Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
He thinks he can hide his secrets and his pain, or whatever feeling he’s experiencing, from me, but he can’t hide it in his eyes.
“Don’t do that. You can’t use that,” he warns.
“I’m not. I want my husband to let go with me. I will move on and heal with you loving me like this. They are out of our lives. Right?”
He doesn’t respond, and that’s all I need to tell me my suspicions are right.
“Nico, what did they do?”
“Nothing.” He turns stone-cold, and I shake my head.
“No, you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to shut me out, especially when it comes to my family.”
“You just said it yourself. You let them go, and they aren’t family anymore, so don’t worry about it, Emelia.”
He could have slapped me and I wouldn’t have winced as hard.“No, you don’t get to do that either. You don’t get to hurt me with my own words and turn them on me. I am your wife and partner. You tell me. Is my father doing something to our outfit?”
He turns his head and rubs his lips with his hands. He is debating telling me something.
“Nico. Tell me!”
“Yes! I know your fucking father is the one who stole my shipment and tried to have us killed on our fucking honeymoon!” he yells and removes me from him before standing and climbing out of the tub.
“What? Nico!” I call after him when the shock wears off, and I see him leaving the bathroom hastily. Climbing out, my brain is filled with questions, concern, and downright shock.
“Nico!” He is half dressed with his jeans on as he grabs his shirt. I hold the towel to me and breathe heavily.“Nico, what are you talking about?”
He doesn’t stop and keeps getting dressed. He reaches for the door handle, and I yell.
“If you open that damn door without speaking to me, I will leave you. I will leave this marriage.”
He turns fast and is on me in a heartbeat. His hands wrap around my neck, and he pushes me into the wall.“Don’t you ever threaten to leave me, Emelia. You are mine, and I would hunt you down to the ends of this fucking earth if you ever tried to hide.”
He isn’t hurting me, but I see the spiral. He doesn’t know what to do, and I know I have what it takes to settle him.
“Then talk to me. I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. Please,” I plead, my voice a whimper at the end.
“Get dressed and meet me in my office. It’s downstairs and down the hall to the left. I will tell you what I know.”
“Okay.” He lets me go, and I watch him leave, his entire body tense. I dress fast after I find my suitcase in the closet. I put on some yoga pants, an off-shoulder white tee, and some fluffy socks because my feet are freezing. The second I'm clothed, I all but run to find his office. It takes me a moment, but when I do, he is sitting in his chair. Giulio is there, sitting on the couch against the wall opposite the desk. I give him a nod before stepping up to Nico’s desk.
“I am only letting you in on this information because this is your family, but you will not get involved with business going forward. Is that understood, Emelia?” My mafia husband is back. The lover I had moments ago is now gone.
That is the give and take I agreed to, so I don’t mention it.“Yes. Now tell me what the hell is going on.”
He opens a drawer to the left of him and pulls out a folder, then tosses it on the desk.“Soon as we got married—and by soon, I mean within days of our engagement—a large shipment of my—” He pauses. “—imported goods… was stolen.”
Nice choice of words. So, drugs, weapons, and who knows what else.
“And you have evidence it’s my father?” I sort through the papers. There are lists of what was taken, tracking numbers, and pictures. None of it makes sense, but I get that it clearly adds up to someone trying to play dirty with the Seattle outfit.
“No. But I find it convenient that it all started happening right at that time. Then…” He pauses again, and I look up at him. He’s staring at Giulio, and I follow his eyes.
Giving Giulio a look, then Nico, I ask,“Then what, Nico?”
“The last picture will show you what’s left of my yacht. Our honeymoon yacht. Less than twenty-four hours after we left.”
I get to the picture, and it shows water with floating pieces and some random shots of a metal object with numbers stamped on it. My heart drops to my stomach.“We were supposed to be there when that happened.”
“Correct. We were. Meaning someone knew where we were and when we were supposed to be there. And to top it off, those numbers on that piece of metal pictured—that is from my stolen shipment, Emelia.”