Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
He shoved his hands into his pants pocket and turned to Draven, waiting.
“What’s going on?” Draven asked.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing is going on. Months ago you told me you were ready to take a wife. That you wanted to produce an heir. I know all the capos have been preparing their daughters. So far, you haven’t made a choice.”
“I’m not into teenagers or young girls,” Antwone said.
“You know you could have your pick of women.”
He looked at his brother and then back at Maria.
“So could you and yet, I gave you the option of having the daughter of a traitor. I could have killed her, but I didn’t. I thought of you,” Antwone said.
“Your point?”
“Give me time. I will make my choice when I can.”
Draven released a breath. “The sooner you make your choice, the better.”
Antwone slapped his brother on the back. “Rather than worry about me, why don’t you focus on your own family?”
He couldn’t help but feel that twisting feeling that flooded his body. He looked toward Maria and saw her crouched near her kids. Maria was a good mother. Antwone knew he made a good choice for his brother. She was young and terrified, but she had told him she didn’t want him to die.
Her family had hoped to kill him. They had fucking failed. He had killed all of them.
According to their traditions, he should have killed Maria, but he gave her the option of being put up for auction. One of his men had to take responsibility for her. He’d sent Draven, knowing his brother had a thing for her. It had all worked out for her and his brother.
He thought about Candice. She was never far from his mind, even though he tried his hardest to forget about her, but she was a hard woman to forget.
Letting go of his brother, he turned back toward the main porch to see Maria watching them.
He decided it was time to leave. He and Draven always made sure they didn’t allow any doubt by onlookers. To the world, they were not brothers, so he made his way toward the back porch, gave Maria his best smile, and then left the house.
This is what he had been doing for years. It was easier this way.
They hadn’t had to deal with anyone threatening to expose his and Draven’s secret in years. Antwone didn’t know if there was anyone alive who would have known about their past or their father, but it was easier to keep everything secret.
Leaving Draven’s country home, he climbed into the back of his car and allowed his driver to take him away.
He’d not tried to leave in six months. The temptation had been there.
His nights were filled with the memory of what he once had. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about Candice. All he wanted was her.
He’d tried to show an interest in the girls offered to him. There was no desire for a sixteen-year-old girl, or even an eighteen-year-old one.
They would play the docile part expected of them, but all he could see was a woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and full lips. A woman who had no qualms about wrapping her legs around his waist as he drove into her. A woman who screamed his name in absolute pleasure—Candice. She was all he could think about. There was no other woman for him.
Running a hand down his face, he looked out into the night. He had to keep reminding himself it was better this way. It was better for her. His enemies were always close. It was a miracle they hadn’t found her or him during the brief time they were together.
Reaching into his jacket pocket for his cell phone, he paused. He couldn’t find his cell phone. Patting each of his pockets, the only phone he had was his business one. Where the fuck was his private cell? He wiped his face, trying to think of when he last saw his damn cell, and he was convinced it must have been at his place.
It would be fine. All he’d do was hover over her number or the message he had yet to listen to.
Candice had called him a couple of times the day after, and then there was a single message a month later, but he’d not brought himself to listen to it. He just couldn’t, because part of him was afraid she had only dialed him by mistake.
****
Two Days Later
Antwone didn’t know what Draven wanted, but his brother had called him that morning and expressed an urgency to see him. He hadn’t argued so he’d climbed into his car and drove to the location his brother had sent.
It was a run-down-looking diner that seemed to have stuck with a fifties theme, and much to his surprise, it was quite busy. The outside might look run-down, but as he stepped inside, he saw it was actually a really nice place.