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)
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t apologize. You had just lost your father. It was to be expected. He was a great man. A big loss. I would have been the same if I was in your shoes. You owe me nothing. Whose idea was it to take this trip?”
“Uh … Sarah.”
“Hmmm…”
I stared at him. I had become quite close to Sarah. I thought of her as my protector. “Why do you ask? Do you think she was a dirty cop working for Ugo?”
“Maybe,” he replied. “In any case, my men were expecting an ambush of some sort, so they were ready and well prepared.”
“Sarah and Matthew … are they alright?”
He looked grim, but he didn’t mince his words. “I believe they didn’t make it.”
I gasped with shock. I felt sick to my stomach. Both of them had been gunned down. I remembered them eating their ham sandwiches. So full of life. So young. So sure tomorrow would come. They were dead because of me. Guilt flowed into me.
Dante had warned me about the program from the beginning and expressed his displeasure at my intention to join it, but like a headstrong fool, I hadn’t listened. I would have died today if he hadn’t remained adamant about remaining by my side to protect me. All my life I had denied people’s help, but that was over now. I clasped my hands together tightly and said a silent prayer for their souls.
“It’s not your fault,” he said softly. “They chose that line of work. They knew the danger.”
“If I had listened to you, they would never have died.”
“Don’t do that,” he said. “If they hadn’t died protecting you it might have happened when they were protecting someone else."
‘“I should have listened to you,” I whispered.
“That’s life. You can’t go back. Only forward. How’s your neck?”
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I mumbled and smiled at him even though the pain was getting worse and worse. I didn’t want to trouble him any more than I had to. Already, he had taken on such a big burden to protect me.
He was silent for a little while and then he said, “It’s going to get worse.”
“Where are we going … is it far?”
“Somewhat, but we’ll stop soon. You must be hungry.”
I listened to his words and found them strange. Eat? Food? I had no appetite for food at all. “No, I’m not hungry.”
In a few minutes, we were pulling into a gas station.
“Sure you don’t want anything?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Be back soon,” he said and got out of the car.
We were in an unfamiliar town, which made me want to remain in the car, but at the same time, I couldn’t stand to be away from him. I watched him walk to the store and waited, hoping to calm my nerves, but no chance. A few seconds later I opened the door and scuttled out. I was so terrified about being out in the open and exposed to a bullet that I half-ran, half-limped to the door.
The bells chimed in response to my arrival and Dante whirled around. His eyes slightly widened and he waited for me to come over to him at the in-house food window. My looping, panicked dash to the door must have straightened out my neck because it didn’t hurt as much.
“Changed your mind?” he asked.
I didn’t, but I didn’t want to admit that I couldn’t bear to be in the car without him. My gaze ran through the sweets and snacks, but I didn’t care for any of it so I kept looking around.
“I got you a bag of cashew nuts and a cheese sandwich. Is that okay?”
“Just great,” I said gratefully. “I do like cashews.”
“Yeah, they were what you reached for most frequently in London.”
“Really?” I was impressed he had taken such close notice of me and what I liked.
“Really,” he teased and went to pay for the stuff.
Chapter 40
Dante
Iknew she wasn’t asleep.
She had barely touched the sandwich. She had taken a bite and looked like she was about to gag. I knew she wasn’t at peace. Her feet and arms moved constantly as if she was trying to find a comfortable position but just couldn’t.
It made my heart ache to see her in this way, but there was nothing I could do for the moment, so I waited until we arrived at my well-guarded estate in the Adirondacks.
The house had been built on a massive stretch of land that was separated from the other lake homes. The view of rugged mountains and lakes I was certain would help to calm her down and make her feel safe.
The car pulled to a stop and instantly her eyes opened. Raul got out of the car and gently shut the door behind him.
“This is yours?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s a little hideaway.”