Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Dario glared at me, shocked. And then he said,
“If you weren’t such a good friend and such a good guy, you’d be a double-crossing traitor who needed to be killed.”
Without missing a beat, I replied, “If you weren’t such a good friend and such a good guy, you’d be sitting in a jail cell awaiting indictment. Now, are you gonna help me recruit your brother? We are going to shut down Kruna. The intel you got me throughout all this, the names, all the shit I recorded, Jason Frost, it has been huge. We’re ready to take this to the next level. That next level starts at their partner summit.”
“If I say no?”
“If you say no you can’t help me bring down the organization that broke your girl. If you say no, maybe the organization I work for sees you and your brother as threats instead of friends who can help us. If you say yes I also go above and beyond to help you find your sister-in-law.”
Dario let out a big breath and told me he’d talk to his brother. Then he said, “One more thing…” and he punched me in the face and left the office.
We were cool now, though. I let him have that.
I’m back. I’m doing a lot better. And I’m ready to tell Luc and Tessa my truth. I’ve already told it to Zack; he showed up at the retreat I was at. Tommy and Dare don’t know yet but even Oliver, my counselor, is affiliated with the organization Zack works for. I know that Zack has plans to shut Kruna down and with my testimony a part of their case, I’m sure they can do it.
The girls are meeting me at Venetia for lunch. The restaurant is closed, so it’ll be just us. Tia and Angel are coming too, to support me. I hope that Luc and Tessa can handle it. I hope that I can handle it. I’m ready to live again, putting my past behind me but not burying it.
Dex knows my truth. Either Tommy or Dare told him. He picked me up at the airport. He’s cute. He’s tall, blond, he’s sweet. He’s my age. He’s seen me at my worst. Well, my worst post-Kruna. They had him guard me for a few days before I went away and that was rough, but he is a good guy, I can tell. Dex wants to take me to dinner. But one thing at a time.
I know telling Luc and Tess that their father bought me as a sex slave and had me befriend Tessa as a ruse will hurt them, but I know them and I know it won’t take them too long to forgive me. And maybe someday soon I can be Shayla again. Like I said to Angel, she might not feel like Angie any longer but coming out the other side, she doesn’t have to keep being Felicia, either.
I have my dream girl. She’s beautiful. She’s mine. She worships the ground I walk on, and I do the same for her. She wears sexy lingerie, can’t get enough of me in the bedroom, and she wants kids, too. And Pop gave her to me. Crazy. No settling for me.
Every day she seems a little less broken. There are still moments where I see it, see what they did to her, but I also see the future and it is bright. As bright as her piercing blue eyes.
I had my brother back, too. He and I were running Ferrano together and we were still cleaning up, but it was already on its way to being something that we’d either be able to sell for a decent price and a clearer conscience or it’d be something we could pass onto our kids without setting them up for lives of crime. I’ve also enrolled in pilot school, which is part-time, but leaves that option open, for down the road.
I’ve got a lot of money. I’ve got my health. I’ve got good friends, even if one of my best friends is a double-crossing Fed.
But I also had a missing sister-in-law, which Angel is distraught about.
I had to tell my brother that Zack had played us. Zack had been awesome. He had helped us through some really rough times. Tommy was shocked that Zack played us but in hindsight, we figured it’d all happened for a reason and the fact that he was in our lives meant that there was a chance we’d actually find our way out of the world of human trafficking.
I had to break the news to Angel that we’d have to go to Kruna for their partner summit and that I’d need her to come with me. She’d be able to give me information while we were there that would help with Zack’s case. It’d be the beginning of the end.