Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Zack and Tessa stepped in and Tia jumped to her feet. The kids ran for my sister, my younger nephew tripping on his pantlegs but rushing back to his feet. Tess fell to her knees and pulled the boys against her, choking on a huge sob.
Her cheek was bruised, her left arm had a bandage that went from wrist to elbow, and the look on her face? I’ll never forget it. I’d seen her grieve lots in the past few months, losing James, then Pop. But my sister was barely recognizable to me. It was as if the light in her eyes had gone out. It hit me that it was very similar to the look I’d made Tia get the last time she was here in Vegas. Tessa was pale, looked frail, and she cried into her kids’ little bodies, her whole frame trembling. I moved to her and did something very uncharacteristic of myself. I crouched and pulled her tight to me. That’s when she started to wail.
Both boys started to cry in reaction to their mother crying. They’d hugged me while hugging their mother. I swallowed past a lump, feeling all that emotion coming from her, from them.
“Mommy just missed you boys so much,” Tia told them and squatted to join our huddle as Tess fell apart against me.
“Sometimes mommies just love their babies so much that they get weepy. It’s okay.” Tia said this through her own tears and opened her arms and the boys scrambled toward her. Sarah was standing behind us, wiping her eyes.
“I’m not a baby!” Antonio argued. “I’m a big boy!”
“You are, little man.” I ruffled his hair. “And one day you’re gonna be bigger and take care of this family, aren’t you?”
He nodded big and smiled at me. “As big as you! You’re even bigger than my daddy and he was way big. Before he went to heaven.”
“You’ll be big and strong, buddy. Give us the room, everyone,” I said and Tia and Sarah took the boys into the bedroom. Zack and Dex stepped out.
“What happened to your arm, Tess?” I whispered, trying to appear calm.
“He carved some letters. The guy…”
“What guy?” I no longer had any idea what the word calm even meant.
“The guy in charge. I don’t know his name.”
“What did he look like?”
“Big ears, stocky, kind of ape-like clumsy. His clothes were too big. I saw when Jimena, the doctor at Alessandro’s changed the dressing. It says LD on my arm in big ugly letters. He did that with a box cutter and then he… he…rape…” She choked on the word and buried her face into my neck. “…m-me. And he sent me to an auction and I was put up for bid. But Alessandro sent that guy Rocco to get me out of there and…”
I was going to blow my fucking top.
“Tia!” I roared, making Tess jump.
Tia rushed out of the bedroom, eyes wide.
“Look after her!”
I let my sister go and Tia moved in and grabbed hold of her.
I stormed into my and Tia’s room in the suite and got into the safe, unlocked it, and grabbed my fucking gun.
It had been hours since Tommy had left. He left right after Tessa had come back, in an absolutely feral, ferocious rage. Tessa didn’t want to talk about any of it. I didn’t push. Sarah didn’t either. We knew it was bad by looking at her and by seeing how Tommy left.
She curled up with the boys as it was their bedtime and when I looked in a while later, she was asleep with them, in the big bed.
Sarah was gone a while but then came back in from the hallway, where I assume she was talking to Dex and the other guards. Her mouth was set in a tight line.
I shuddered as I closed the door of the mini fridge and sat down on a big white leather sectional sofa with Sarah. She looked at me with a hardness in her eyes that made me think of a mama bear about to rip someone apart for messing with one of her cubs.
“She’s asleep with the boys. She’ll probably sleep the night,” I said.
“She was raped, wasn’t she?” Sarah said, through gritted teeth.
I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. “Looking that way. I’m guessing that’s what sent Tommy out of here like that. I don’t know exactly but by the look on her face?” I let that hang. There was no need to continue that sentence. We both knew.
I gave my head a shake, trying to shake off everything in my brain.
“That girl hasn’t been through enough?” Sarah asked, glaring at the carpet, and then a string of what I’d imagine were Spanish cusswords flew from her mouth as she flew out of her seat and went to the wet bar area and mixed a drink for herself. She took a big swig. “Tommy will get that bastard who did this. That’s something at least.”