Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“Gabe left this voice message,” I said after a moment and played the message on speaker.
Dom, I’m sorry. I need a favor. Go to Tempt, VIP area bar, look for her and take care of her. And don’t fuck her.
It must have been the hundredth time I’d heard it, but this time, when it got to the “don’t fuck her” part, I felt myself shake a little inside. After today, I wasn’t sure that was possible. Shit, after last night when I’d all but felt her up, I knew it would be impossible. The memory came back to haunt me. What was I thinking pinning her down in her bed like that? And then I’d threatened to tie her up. Jesus. She probably thought I was a monster. What was I thinking setting her up in the room next to mine? I had another guest room downstairs that she could have easily stayed in, but I hadn’t even considered it as an option. I told myself it was for her protection, but if this was how I felt on day one, I had the feeling that the only person she’d need protection from was me. I proceeded to show Mike the surveillance videos before he handed me back my phone.
“Where’s the proof that he’s talking to authorities?”
“I don’t have any. Rosie seems to think he might be. Apparently, he told her if he ever felt like he was in danger, he’d go to them.”
“Why wouldn’t he come to us?” Rocco asked. I shrugged. I’d wondered the same thing, which was why him being on a business trip made sense.
“Was he in danger?” his brother asked.
“I don’t know, Mikey. That’s why we’re sitting in a goddamn parking lot talking to a fucking cop.”
“Detective,” he corrected.
I rolled my eyes. Rocco let out a sound that sounded like a laugh. That pissed me off more. This wasn’t the time to be funny.
“Why would he involve Rosie in any of it?” Mike shot me a disbelieving look. “Are they together again?”
I grit my teeth. One of the many decisions I’d made when it came to Rosie was that it wasn’t good for me to think about anyone’s hands on her, including my brother’s.
“We don’t know for sure, but they were definitely in touch,” Rocco said.
“I’ll see what I can find out, but I can’t make any promises.” He started moving to the door when he turned back to look at me and from the amused expression on his face, I knew whatever came out of his mouth next was going to make me want to punch him in the face. “Try not to fuck your brother’s girlfriend.” With a wink, he left.
Rocco laughed. I punched him in the arm, which made him laugh harder.
“Fuck you both.” I set the car in drive and headed back.
“You going by the gas stations today?” Rocco asked as I drove back to his car.
“Nah, I have something to take care of at Oui.”
I was glad he didn’t question me, not that he had reason to. I owned the damn place, after all. It was originally Gio’s, but he’d sold it to me last year when he decided to set his focus on other business ventures. I had Veronica and Patty running Oui, so I only really looked at finances and approved or denied things they brought to my attention. We usually took care of everything through email exchanges unless there was anything more pressing to address, in which case I went into the office. This felt urgent.
10
ROSIE
“You’re joking.” My mouth fell open when I stepped into the office and found Dominic sitting behind the desk.
“Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you, huh?” his eyes twinkled.
“Yeah, I’d think that was funny, but you aren’t Alanis Morissette and there’s absolutely nothing cool about this.”
He looked over my shoulder. “Marco, you can go. Evie, shut the door on your way out and don’t let anyone come in here until I’m done.”
I caught Evie’s eyes widening when I glanced over, but she merely nodded quickly as she left and shut the door. I turned back to Dominic. All he’d done was throw a black blazer over his black t-shirt, and somehow that made him look put together. I wasn’t sure there was a look this man couldn’t pull off.
“You own this place?” I stepped forward until I reached his desk. He hadn’t invited me to sit, but I did anyway.
“Yep.”
“So that was how you knew about my interview?”
“Yep.” His eyes were dancing, and I couldn’t decide if I wanted to jump over the desk and pounce on him or slap him for a second time this week.
“I was told I was meeting with Veronica to go over my paperwork.”
“She’s busy, so you’re stuck going over it with me.”
“Okay.” I took a breath.