Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
I don’t dare.
I’m good at hiding pain. Living with Dino made sure of that.
They can take everything from me, but I won’t let them have my pride. They can pry it from my cold, dead fingers.
My eyes follow Alejandra as she steels her will and passes me with her head held high. The delicate scent of her shampoo trails behind.
Orange and vanilla.
I try not to breathe it in, but I can’t help myself, and when I do, I breathe it all the way into my lungs, closing my eyes in silent prayer. I don’t know what to do with her. She’s turned my world on its head.
The little woman is defiant, strong-willed, and mouthy. None of those traits should be sexy, but I’d be lying if I said the angry pout of her lips didn’t stir me in ways I wish it didn’t, in ways I’d have to ignore.
What happened down here a minute ago… I don’t know what the hell just that was, but it would be really great if it didn’t happen again.
Her blank stare, her bleak gaze, will haunt my memories. The moment she came crashing back down to earth, she reentered the atmosphere with a bang. Whatever the fuck it was she saw scared her half to death.
In a normal situation, I’d say she earned the terror and to shake it off, but something about her… something is off. The entire situation is off. For once, I don’t understand the motive. And it eats away at me. My mind runs a mile a minute.
What am I not getting here?
If I had any sense at all, I’d pick up my pistol, follow her into that room, aim for her forehead and shoot, sending her body back to her father.
But a mild sense of injustice flares through me as I think about this puzzle. Having always been one to trust my gut, I am set on finding the missing pieces. I find myself becoming invested and wanting to know all of what Alejandra Gambino knows.
I need to figure out where I fucked up.
Why did she frame her husband?
“What are you doing, Julius?”
Lifting my head, I catch Ling staring at me, her perfect brows raised. She shakes her head lightly and asks quietly, “What are you doing?”
My back straightens and I move to walk out of the room.
Ling’s next words halt me in my tracks. “I can sneak in while she’s sleeping. Boom. She won’t know what hit her.” She adds, “She’ll go quickly. Quietly.”
She’ll go quickly. Quietly.
The statement is too much. “You aren’t curious?” I turn and watch her carefully. “You don’t want to know why she did what she did?”
Ling remains quiet a moment before speaking through a tired sigh. “She’s a convincing liar. You don’t get to be that good without practice. Trust me, I know.” She pauses a second. “Makes you wonder.” After a long moment of mutual silence, Ling shrugs. “She could be a selfish bitch who wanted Dino’s money to herself. Maybe she planned this from the beginning. Maybe she’s not right in the head.”
I pause, arresting her with my solemn gaze. “You don’t believe that, do you?”
My partner slides down to sit on the sofa, her expression cautious. “No. I don’t.”
Her face is almost unreadable. My brows narrow at her. “What do you think?”
Ling looks mildly uncomfortable as she shifts in her place and clears her throat. “The thing that just happened, when she spaced out…” She bites her lip before speaking softly. “It used to happen to me, Jay. It used to happen a lot.” As my gaze turns questioning, Ling mutters, “Post traumatic stress.”
My gut coils and I tiredly run a hand down my face. Fuck. The last thing I need is to sympathize with Alejandra Gambino. I’d rather have not known this.
Ling, once again putting on her game face, rolls her eyes. “So what? It doesn’t matter. Shit happens. You pull up your panties and move on.”
It doesn’t matter.
I remain silent, but my lingering solemnity has Ling worried. When I feel her hand on my arm, I look down to see her pretty almond-shaped eyes blinking up at me in question. “I can make it quick. She’ll just go to sleep and never wake up. Some people would give their left nut to die like that.”
No. It shouldn’t matter.
But I can’t help but feel there’s more to learn from this little woman. I would need to get inside her head, need to get close to her, take her apart piece by piece and open her up.
My decision made, I shake my head, and Ling dips her chin in defeat. With a huff, she moves to walk away from me, but I catch her wrist before she can escape. “Four days. I’ll give her four days. If I don’t get anything worthwhile out of her by then, she’s gone.”