Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 72822 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72822 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Chapter 27
A body like this doesn’t happen overnight. It takes the college years, pregnancy, neglect, and three extra tacos.
-Cobie’s secret thoughts
Cobie
“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey,” I cooed, tugging lightly on Mary’s big toe.
She pulled it away from me and then snuggled down into the couch.
Rafe started to laugh.
“Shut it,” I snickered, bending down to run my finger along the length of Mary’s foot. “If you don’t wake up, Mary Me, you won’t get a yummy breakfast. That means cereal.”
I sang the last words to her, thinking it would rouse my sleeping beauty, but it didn’t.
She just pulled her foot away again when Rafe stood up from his position.
One second I was standing beside the couch, staring down at Mary who’d refused to let go of Dante’s tennis shoe, and the next I was falling backward.
Glass shattered, the world around me sounded like it’d exploded, and I was disoriented.
I couldn’t figure out what to do, I wasn’t sure where I was. Hell, I could just barely manage to breathe.
I was so confused, and I couldn’t remember anything.
Distantly I was aware of another bang, this one much sharper than the last.
Then I felt my body moving.
It took me a long time to finally come back to myself, and when I did, I was shaking in fear.
I'd never been so scared in my life as I was right then.
“You think I want to do this?” Drake hissed in my face. “I don't. But he's given me no choice.”
I looked at him like he was crazy.
I was in a car. Drake was in my face, and I could hear crying—I assumed from Mary—in the car with me. I didn’t see Rafe anywhere in the car.
“We're gonna do this, and to make sure you don't accidentally get out...”
He started to duct tape me to the seat. That's when I started to struggle.
I should've started earlier. Should've tried to get away before. However, I knew that any way I tried was going to end badly for me.
“You know what?” He paused in wrapping the tape around me. “This won't look like an accident if I do it like this.”
I agreed. Though I wasn't going to tell him that. He didn't need to know I agreed or disagreed.
The man was unhinged at the best of times. At least lately. Ever since he'd found out I was dating Dante, he'd changed into the man that Marianne had described to me.
“Why are you doing this?” I cried.
I felt sick to my stomach, scared beyond belief and on the verge of a total breakdown.
Dante was going to see this, and his world was going to implode for a second time.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
“You gave me no choice.” Drake tightened his hold on my hair. “First, Marianne had to go and steal the life insurance money from our son’s death—which I planned out quite perfectly, thank you very fucking much. I sold our house to help pay the debt, but it wasn’t enough. I had to make it look like I fucking cared about that cunt by paying for her hospital stay—which also ended up taking away from the money I had saved. Then, I felt like I was finally catching my lucky break when you gave me your house—all that equipment and storage in it allowing me to make money elsewhere by allowing them to use those tools and storing their shit in the shop—charging them more for my services and building my underground bunker with the extra. Storing even more shit for them. Then you went and took that away from me. I had already tried to contest Marianne’s will, and fucking Dante shut that down. I tried to get custody of that kid claiming I was the child’s father. Not that I would have ever wanted that stupid freak of a kid, but I would’ve gotten a good payout on her, what with her being disabled and all. Plus, with her mother being dead, I could’ve gotten something soon. It would’ve tided me over…but then your stupid freak of a boyfriend’s family ruined that for me, too.”
That was the first time I’d heard anything about him contesting the will or him trying to obtain legal rights to Mary.
I honestly didn’t think even Dante knew about it because he would’ve told me. That information was a little too important not to share.
He growled.
“Well, no more!”
I didn’t know what to say.
I didn’t know what Drake was involved in. Again, I’d stayed out of that part of the situation that Dante was dealing with because, frankly, I didn’t want to know.
But now, I felt lost. Why would he need this kind of money? What was he into that he needed so much this badly and this fast?
“Please,” I whispered. “I didn’t do anything to you. Mary didn’t do anything, either.”
“Fuck you, and fuck Mary.”