Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
I scoff, looking out the window. “Hard to believe.”
He clenches the wheel, glancing over. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” I sign and turn to face him, feeling my anger rise despite what I’m about to do. “You targeted me, Damien. You sought me out to make sure that I didn’t get anywhere close to solving these murders.” I laugh and shake my head. “A billionaire who gets his own coffee? It was a good show, but it was just a show, wasn’t it?”
He doesn’t confirm or deny it and that’s answer enough. “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you, kitten. I only wanted to make sure that you fell in love with me.” He shakes his head. “But I couldn’t stop myself.”
I nod, almost numb. “But falling in love was all part of it. You didn’t romance me because you wanted to. It was a calculated plan.” His silence says it all. “A twisted plan.”
His grip on the wheel tightens and the car speeds up. “I am that man, Frankie. Everything I did was exactly what I wanted to do.” His eyes flick to mine, burning with an intensity that makes my breath catch, and his foot presses down even harder on the accelerator.
The car rockets forward, the speed climbing too fast, too reckless. Panic rises in my chest, and a terrifying thought claws its way in. He’s lost control. He wants to kill us both. “Damien!” I yell, my hands gripping the edge of the seat. “Slow down! We need to turn up here!”
For a moment, he doesn’t respond. Then, his foot eases off the gas, and the car slows, enough that I can breathe again.
“Yes, I wanted you to fall in love with me. I needed you to, but somewhere along the way, you started to matter to me,” he says, his tone lower now, but still threaded with simmering anger. “I thought of ways to make you smile with your eyes, to hear your sweet laugh. I wanted you to love me more than I needed you to.”
The car slows further, and I let out a shaky breath, my pulse finally easing.
“That was just fucking stupid,” I bark, and don’t care how he takes it. It was a stupid move. I lean forward, forcing calm into my voice. “There’s a side road up ahead. Take it.”
His eyes narrow as he glances over. “This isn’t your jurisdiction.”
“No. It’s not.” He steers onto the narrow dirt road, leaving the world behind us. Soon, an abandoned barn comes into view, faded blue paint flaking off, barely standing against the elements. “Stop up there,” I say, pointing to the old willow tree beside it.
He parks, glancing at the empty farmhouse. “Where are we?”
“Bum fuck.” I step out, inhaling the sharp night air, and walk past the barn, stopping at the tree. “This was my family’s house.”
Damien follows, his steps heavy. “Why are we here, Francesca?”
I press my hand against the tree, grounding myself. “To share demons.” I pause, gathering strength. “When I was a teenager, some men broke in. My dad and his partner, Jay, were investigating them, and they didn’t take it well.”
“I know. You told me.”
I nod, my voice tightening. “I didn’t tell you all of it.” I meet his eyes, seeing the impact of my words already. “They didn’t just come to scare us, Damien. They came to make sure we’d never get in their way again.”
His face hardens, his fists clenching.
“What you don’t know is that it wasn’t my dad who shot them. Or my mom.” I swallow hard, forcing the words out. “I wanted to help, so I grabbed my dad’s backup gun.” I close my eyes, remembering it all too clearly.
“Without thinking, I raised the gun and squeezed the trigger, hitting one in the side. I remember being surprised at how loud it was. Another shot rang out, but it was the one that hit dad, and I pulled the trigger two more times.” I remember freaking out and screaming while Mom did the same. I open my eyes and our gazes lock.
“Francesca,” he whispers, taking a step forward.
I swallow hard, the memories flooding back. “There was another guy, and I shot at him, but he got away. The bullet just hit the wall.” My voice wavers, but I press on. “A few minutes later, Jay showed up. Mom was bawling, I was bawling. It was horrific.” I choke on a sob, trying to hold myself together. “Jay sent me to my room, and I watched him wipe the gun clean, then put it in my dad’s hand. When the investigation started, Jay drilled the story into me, making me promise to tell it exactly the way he told me. The story I first told you.”
Damien’s face darkens as he absorbs it all. “Jay covered it up,” he says, his voice low and tense. “You killed those men, and Jay covered it up.”