Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
The stillness between us is broken only by the ringing of his phone. He answers Roman’s call and listens for a moment. “Yeah, gather up the men. Tell them I want to see them first thing tomorrow morning.”
I frown at him when he ends it. I’m pretty sure I heard Roman say something about my dad, but his voice was pitched too low for me to make it out. “What’s happening?”
“Your father has agreed to meet with me,” he answers.
At my worried glance, he says, “You don’t have to be afraid. I’ll make sure you’re far away from it. He won’t get anywhere near you.”
I shake my head. “No, I want to be there. I need to, Trace. I need to see him again.”
He’s quiet for so long that at first, I think he’s going to overrule me. Then he seems to come to a conclusion and nods. “It won’t make a difference anyway. He’s not getting you back.”
14
MOLLY
“You don’t have to be there today,” Trace tells me, his gaze meeting mine in the bathroom mirror as I braid my long hair again. This morning, we’re meeting my dad. He’s coming here to Trace’s cabin.
He told me last night about signing the paperwork to help his stepdad get the hospice nurses he needed. Trace sounded so broken as he talked about it, like he’d betrayed the child he once was. But I just put my head on his chest and told him that I love his big, compassionate heart.
“I want to. It’s better this way,” I answer as I finish twining the last strands of my hair and secure it with a tie. Trace faced his past, and I can feel the change in him. He’s different now. The pain hasn’t stopped but he is at peace. He’s accepted that he was a child, and he didn’t deserve to be abused. Maybe this is how I find my peace too.
He wraps his arms around me, hugging me from behind. “Then let’s go deal with this so I can come back and make us pancakes for breakfast.”
Trace is a great cook and the idea of spending the morning with him in the kitchen instantly lifts my spirits. He’s still not as talkative as I am. I doubt he ever will be, but he listens to everything I say and lets me chat for hours on end.
When we step outside, we’re not alone. Roman is on the porch waiting for us. He greets Trace with a thump on the back but only nods to me.
“Everyone in place?” Trace asks just as a dark SUV pulls up on the property. Three men dressed in black exit it and wait on the grass. The sight makes my stomach churn. This is it. This is really happening.
“Everyone in place,” Roman answers casually, like they’re discussing the weather and not the fact that the freakin’ mafia is here.
My legs tremble and my knees feel like they might give out, but I still move to the front yard. I walk beside Trace, careful to stay next to him. He’s my shield. He always will be. He’s the only reason I have the courage to face my father like this.
Carl opens the back door of the SUV and Marco Rossi steps down. He has that cold, calculating look in his eyes and for the first time in my life, I realize it’s like seeing a stranger. Back before mom died, he was a different person. A caring and involved father, someone who loved me. Now there’s nothing left of his soul, and it shows on his face.
“I see you’ve found my daughter,” Marco nods to Trace as though I were a lost child and not a grown adult who ran from a forced marriage. “What would you like for her return?”
Trace grunts. His whole body is tensed as he evaluates my father.
“I’m not going back, dad,” I tell him quietly. Calling him dad feels weird. I can’t remember the last time I actually called him that.
But my dad just smiles. To him, this is another business deal and there’s nothing my father enjoys more than negotiations. He continues to talk with Trace, “Money? I have plenty of it. Connections? I have them all over the globe. Fame? I can grant you that too.”
Roman snorts, clearly not impressed with the offers.
“I said no,” I repeat, my voice firmer this time.
My dad finally glances from Trace to me. “I suppose you think you’re in love with him. Maybe even spread your legs for him, you whore.”
My cheeks flame, and shame fills me. Is that what he thinks of me? Does he think Trace is only with me because I’ve slept with him?
“Watch the way you speak to my future wife,” Trace growls, his fingers curling into fists. My dad probably has men crawling all over this property, deep in the forest. But I’d still bet that Trace could take on his whole army.