Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
I finish the rest of my coffee, rinse the cup, and set it in the sink for Gerard to finish washing. He needs menial tasks to keep him occupied. I don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here, and the guy always gets restless.
So do I.
Ignoring Gerard’s weary stare, I slip out of the kitchen and head to the office. I step inside the room—probably the nicest one in the house—and shut the door. The last thing I need is Liz to walk in on me again. I need to talk to her father frankly and figure out where we’re at with this mess and how much time I have to make things right with her.
I hit the call button beside Henry’s name and put it to my ear as I sit in the leather chair, sighing and rubbing my jaw. I wish she hadn’t walked in on Gerard running his mouth.
“Good morning,” Henry greets me, sounding more tired than expected. “Everything okay there?”
“Yeah, everything is fine here.” Other than the fact that I fucked your daughter, and now she’s pissed at me. “I was just calling to see how things are on your end.”
There’s a beat of silence. “I’m working on it. I can’t track down Nick, even with the feelers you put out, and you know I don’t get publicly involved in things. He has a court date tomorrow, and if he doesn’t show, we will have problems.”
“You don’t think Vitali…” My voice trails off as a shudder rolls through my body. Nick is on my shit list, but I never want to see my men dead.
“I don’t think so. I think he’s got his sights set on Liz or maybe even me,” Henry groans, frustrated. “Last night, my Hampton house was broken into, and the entire place was ransacked. From what I gathered, they didn’t take anything.”
“What the hell?” I comment, shaking my head. “We offered more money for the deal. I don’t understand the purpose of them acting out like this. He could have what he wants.”
“I don’t know what he wants. I’m starting to wonder if the whole thing wasn’t just a rouse to get me out into the open.”
“He knew who you were long before this ever happened. We keep you on the outskirts, but all the higher-ups know.”
“Yeah, but not about Liz.”
I purse my lips. “You’re taking it too personally, Henry. You gotta look at it from the business standpoint, and I’m telling you, it’s not about you. It must be that he feels like we disrespected him, or there’s something else floating around that we don’t know about. There’s also the chance that he’s just a fuckin’ hothead.”
Henry grunts, and I know he doesn’t agree with me entirely. “Liz has that wedding coming up, and I know she doesn’t want to miss it.”
“So then, we don’t make her miss it.”
“There’s a bachelorette party and all that. She’s the maid of honor.”
“You’re worrying too much,” I say, shaking my head. “This is a short-term problem that we’re gonna figure out. Quite frankly, maybe we should try calling a meeting with him—no arms.”
Henry pulls a long breath. “You think he’d agree to that? I haven’t even been able to get ahold of him directly, like before. He’s making me go through middlemen, and it’s getting very frustrating.”
“I might be able to reach him,” I say reluctantly, “but I don’t need to do it from here. The last thing we need is some fuckin’ trace on the line or something. We’ve managed to keep this place hidden for years, and I want it to stay that way.”
“Well, if you want to try to reach out to him to set something up, or at least throw the offer out there, I have some other business that I have to take care of. Liz’s boss, Jeff Hudson, has been poking around since he’s representing Nick and can’t find him.”
“Dammit, I’m sorry you’re having to handle my shit,” I groan, running my fingers through my hair.
“I don’t mind,” he says, his tone brightening significantly. “You’re doing me a huge favor by letting Liz stay there with you, and I double-checked that Gloria sent out the vacation notice. It’s all good here. Well, you know, as best as it can be. I’ll take care of Hudson and put more feelers out for Nick. In the meantime, you see what you can do about nailing down Vitali for a meeting. Maybe we’ll all be home before the week is over.”
“Yeah,” I say warily, digging out the burner phone from the desk’s top drawer. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I have to fix things with Liz, too.
CHAPTER 11
Liz
I’ve been fuming all morning, and honestly, I’m over it. I’m not over the fact that the men were discussing what happened between Troy and me, but I’ve been holed up in my room for nearly three hours, and I need some fresh air.