fill it in.”
We lie together without talking for a long while. Then she squeezes against my sides, looking up at me curiously.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
She averts her gaze. “Huh? Like what?”
Leaning close, I softly kiss her cheek, smoothing some of her tears away. “Like there’s something you want to tell me.”
“It’s not my place,” she murmurs.
“So there is something…”
She doesn’t reply, and I don’t try to force her. She’s been through too much for me to press her about anything. After a few minutes of holding each other, she whispers, “I don’t want to stir any trouble in your family. I know how much is at stake with your Family.”
“My family, or the Family?”
“Both,” she says quietly.
“Explain,” I tell her.
She speaks in a whisper, telling me about the song in the study—my dad tearing up, Mom seeming shocked, and asking if he had heard the singing.
“But if she’s been speaking to him…”
“Why would that be a shock?” I finish, nodding. “You were right to tell me this.”
“Do you think your mom…”
“Do I think she’s pretending my dad is speaking to her?”
Scarlet has her face pressed against me. When she nods, I feel it instead of seeing it. My chest is warm from where her tears have pushed through my shirt. “I can imagine other mafia queens doing that. They take advantage of their husband’s condition to get their own power, but not Mom. They were too in love, together long before Dad was the don, and she’s never cared about the business. I don’t understand it.”
“Maybe somebody else is behind it,” Scarlet says.
I sit up, my heart suddenly beating quicker, harder, with more urgency. “Go on.”
She looks up at me, beautiful even with her cheeks puffy and red from crying and messy hair from where I was rubbing it. If anything, she looks more beautiful like this. It makes her look more genuine. Real.
“What if somebody is threatening her? Or blackmailing her?”
I shake my head. “She would come to us,” I say. “I know she would. She knows that Luca and I would never let that stand.”
“Maybe it’s something she can’t talk to you about?” Scarlet says. “Remember, I don’t know what I’m talking about. I could’ve misread that whole situation. Maybe it’s just because he shed a tear.”
“Hmm, maybe,” I mutter.
“What now?” Scarlet asks.
“We find your mom. Save her. Reunite you with her.”
“But I mean… now. Right now. What should we do?”
“Whatever you want,” I say. “You’ve been through a lot. If you want to be alone, that’s okay. If you want me to stay here, that’s okay, too.”