Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“I don’t think the safety measures around you are appropriate,” he said evenly. “For one, too many people were able to come up to you. That’s unacceptable given the danger you’re currently in.”
“Rather than kill my father, why didn’t they kill you?” I asked. “Whoever the madman behind all of this is, he only had to get rid of you, right? Why take my father out instead?”
He looked at me in surprise. “I’m not that easy to kill, Zola.”
“Ah,” I spat furiously. “So you enlisted the help of a man who was?”
He sighed. “I’ll say this because I want to try to get you to listen to me. I tried my best to ensure your father was protected. However, that evening and after he had lost the informant at the restaurant …” he paused, and I could tell he was wondering whether I knew any of this or not.
I scowled at him. “Tell me the truth for the love of God.”
“That evening he wanted me to divert his security detail to finding and protecting the whistleblower because he believed their canceled meeting meant his identity had been compromised and he was in danger.
“I sent additional security to replace the ones I had sent to follow your father’s request, but they arrived too late.”
“So, what do you want from me?” I asked with a lethal glare. “Understanding? Forgiveness? I’m fresh out of both, I’ll let you know when I restock.”
Without waiting for him to respond I stepped to the side away from him and started to walk away, but his words stopped me in my tracks.
“You’re in danger. I’m sure you know this.”
I stopped and turned around to face him. “So? What’s it to you?”
“I’m told you’re considering getting into the witness protection program,” he said.
“Again, what’s it to you?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t. I can tell from personal experience they’re incapable of giving you the protection you need. The man who murdered your father will run rings around them. I want to help. I have to help. I can’t let anything happen to you.”
“You want to help?” I scoffed. “The same way you helped my father?”
It must have stung because I saw his expression go cold.
“Yeah, I thought so. Thanks, but no thanks,” I spat bitterly. “I think my family has been associated with you for long enough. Do me a big favor and stay away from me.”
Then I turned around and stormed away. I was still fuming when I returned to the car which felt weird because it was the first time since this nightmare had begun that I’d felt anything beyond the crippling, heart-wrenching sense of emptiness and loss. But the rush of fury and adrenaline faded as I got in and closed the door. As I was driven away from the cemetery Antoine called.
“You okay darlin’?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
We both knew it was a lie.
Chapter 6
Dante
Isat in a meeting listening to the briefings from the newly appointed lawyer.
“The trial will proceed, but now that Attorney Leone’s daughter has been caught in the middle of it, we’re hoping a testimony from her can reveal something that’ll give us the upper hand. Or perhaps maybe some extra information her father might have left her in his final minutes? There is no doubt sooner or later she will be subpoenaed as a witness but as to what she will say or not say, no one knows.”
He paused then.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Are you in any way close to her? I heard you had a somewhat personal relationship with Marco Leone so perhaps this could be enough to talk his daughter into revealing any inside information to us?”
My heart sank.
“My relationship was with her father. As you can imagine, due to what has happened since, she wants nothing to do with me.”
“Mmm,” he said. “Is there any way we can convince her? Right now, we’re on somewhat solid ground, but it still doesn’t guarantee a win. We need irrefutable evidence. What about the informant that he’d been waiting for at the restaurant? Any news on that?”
“My men are working on tracing him.”
“Alright. We’ll get to work building our defense for the next hearing so please keep us updated in the meantime.”
“Of course.” We parted company then, but I didn’t feel any hope at all in the wake of his departure. And that, I realized, had to be one of the great things I would miss about Marco Leone. He was rare. Not only was he a wonderfully talented attorney, but someone I completely trusted. He represented me with all of his heart. As if he was my protector. Almost a father, I dare say.
If only I had listened to him. That tiny lapse without security was all they needed to take him out.
My chest felt heavy with sorrow at his sudden passing. I hadn’t shed a tear for the man that meant so much to me. It would be a weakness that could be exploited. I felt alone. More alone than I had since I met the man more than a decade earlier.