Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I nod.
“But the ranch, that comes from my father, Brick Bellamy. The Bellamy family has owned this land for a century, and each one of us has added to it. When my father married Sandy, my mother, he built an empire.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s just say this.” He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in before continuing. “There’s not a lot of difference between a ranching empire and the organized crime empire your grandfather presides over.”
“What exactly are you saying?”
“What I’m saying”—Bellamy takes a moment to drain his glass—“is that power is power. No matter how it is gained or how it is wielded. The cattle empire my father built and the…other operations he got involved in both served to consolidate power.” He pours himself another drink. His hands are steadier than I expect, considering the topic and the hour.
He continues, “Power and influence are universal currencies. Money can be made and lost, but power and influence are constant. They exist in every society, every business, on every level. And where there is power and influence, people will do whatever it takes to protect it.”
I shift uncomfortably in my seat as the words sink in.
“Ranching or manufacturing or shipping metal or running an organized crime syndicate. It all boils down to the same thing.”
I nod. “And that is?”
His dark eyes meet mine. “Control. You asked me why I allowed my son to go to prison. The answer is complex. It was something that had to happen at that time.”
“But he’s your son!”
“Yes, and he chose to confess to a crime he didn’t commit.” He slowly pours another splash of bourbon into his glass. “Someone had to pay. And yes, I could have prevented it, but it was to my advantage at the time not to.”
I shake my head. “Sleight of hand. You got the focus on your son to cover something up you were involved in. You’re a damned monster.”
“A monster?” Bellamy chuckles, but without humor. “Vinnie, that’s where you’re wrong. I’m a businessman. I deal in power and influence, and sometimes the stakes are high.”
“Don’t you dare try to justify this!” I snap.
He takes another sip from his glass. “Justify? I don’t need to justify anything to you, Vinnie. Not after everything you’ve done. You killed two men. You ran away from your family responsibilities for seventeen years. You played right into your grandfather’s hands.”
And there’s nothing more I can say.
Because Austin Bellamy is exactly right.
So I go for it. I ask the question I’m dying to know the answer to.
“Tell me, Austin. Who the hell is buried under that old barn along the border?”
He looks away from me. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
It’s a lie, of course. If it weren’t, he wouldn’t be so cavalier about it.
But I know instinctively that I won’t get any more information out of him.
At least not tonight.
29
RAVEN
An hour later, a car pulls up. My father’s driver gets out and opens the door as I watch from the front window. My father emerges, along with another dark figure.
It’s Vinnie, just as Jared said.
I swing open the front door, but Jared waylays me. “Stay away from the door, Raven.”
“But it’s my father. And Vinnie. Neither of them will harm me.”
“I have my orders.”
I clench my hands into fists. I’m so tired of Jared and his orders. For a while, we were friends. Or I thought we were. Those three weeks we were holed up in the safe house together, we played a lot of chess, had a lot of good conversations.
He cooked some amazing dinners and so did I. He even served as a springboard for some of my ideas for the gala and the foundation as a whole, several of which I implemented this very evening.
I guess that’s over now.
I stand back, wishing I had taken the time to primp a little.
Then again, I’m still in my emerald evening gown.
Though it’s wrinkled, there’s not much that looks better than this.
The door opens, and Vinnie walks through, followed by my father.
How I ache to run into his arms. Pull his lips to mine and kiss him urgently.
But he doesn’t even look at me.
“Vinnie, do you know Jared, Raven’s bodyguard?”
“Yes, we’ve met.” Vinnie shakes Jared’s hand.
“Daddy, Vinnie, what’s going on?” I demand, placing my hands on my hips.
My heart is beating a mile a minute just being in Vinnie’s presence again. I ache between my legs for him.
“Jared tells me you want to go back to your house,” Dad says.
“Yes, and I don’t appreciate being held here against my will.” I cross my arms. “Falcon and Leif saw that I had the best security installed.”
“Yes, but Raven, your safety is paramount,” Dad says.
I look at Vinnie, pleading with my eyes.
“You don’t really expect me to disagree with your father, do you?” Vinnie says.