Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
The same black car from before waits on the curb. He opens the back door and helps me inside before getting in next to me. The tension in the atmosphere is palpable as he shuts the door. He takes a blanket from the seat and drapes it over my legs, making sure it’s tucked in on the sides. The day is fresh, and I didn’t bring a jacket, but I hardly notice the cooler temperature or the goosebumps on my arms.
“There,” he says, the word measured as he studies me with disturbing intensity. “Comfortable?”
Like the food he had delivered, the considerate act of making sure I’m warm confuses me, especially as he’s clearly angry with me. No, more than angry. He may not say it, but he’s furious. Rage rolls off him in waves.
My throat closes up as our gazes lock. I don’t like the calculation or the promise of retribution that spark in the flawless color of those otherworldly blue pools. He doesn’t even try to hide his emotions. He lets me see the darkness that swirls in their depths, giving me a frightening look inside his soul. It’s a scary picture, yet I can’t look away. That commanding stare is too magnetic. Too terrifying. Tearing my gaze from his would be like giving a feral predator my back.
Unable to formulate a reply, I only nod.
“Good,” he drawls, but rather than approving, the word sounds threatening.
“Drive,” he tells the driver in a brusque tone without breaking our eye contact.
As soon as the driver pulls into the road, a partition comes up between us and the front. A click sounds as the door locks activate.
My pulse quickens. I’m shut in the back of the car with a killer, the tinted windows hiding us from the outside world. I have no idea where he’s taking me. For all I know, he’s driving me to a secluded spot where he can slit my throat and dump my body in the bushes. No, he’d bury it on a flowery spot. And he’d visit my grave often. Isn’t that what he said?
I wonder if, like some kind of monster, he’d get hard every time he stands on the heap of earth that covers my bones. I wouldn’t put such a twisted reaction past him. God knows, he got aroused from pushing a knife against my stomach. There’s no denying that I could be in grave danger. He could be plotting my murder even as he stares unflinchingly into my eyes.
The precarious situation constricts my chest. It’s difficult to breathe, but I don’t look away from Saverio as he continues to observe me with cold rage.
A deceptive smile curves his lips. His words are spoken quietly, masking the brutality that runs under the surface. “Who did you see?”
I swallow, unable to speak past the knot that forms in my throat.
His smile turns sinister. “There are many things I can do to make you talk. They won’t harm the baby, but I promise you won’t like them.”
My heart starts galloping as reality strikes. My voice is strained, sounding foreign to my own ears. “You’re having me watched.”
He simply observes me with that odd look on his face, letting me come to terms with the truth as I connect the dots.
Of course.
How stupid of me.
It wouldn’t be careful of him not to have me tailed, and Saverio is a very thorough killer.
“I’m waiting,” he says, his eyes narrowing in the corners.
My mind conjures the recollection of that night, of the knife he sliced with effortless swiftness over Mr. Lewis’s throat. I don’t want to think about it, not now, but I can’t stop the images from flashing in front of my eyes. I can’t stop feeling the tip of the knife that presses against my belly. No matter how hard I try to control my erratic pulse, I can’t stop trembling as I see myself in my boss’s place, pushed up against a wall by the weight of Saverio’s body as he brings that knife to my heart and smiles compassionately while plunging the blade deep. He’s capable of doing that. And so much more. I’m not going to kid myself about what he could do to me.
“Speak,” he commands in a soft, dark voice. “This is your last chance.”
The glint of the blade as it catches the light stabs into my memory. Resisting the urge to clutch my bag to my chest like a shield, I say in my most assertive manner, “It was a private visit.”
His mouth lifts in one corner as he pins me with that unnerving look. “Was it now?”
“Yes,” I say, my fear morphing into frustration.
“Enlighten me.”
Finally scavenging the courage to look away from the hypnotic power of his glare, I glance at the window. Somehow, I manage to keep my voice even. “Where are you taking me?”