Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Dario laughs with me. “I get that, but even so, we need to do something. If she says she witnessed this in your house…”
“I know.”
We don’t need to elaborate. It’s one thing for people to make accusations about places I never was, about events I didn’t take part in, but a bloody, terrified man in my home when I was here…
“I’ll have to scare her,” I say, not liking the idea. “Explain what will happen if she ever tells anybody.”
“Lie,” Dario says, nodding.
His lip curls at the thought of actually hurting a woman. Maybe it reminds him of my dead wife, Angelica, the woman we light candles for every day.
“Yes, lie. Terrify her into silence.”
“Even then, we can’t be sure.”
“No, we can’t.”
“Maybe we should… offer her a room until she’s comfortable?”
“Kidnap her,” I grunt.
“Nobody would pay any mind if one of Rosa’s closest friends decided to stay awhile. That’s all I’m saying.”
“She must only be eighteen, nineteen,” I say. “Nineteen, I remember now. Her birthday is a couple of weeks before Rosa’s. I can’t even remember being that age.”
Dario narrows his eyes at me. “That was the year you met Angelica.”
“Was it?”
“At the pier.”
I shrug. “If you say so. I’m going to handle this.”
“Want backup?” he says with a knowing smirk.
I grin. “Yeah, brother. If I scream, that’s your cue to come save my ass.”
The second I leave the office, the smile leaves my face. After what happened, the men can’t see me joking and having a good time, even with my brother.
Walking into the house, I keep my shoulders broad and my exterior cold.
“Where is she?” I ask one of my guards.
“Basement, sir.”
That’s an entertainment room and a bedroom with an en suite. Dario’s suggestion bounces around my head as I descend the stairs.
“Everything’s going to be fine, Emma,” Rosa says, sitting on the large leather armchair.
“I just don’t get what happened,” Emma, not Emily, says.
It’s difficult to believe this is the same girl—no, woman. I remember her friend in brief flashes, the braces, the general… invisibility? I never noticed her. Now, all I can do is notice her.
She sits with her feet tucked underneath her, wearing jeans and a T-shirt that shows her figure. Her hips contour through the jeans made for grabbing and wide enough to bear children, for massaging and owning.
Her hair is brown and curly, on the longer side, tucked behind her ears. Her eyes are wide and naïve. Hell, I can imagine them staring at me as I take her hard and own her.
I already own her. I’m almost panting.
I can imagine those eyes tear-filled under the altar too, or staring down at our first child.
Teasing love enters my mind, like promising warmth in the future. I might get to be a dad again.
No, what am I thinking? This is Rosa’s best friend and a witness. She’s a woman I have to scare.
“Dad?” Rosa says, turning.
CHAPTER THREE
Emma
I distantly note how terrified I am.
It’s like, ever since the surreal appearance of the half-naked man, I’ve become even more detached. That should be borderline impossible since I already live with such distance between me and my feelings.
Now, my heart is thudding, and my palms are pouring sweat.
Leo Esposito walks slowly across the room, his contrasting eyes penetrating me. The blue is an ocean of rage, anger at being revealed, and the brown is a deep forest, like maybe the place they’ll bury me.
He stops at the edge of the rug that covers the hardwood floor of the entertainment room. His mood doesn’t match with the bright overhead lights, the large TV, the virtual reality set, the pool table in the corner, none of it.
“Dad?” Rosa says.
The twitch in her voice causes more fear to spear into me. She sounds like she’s afraid he will leap on me any second. Also, distantly, I notice something else. I quite like the idea of him leaping on me in a different world, where those intense eyes are filled with desire and not whatever this is.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Leo finally says in his deep, husky voice, looking at his daughter. “It was a mistake that never should have happened.”
“Who was he?” Rosa asks.
“I can’t give you the details. I’m sorry, but he’s a very bad man. He’s done evil things to children and women. You don’t need to worry about him.”
“Why was he here?” Rosa says.
“A mistake,” he growls.
Rosa glances at me, and then so does Leo. I’m wringing my hands in my lap as if trying to dislocate my fingers.
“He never should have been here,” Leo goes on. “You were never supposed to see him.”
“Dad, I knew that sort of thing…”
She trails off, looking at me. Maybe it’s unfair, but it just makes me so mad. She looks as if I haven’t figured it out yet. I should’ve guessed years ago. I’ve been naïve. Anger is easier to feed than sadness, regret, and all that stuff. Look at me. Here I am, trying to sound like a Jedi.