Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
I then proceeded to tell them the whole story, from how I’d met Marcus to the call from Pete this afternoon and everything in between—aside from the sex, obviously. They could figure that out without my help.
Adriano went very still, and when I finished talking he didn’t say anything at first. That was totally out of character for him. He should have been pacing and ranting. Somehow, the stillness was a lot more unnerving.
Jack was clearly worried about it, too. He rested his hand on his fiancé’s arm, which reminded me of holding down the lever on a hand grenade to keep it from exploding.
When he finally spoke, my brother said, in a low voice, “Show me the picture, the one where Pete said he recognized Greco.”
I pulled it up on my phone and leaned across the coffee table to hand it over. I ended up passing it to him face-down, and he gritted his teeth when he turned it over. I asked, “Is that him? Is it Mario Greco?” I already knew the answer, but I was hoping for a miracle.
He gave a single nod, and then he carefully placed my phone on the coffee table. A muscle was working in his jaw, but other than that, he remained unnaturally still for another minute.
Finally, he said, in a voice so calm it was eerie, “I’m going to kill him.”
My brother stood up and started to leave the room, and his fiancé called after him, “Where are you going?”
“To make a phone call.”
Jack turned to me with worry in his eyes. “This is bad. He’s probably calling his dad’s relatives. We both know they’re ex-mafia, and they’re not going to try to talk him out of going after Greco. Just the opposite.”
“I know, and I’m going to talk to him when he—well, not calms down. He’s too calm right now, and it’s freaking me out. But I’m going to talk to him when he’s a little more rational. The good news is, he’ll never find Marcus. He doesn’t even have a permanent address right now. And if he can’t find him, we don’t have to worry about either of them getting shot.”
Jack studied me closely as he said, “You still care about that guy, don’t you?”
I nodded. “I can’t just shut it off. We had this intense connection, and…how could I be so wrong about someone? He seemed kind, and gentle. But he might be responsible for some truly terrible things, so how do I reconcile that? It would have to be the most extreme case of Jekyll and Hyde anyone’s ever seen.”
“Might be responsible?”
“When I talked to him on my way to the airport, he said his crew took it upon themselves to wreck the bar and abduct Reno. Apparently, Marcus was out of town at the time, and they never cleared it with him. He also said he fired all of them for what they’d done. I really need that to be true. It’s one thing to know he’s a liar, but if he was actually responsible for terrorizing my family, it’s so much worse. It means I failed to recognize a monster when it was staring me in the face.”
“But who knows what’s true and what isn’t at this point?”
“Not me, obviously.” I rubbed my forehead, as if that might actually ease the headache that was brewing, and muttered, “It’s too much to make sense of right now. I just want to take a very long, very hot shower and climb into bed for a week or two. But first, I need to talk my brother down from his murderous rampage…”
We both got up, and Jack said, “I’ll talk to him. He won’t be able to do anything tonight anyway, because like you said, he’ll have no idea where to find Greco. Go take that shower and get some rest. You’ve been through hell today, so taking care of yourself needs to be your main priority.”
I looked down at myself, only then realizing I’d come all this way in Hawaiian print swim trunks, flip flops, and an oversized hoodie. “All I have with me is dirty laundry.”
“I’ll leave some clothes on your bed while you’re in the shower.”
“Thank you, Jack.” I gave him a hug and told him, “I’m sorry about showing up out of the blue and disrupting your lives like this.”
“Don’t you dare feel guilty about coming here! You’re exactly where you belong—with your family.” He let go of me and gave me a light, playful shove. “Now go and stay in the shower until you’ve used up every last drop of hot water. I expect to see some major self-care happening. Otherwise, there will be nagging and lectures.”
“Alright, I’m going.” I started to leave the room, but then I turned back to him and admitted, “I was really falling for him, Jack. I thought it was mutual, and now I’m just so confused. Was it all a lie?”