Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61101 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
I intend to look into my mother’s eyes and force her to see the woman I’ve become. I want her to come face-to-face with me before she takes her final breath.
Satisfying my need for revenge will ease the heaviness in my soul.
12
RAYNE
As I go to pull open the door to the kitchen, the sound of a large explosion coming from outside the house causes me to stop dead in my tracks. I step back and slam into Dante, who’s standing right behind me, and his strong hands catch me. Harper is beside me, her hand holding mine, and we grip each other’s fingers until they’re tingling.
I’m not sure what’s happened, but it can’t be good.
“Stay here,” Dante orders.
Then leaving us, he pulls the Glock from his shoulder holster and makes his way out of the house via the front door.
Looking outside, I can see the door to the outbuilding where my mother is being held has been blown off its hinges. My hands are shaking when I consider what this means. I want to cry. All our hard work has just been blown to dust, and now I’m feeling lost again.
Whenever I think about my mother, a darkness closes in. It’s as if there’s a storm cloud following me, and there’s nothing I can do to shake it. This was my chance to finally be free of that shadow, but it wasn’t to be.
Dante returns, and he doesn’t have to say anything, because the look on his face tells me all I need to know. My mother has escaped. My chest is already feeling tight, and the pain I’ve been pushing to the back of my mind takes hold of me and squeezes.
She was right here. We had her, and now she’s gone. As panic sets in, I’m not sure how to breathe. Dante is holding me, but it doesn’t ease the anxiety twisting in my gut.
The last time I recall seeing my mother she was angry with me. She told me I was weak, and I believed her. I was no more than four years old.
The memory slams into me and sends me spiraling.
Dante scoops me up into his arms, and I cling to him as if he were a life raft. I’m not sure how I’m going to get through this, but I know he will always be there for me. Harper holds my hand as we head back inside.
Dante has connections in every city we’ve visited, so I’m sure a cleanup team will be here soon.
“How…?” My voice breaks when I try to voice my fears.
I need to know how this happened, but I can’t speak. There’s a lump in my throat as I consider the implications. Does she know it was me who came for her? Maybe she recognized me at the gala.
Dante sets me on the sofa, and I hug the cushion to my chest, my emotions swirling through me. Harper settles beside me. Her warmth soothes some of the worry, but it won’t stop the twisting in my gut.
“Rayne, we will find her. She may have escaped this time, but there will be plenty more opportunities, and we’ll make sure she never gets away again,” Harper tries to reassure me.
I look back and forth between the two people who mean the world to me. I haven’t told them how I feel about them. I haven’t said those three words, because I’ve been too afraid. But I can’t deny the truth. I do love them. Harper and Dante have my heart.
“We’re in danger now she knows where we live,” I voice my fears. “She has no qualms about hurting innocents, so she won’t think twice about coming back for us. Her connections run deep.”
“I know,” Dante says as he pulls out his cell phone. “Whoever helped your mother escape must’ve followed us back here from the gala. They were able to override the cameras and alarms to gain entry undetected. I made sure to have a state-of-the-art security system installed before we arrived, and it didn’t stop the bastards. We need to move out of here and get to a safe house. Once we’re set up there, we’ll figure out how to track her down again.”
He pulls a business card from his pocket and holds it up.
My brows furrow in confusion. “What’s that?”
“Bane gave me his card,” he informs us. “If we can’t find your mother, maybe we can locate the next best option.”
“I just…” Shaking my head, I close my eyes and try to focus on something other than the fact my mother has gone.
There are so many questions I have for her. I need her to tell me why she did what she did. I was so close to getting everything I wanted. Deep down, though, I’m still not sure I would’ve had the strength to kill her.