Total pages in book: 217
Estimated words: 207224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1036(@200wpm)___ 829(@250wpm)___ 691(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 207224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1036(@200wpm)___ 829(@250wpm)___ 691(@300wpm)
I’m too tired for this childish game of who will break first. Good for him, he’s got a good night’s sleep and is ready to go great guns. I am not. “I’m going back to St. Lucia,” I say, my voice strong.
He stops with his annoying sipping, holding the cup at his lips, seemingly thinking for a few moments, before he leisurely places it down and heads for one of the French doors, pulling out his cigarettes as he goes.
And he just leaves? “I said I’m going back to St. Lucia!” I yell to his back.
He stops on the threshold of the patio, lighting his cigarette and exhaling calmly. Then he looks back at me, and I see it in his blue eyes. The monster that lingers beneath the surface. The devil that’s waiting, ready to show himself. “You’re not going back to St. Lucia, baby,” he says calmly, his face deadpan, his voice even. Then he leaves, and I drop my gaze to the counter, uncertainty plaguing me. Unpredictable Danny. Volatile Danny. The man who appears calm on the outside, unless you know the signs. I know the signs. His scar was glowing.
“I’m going,” I say to myself, glancing at the door, twiddling my fingers, feeling . . . lonely. Lonely and unsure. Everyone is so distant, and my pining for Daniel multiplies in this moment. It’s not as if I was with him constantly when we were in the same country, but the mother within me feels like I need to be near someone who really does need me, even if his social life is more important than his mom right now.
I pick up my cell and dial him, and my heart sinks further when he doesn’t answer, although my reasonable side reminds me it’s not long past seven and no thirteen-year-old is up at this time if they don’t need to be. I sigh and start to tap out a message to Esther, but Danny appears at the door.
And he looks furious. Obviously, he’s run dry of the energy required to contain his temper. “Why the fuck is Beau’s car wedged in a bush around the side of the house?”
Oh.
Shit, shit, shit. “How would I know?”
Otto appears next to Danny, his eyebrows high, and I scowl at him. Snitch. I hope his head is banging. “Nice cap,” I grate, making his eyebrows lower, his eyes narrowing.
“Rose,” Danny says, his voice tight along with his face. “Answer me.”
“Beau took me for a lesson.”
“And it went swimmingly, I see,” Otto mutters, before leaving me to face the wrath of my husband alone.
“I told you I would teach you to drive.” Danny flicks his cigarette into a nearby plant pot and steps into the kitchen. “Why the fuck can’t you listen to me for once?”
“You were too busy on a killing spree to see to your family’s needs,” I snipe. “And to be clear, I am going back to St. Lucia.”
He laughs. It’s evil. The kind of laugh reserved only for the men he’s about to kill. Then it stops abruptly, and he comes close, heaving, sweating fucking fury. And because I’m me and he is my husband, I stand from my stool and square up to him. He pushes his forehead to mine, hard, and I put up some resistance, pushing back, not backing down. “No,” he hisses.
“Yes,” I counter. Can’t he see it’s for the best? At least until this shitstorm has passed.
“I’ll die first.”
My cell rings, and Danny pulls away, looking for where it is. He finds it in my hand and snatches it, looking at the screen. His nostrils flare, his jaw ticking like crazy, and he turns it to face me. Lennox Benson’s name glows at me. Oh shit.
“How the fuck does he have your number?”
Is he for real? I swipe it from his hand. “Our son is staying with him most of the fucking time, Danny, and like I said, you’re too busy killing the fucking world to have time to deal with your wife and child.” I shove him aside, and he goes with ease, still heaving like a beast, mind you. I answer, not only because fuck Danny, but because it’s early and there must be a reason Lennox is calling. “Hello,” I answer tentatively, pacing up and down.
“Before you start worrying, don’t worry,” he says quickly, and I exhale. “I heard Daniel’s cell ringing and he’s crashed out, so I thought I’d ring you back to let you know all is okay.”
My palm meets my forehead. “Thank you. I woke up and missed him more this morning for some reason.” I feel Danny twitching behind me, probably locking down every muscle to not intercept this call. “How are you?” And there I just signed my death warrant.
“Yeah, good,” Lennox replies. “Just about to go for a run down the beach, then I’ll wake the boys up. Maybe do some surfing later. The wind’s good today.”