Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86883 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86883 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Of course she didn’t.
Now she’s screaming blue murder at one of my soldiers.
“Let her up,” I call down to him.
I meet her at the top of the stairs, wanting to prepare her for what she is about to see.
“You need to wait,” I say, stepping in front of her.
But wild horses aren’t going to stop her from getting into that room. She pushes past me, but stops in the doorway when she sees Harrison is dead.
Her body stiffens and her hands ball into fists at her side, and she swings around to face me.
“Did you do this?” she yells. Her eyes are wild, and her beautiful face is flushed with emotion. “Did you take this from me?”
She’s shaking. She’s waited for weeks to confront him and get her retribution. But it’s a retribution she won’t get.
In a burst of emotions, she pulls out her gun and points it at me, but I don’t flinch. I’m too damn busy being turned on by my little monster’s fire.
Matteo and Dante draw their weapons.
“No need for that,” I tell them, my eyes fixed firmly on Bianca. “Miss Bamcorda is simply letting off steam.”
If it were anyone else, they would experience the full weight of my wrath for daring to point a gun at me.
But given the chance, I’ll punish her in more pleasurable ways. Because if she can cross the line, then I’m going to cross the line and set fucking fire to it.
Tears well in her wild eyes, and her beautiful face reveals the agony she feels. Because after everything she’s been through, she needed this.
A lone tear rolls down her smooth cheek.
“Tell me the truth, did you do this? Did you kill Harrison?”
I look her in the eyes. “No, I didn’t.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I’ve never lied to you, and I never will.”
Her hand starts to shake.
“Look at him,” I demand. “I’m not one for theatrics, Bianca. If I were going to shoot him, I’d do it and be done with it.”
Slowly, she lowers her gun and grits her teeth. “Then who did?”
“I don’t know for sure yet, but we will find out.”
It’s a half-truth. My mind tells me it’s Fausto’s work, but my gut tells me to not put all my eggs in that basket. And until I know for sure, I don’t want Bianca doing something impulsive, like hunting down Fausto and shooting him.
“Come on, let me take you home.” I offer her my hand, and to my surprise she takes it, and the sudden touch of her skin against mine ignites a protective need in me. I grasp her hand tightly but resist the urge to put my arms around her.
I look at Matteo and Dante. “Ring Damon, tell him to hunt down this asshole’s bank records, email, financial records of any kind. If Harrison has a cell phone, don’t leave it behind. I want to know who he’s been talking to and where he’s been.”
Matteo nods.
“Dispose of the body and make sure we were never here.” Our cleanup crew is meticulous and fast, and will eliminate any fingerprints or evidence that we were ever in the house. “Then call me when you’re done. We’ll meet up later to forge the plan ahead. Because I want to know who did this, and I want to know today.”
She’s quiet during the drive back to her apartment in Midtown. She stares out the window, and her hands are still balled into fists on her lap.
“This is just a setback,” I say. “You can trust me when I say I will find out who is behind this.”
She turns her beautiful face to me. It’s tearstained, and her eyes are wet. “I can’t trust anyone.”
A heavy weight sinks into my chest. Because she’s right.
She turns back to stare out the window. “Everything has just changed,” she murmurs, lost in thought.
“Yes, it has. But it means we pivot.”
The traffic slows because it’s peak hour. Outside, horns blare as the traffic into the city gets heavier. But inside the car, it is still and quiet, and I can hear Bianca’s gentle breaths as she bites into her lips and reconsiders what Harrison’s death means. She’s a mix of disappointment and vulnerability, and I want to change that more than I’m prepared to admit to myself.
“Do you think someone else was behind Harrison stealing everything?” she asks, turning back to face me. “Or did they find out what he did and took it from him?”
“We don’t know that the money’s gone. Damon will let me know within the hour.”
“Do you think it’ll be there?”
I think for a moment, considering my words very carefully. She’s suffered a blow this afternoon, and I don’t want to crush her any further.
“Massimo?” she presses.
But I told her I would never lie to her.
“No, I don’t think it is. I think someone else is pressing the buttons and Harrison was collateral. Your money is gone.”