Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 123153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your father had a thing for that woman and was jealous of Lucas. As if I didn’t know. My brothers would have had him by his balls if he didn’t provide for me. If not for those Bajan assholes, none of this would have gone down.”
Chapter 40
Family Christmas
Jace
I’ve been waiting for this day. The new truck for Ny was delivered an hour ago. Gio and I have allowed her to sleep while we get ready for Christmas Day at Dante’s house.
This is going to be an interesting day. We’re a hundred-percent positive Riccardo will show up. With Dario ignoring his calls, he’s going to want to find out what’s going on.
Boy, is he in for a surprise. I can’t wait to see his face. However, first I want to see the look on Ny’s face when we gift her the truck that will replace the car Riccardo destroyed.
Gio had offered to allow me to purchase the car, but it felt right for us to go half. As he said, she’s ours. We both should work together to give her the things she needs.
The custom black-on-black bulletproof BMW truck is everything we hoped for and more. I think she’s going to love it. I smile harder as I pull on my black knit sweater and look into the full-length mirror in my closet.
I nod and push my hair out of my face. The light-blue jeans make me feel comfortable, but the sweater dresses the outfit up for a nice holiday vibe. I think Ny will like it.
I grab my wristwatch and place it on as I move out of the closet. Next, I work to smooth my hair up to place it in a man bun. When I step out of the closet, Gio is coming out of his. He’s dressed in a gray V-neck knit sweater with black jeans and black dress shoes. I chuckle. We were thinking alike.
“You ready?” he says and gestures toward the bed where we left Ny sleeping.
“Yeah.”
We move to the foot of the bed. Gio crosses his arms over his chest. I reach up to hold on to the overhead bedpost. Ny stirs in the bed a bit but doesn’t wake.
“Buon Natale, Nyla. Svegliati, piccola,” Gio croons in Italian.
She moves a bit more but doesn’t open her eyes. So I try this time in Danish. “Nyla, skat, vågn op. Glædelig jul. Vi har en gave til dig.”
“Merry Christmas to you too, but what are you two going on about? I don’t want to wake up yet. What time is it?”
She sits up slowly, causing her scarf to fall into her lap. She frowns and pushes a hand through her unraveling wrap. My heart swells as she blinks those beautiful brown eyes.
“It’s time to wake up. We have a lot to do today.”
“If you want to keep me from shooting on sight, you should allow me another hour of sleep. Please,” she groans and flops back down.
“Allow us to give you your gift and you can go back to sleep,” I say.
“We need to head out ahead anyway,” Gio finishes.
“Fine,” she grumbles and flings the sheet off. “Do I need to get dressed?”
“No, just throw on a coat. It’s downstairs,” Gio says.
She gives him a suspicious look, then smiles. “It’s my car. Aww, thanks, guys.”
“Thank us after you see it,” Gio says and looks down at his watch. “Come on, baby. Bella has already texted me twice from Dante’s phone.”
“She can text?”
Gio scoffs. “Marone, she can. Shocked the fuck out of me.”
She palms her face. “She’s going to hate my gift.”
“I doubt that,” I reassure her.
“All right, all right, I won’t ruin the baby’s Christmas. Give me a second to brush my teeth.” She looks us both over and smiles. “You both look great, by the way.”
She bites her lip as she climbs from the bed and moves to the bathroom. Gio pulls out his phone and chuckles.
I look at him and lift a brow. “It’s Bella again,” he says in response. Then he lifts his gaze to mine. “I want you to stick close to Ny today. Don’t allow Riccardo to corner her. If he does, she’s going to kill him. It’s not time.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I’m on it, but I have a question.”
“Why not kill him now? He has no value. Why do this for them?” he says, asking my question for me. “Yeah, I know, but I’m going to allow this one to play out.
“For one, if it goes south, it could pull my focus from Dario’s problem. Another thing, I want to talk to Kingston. Ma chose him as my first contact. If I’ve learned nothing else, everything that woman does has a purpose. I can fight against her, or I can understand her and take over the match. Once I connect all the dots, we move. For now, let the bastard shit himself waiting for my next move.”