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)
“You’re just still in shock. You haven’t even started the process of grieving yet.”
She drew circles on the bed with her finger. “Maybe … When I get back and get into the program, they’re going to send me far away from everyone and everything I’ve ever known. I’m going to have to start again and I can never share my true self with anyone.”
I looked at her and understood where her unhappiness had arisen from. “Ugo is not going to be free forever. It is my personal mission to make him pay for what he did to your father. I promise you that. He will not go scot-free.”
At my words, she turned to look at me. “Do you mean that in literal terms?”
“The less you know, the safer you will be.”
“Are you going to do it immediately … or are you going to wait for the court to try him and find him guilty?”
“Whichever occurs first,” I said, which was not the truth. He had lived his whole life by the sword and must find his end on it.
I could feel her staring intently at me. “He’s turned my life upside down. I don’t know him, but I hate him so much I want to kill him myself. But even death is not enough for the hate I feel. It won’t pay for what he has done to me?”
I couldn’t help my smile. “And how are you going to do that when you can barely hold a gun correctly?”
At the slight jab, she turned toward me and I could see the clear offense on her face. “You were keeping tabs on me?”
“Learning how to defend yourself is of prime importance to me. I had to be sure the instructions they were giving you were accurate and effective.”
“Will you teach me how to properly use a gun?”
It had been my plan all along but I wasn’t about to tell her that. “Take a bath and eat something. Then we’ll talk about it.”
To my surprise, she got to her feet. “Sure, I’ll bathe in expensively scented water and agree to eat really good food when I’m hungry anyway.”
“I’m used to you rejecting every single suggestion I make,” I said, but she was already disappearing into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.
A little while later there was a knock on the door. As the three food carts were being wheeled in, she came out dressed solely in a bathrobe. Her hair was damp and falling all over her shoulders. She looked beautiful, clean and so impossibly sensual I had to look away.
“What did you order?” she asked as she went over to the carts. I got to my feet to join her. We sat across from each other and ate bits of all kinds of food. Muscles, steak, chicken, spaghetti carbonara. Nothing made sense. Only that she was naked under her robe and I wanted her, but I had promised her father. We ate silently until she turned and caught my gaze.
She went still for a moment. “You usually eat in silence?”
I nodded. “Always. Unless I’m out with friends.”
“So … when are you going to teach me to hold a gun?”
“After dinner.”
She nodded again. After we had eaten, I stepped out to retrieve my gun. I set it on the table before us. She gazed at the gun, then she moved her attention to me.
“What kind of gun is this?”
“It’s a 9mm Glock. It has relatively low recoil so it’s easier to control and aim accurately.”
“Oh,” she said as she stared at it.
“Your father really never taught you how to use a gun?”
“No. Maybe he didn’t think I was in danger.”
“He must have. He had measures in place,” I said.
She looked at me in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“From the time I came to your house until my trial was completed and even about two years after I think, he had at least two security personnel on you at all times. I assumed he would have taught you how to protect yourself. Maybe he didn’t want you to be afraid.”
“Yeah,” she said, her gaze back to the window. “He kept a lot of things from me. I knew it and I had no problems with it. That was his world and I didn’t really have an interest in it.”
I knew it was time to leave. I grabbed my phone and jacket. “You’re not alone. You have me. I’ll help you … in whatever way you need.”
“For how long?” she asked.
“For as long as you need,” I replied.
She leaned forward and picked up the gun. She turned it around, as though she was admiring the polished steel, and then she put her forefinger in the trigger hole.
“There are no bullets in here?” she asked.
I slid my hands into my pockets. “No.”
“Why?” she asked, a corner of her lips tilting in dark humor. “Scared I’ll shoot you?”