Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Dino looks at his father-in-law and, knowing his place, stands.
Eduardo looks to Miguel. Miguel comes forward, glaring at Dino, and he says loud enough for all to hear, “I, Miguel Castillo, accuse you, Dino Gambino, of murdering our brother Raul Mendoza.”
And that’s when all hell breaks loose.
“Oh, God,” I whisper as I stand by the door, listening to the chorus of angry men as furniture screeches here and there.
Shit.
I’m in so much trouble.
Oh, shit.
There’s no way they’ll let me live.
I’m a dead girl walking.
“I didn’t kill no one!” Dino screams, his face now red and distorted with rage as he tries to make his way to Miguel. The expression on his face less let’s hug and more I will bleed you dry.
Moving Miguel behind my back, I stand tall. No fucker’s gonna lay a hand on me. It would be the ultimate disrespect to Eduardo to see a guest harmed in his home. No way would Dino hit me.
At least, that’s what I think until I see Dino advance on me, and I quickly realize that he is just that fucking stupid. An arm’s length away from me, he raises his fist and rears it back then… stops in his tracks.
A slim, delicate hand, holding an open switchblade pressed to Dino’s jugular appears, while another strokes his lax cheek. Her normally seductive voice lethal, Ling utters clinically, “Do you know that the jugular pumps the greatest amount of blood flow to the heart than any other vein? Piercing it would almost definitely lead to fatality. I say almost, because it’s all about how you pierce it. For instance…” She changes the position of the blade, pressing the tip directly to his neck at exactly the right point. I spot Dino’s flinch a moment before I see the small amount of blood pool at the point of the blade.
I fight the urge to smile. The wild bitch pierced him.
With the men in the room now watching the deadly viper at work, she continues, “If you insert the blade as so—” She presses harder on it, forcing a small trickle of blood down the side of his neck. “—you would need to press it the entire length in”—she makes as if to turn the blade in a circular motion—“and twist. Death would be inevitable. But it wouldn’t come quick. Oh no. You’d bleed out slowly, over the course of minutes. You would feel the blood leave your body, with every beat of your heart, turning you cold and lifeless until finally, you took you last breath.”
Dino stands with his arms out, somehow knowing that Ling isn’t bluffing. Watching Miguel with a look of betrayal, he bites out, “I didn’t kill Raul.”
But Ling’s got her mind on other things. Standing on her tiptoes, she places her cherry red lips at the side of Dino’s throat by her blade. Her tongue darts out and licks upward, through the blood at Dino’s neck. And she wonders why people think she’s crazy. She cements that opinion in every mind here, when she mutters, “Don’t push me, honey. You have no idea how much the idea of killing you turns me on.”
At that, I do smile. That’s my girl.
An older man steps forward. “Now, let’s not do anything rash.” I see the resemblance between this handsome older man and his son immediately. This is Vito Gambino. Hands raised in a placating gesture, he asks, “What is the meaning of this?”
Miguel steps forward and nearly shouts, “This hijo de puta sucia killed my friend. The husband of my sister. Family.” And then he does shout, “He killed my brother!”
Dino grits his teeth, nostrils flaring, and growls, “I didn’t do it! Fuck!”
Ignoring his son’s theatrics, Vito looks to Eduardo. “I assume you wouldn’t allow this to be brought to attention without proof.”
Eduardo remains silent. It’s Miguel who speaks. “We have word from someone we trust.”
Vito asks, “From who?”
A small voice by the door gains attention when it echoes into the silence. “Me.”
This is not a good idea.
Why did I think this would be a good idea?
My body trembling with fear, I hold my knees together, hoping to God that no one hears them knock together. “Me.”
The entire room turns its gaze to me, including that of my husband, looking stunned and deceived. I quickly avoid his eyes but hear his plea. “Ana. What are you doing?”
Rather than answer him, I step into the room to stand by my father, addressing everyone inside, “I, Alejandra Gambino, stand before you all today with a heavy heart. My husband, Dino, confessed to me that he killed Raul Mendoza in cold blood.” I turn to Vito and look him in the eye. “The Dino who stands before you is not the man I married.” I look up at Dino. “I don’t know this man. His jealousy over my previous relationship with Raul escalated on the night of Raul’s murder. He asked me questions and, not wanting to have secrets between us, I answered them. Needless to say, Dino did not like the responses to the questions he asked. The next thing I knew, Dino was throwing things in a rage before disappearing.” I look to Raul’s father, tears in my eyes. “He didn’t come back till morning, and when he returned, his clothes were rumpled and bloodstained.”