Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
I let out a deep sigh and sit down in my chair, leaning back. Gio may not be my brother by blood, but he is in every other sense of the word. There’s nothing I’ve ever kept from him, and this secrecy is causing a rift to form between us. This has been something that’s only mine, but I know it can’t stay that way forever.
“Her name is Thea,” I finally admit, and look away from him. I don’t like sharing any part of her, even her name, with someone else.
“She’s the reason we bought the building, right?” he asks, and I nod. “Does she know who you are?”
There’s a long pause, and I look back to him, unsure of how to explain it. Then I decide the truth is the best.
“She saw me kill Joey. I chased her down, and now I’m just making sure she doesn’t talk.” Okay, so maybe not one hundred percent true.
“You let a witness walk?” Gio’s voice is a mix of shock and disapproval.
“I took care of it,” I say defensively, and stand up. I go back to cleaning up my desk before I leave. I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.
“Salvatore.”
“Giovanni,” I snap back.
“Is this going to be a problem?” he asks, and now there’s concern, rather than accusation, behind his words.
“Have I ever not taken care of business? Have I ever once put us in jeopardy?” Heat rushes up my neck as anger takes hold. I walk around the desk and get toe to toe with him. “Have you once in your goddamn life ever known me to not cover my shit and do what’s best for everyone in our family?”
He clenches his jaw and rolls his shoulders. Gio is a kitten until you get in his space. That’s when the panther comes out and he’ll rip your throat out. But I’m not scared. He and I had our differences when we were younger and we worked through them. I just need to remind him that I’m not the enemy.
“You’re right, brother,” he finally says, and reaches out to put a hand on my shoulder. “Just be careful. I know I give you a hard time about finding a woman, but I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“I know. I will be,” I say, and it goes a long way to cool both of us down. I pull him into a quick hug and then step back, grabbing my bag off the desk.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I say as I walk out of the office.
When I get to the garage, I slip into my black Maserati and start it up. It’s not a long drive to the place where Thea spends the first part of her day, but it gives me just long enough to talk myself out of approaching her today.
It’s been hell these two weeks, keeping my distance, but I keep promising myself that I will make my move soon. I also needed to make sure she didn’t run to the cops. It was a real possibility, although I hoped she wouldn’t. I needed to see who her friends and family were and if she confided in them about what happened. I put a few of my men around in key places to watch and listen, and so far, there’s been nothing. She’s kept her silence, and for her loyalty she’s been rewarded. But the greatest reward is yet to come.
After the night we parted ways, I bought the building she lives in and secretly had a few upgrades done. I had cameras installed, better lighting outside, and security guards placed at all the entrances. A couple of the guys I had watching the area knew to be on the lookout for her, but I didn’t mention her name. I just said she was a distant cousin to a family member and was staying there temporarily. Which is true. She won’t be in that dump much longer.
I also went to her telemarketing job and spoke with the owner. I pretended to be a headhunter checking for work references on Thea, and they offered up everything they had on her so easily I nearly lost my shit. I kept my cool, though, and learned all that I could and paid them for their time and services. If they seemed at all surprised by this, they didn’t act like it and pocketed the money without another word.
As soon as I left, I contacted my tech guy to hack in and erase any data the company had on her. Fucking idiots just gave me her life in a folder without so much as a glance at an ID.
I didn’t go into her waitressing job, but instead watched her from outside. She kept to herself and worked her fingers to the bone every night. It made my chest ache to watch it that first night.