Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 75699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
If I’d simply shot him like my grandfather asked, I wouldn’t have had to involve others. I wouldn’t have to depend on their discretion.
But doing it this way? Yeah, there are a few potential loose ends, but I was far away from this venue when it happened.
My hands are clean. My alibi is secure.
And I’ll make sure that the three people who helped me continue to be handsomely rewarded.
I move to leave when I remember.
The pinky ring.
The gawdy thing my grandfather hates. I hate to admit it, but he’s right. It’s a thick gold band textured like gold nuggets with a huge star sapphire in its center.
He wants Puzo’s pinky, but no way in hell am I sawing off his finger. I grab the ring and shove it in my pocket. I exit the bathroom and head back into the living area of the suite.
Then I leave the room, walk calmly to the elevator, again making sure to keep my face down as I saunter through the hollow hallway and get into the elevator.
Once I’m back on the first floor, I leave—this time through the back door.
Only then, once I’m in my rental car, do I allow myself to ponder the magnitude of what I’ve put into motion.
Nausea overwhelms me.
Because this isn’t who I am. No matter what I did overseas—no matter what I did this evening—this is not me.
I need to remember that.
Because things are about to get volatile.
And that’s the only way I’ll be able to do what needs to be done.
I’ll walk the path of darkness. Dip a toe into the shadowy realm dominated by men like my grandfather.
But I can’t allow myself to completely fall down the rabbit hole.
Because if I do?
I’ll never be able to escape.
3
RAVEN
It’s Hawk—not my father—who picks me up at my house.
“Ray?” His voice echoes through to my room.
“In the bedroom.”
I’m still clutching my knees.
He peeks inside and widens his eyes when he sees me. “You okay?”
I close my eyes. “How’d you get in?”
“The system wasn’t armed.” He crosses the room and sits on the edge of my bed.
I slap my palm to my forehead. “How could I be so dumb?”
After everything I’ve been through, I forgot to turn on my security system. Vinnie wouldn’t have been able to leave in the middle of the night if I had. What was I thinking? What was he thinking?
I suppose we both had a lot on our minds. Not that I’m going to clue my younger brother in to that facet of my personal life.
But one thing is for sure. I’m having this place checked out right away.
Hawk leans down and brushes my upper arm. “It’s all going to be okay, Ray.”
Okay. This is the exact opposite of okay. And I don’t see any way of making what happened to Brick in my bed—the bed I slept in through the bulk of my childhood—okay.
I burst into tears, throwing my arms around Hawk’s broad shoulders. “Oh, Hawk, I don’t know what to do!”
“Easy.” He rubs my back. “Everything’s going to be okay, Ray.”
“How can you say that?” I wipe my eyes. “Mom says Brick Latham is dead. In my bed!”
“I know.” He squeezes my shoulders. “But you’re here. You weren’t there. You had nothing to do with it.”
I pull back. “Of course I had nothing to do with it. You didn’t think—”
He shakes his head quickly. “Of course not. No one does.”
“Mom and Dad…”
“They’re okay. They got home last night and didn’t even notice until this morning.”
I grab a tissue from my nightstand and blow my nose. “We should have a dog.”
“What?”
“A dog. Sam was a great guard dog. When I got sick and Mom and Dad had to take care of him during my hospital stays—”
“Raven, please. Be glad they don’t have a dog right now. Whoever did this would have just killed it.”
“Oh, God.” I fall back into Hawk’s arms. Then I pull back again. “Do you think this has anything to do with Diego—”
He holds his fingers to my lips. “Shh.” He looks around my bedroom. “I don’t know, Ray. I just don’t know. Come on. Let’s go.”
I arrive to the police at our home, my own bedroom full of people.
And on the bed?
A zipped-up black vinyl body bag.
I gulp.
At least I don’t have to look at the body of Brick Latham—that nice man who was helping me with my nonprofit foundation. Who only wanted to take me on a date last night.
Why would anyone harm Brick?
My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach like a heavy stone dropping into the icy depths of an unending ocean. I stumble, nearly falling as the officers turn to look at me. My mother is there, her face bleached to a sickly white and her eyes rimmed with red.
“Mom?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper. “Where’s Dad?”