Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
I’ve told him everything, up to the point where Quinn and I ate at the diner and had our heart-to-heart.
“We should’ve told the girls sooner, Serg.”
He twists off the top of a beer for himself, sips it, and nods. “Yeah. Agreed.” He shakes his head. “Sometimes I make a call and it plays out well. Sometimes I make a call and it doesn’t. I’m glad in this instance, everyone’s alright.”
The cartel’s been quiet, and word on the street is they’ve been decimated. They lost their law enforcement connection, and the intel we got from the suspect we interrogated gave us all we needed. Sergio has friends in high places, and between us and the Rossis, we’re a formidable, united front.
“So, Eden knows everything now?”
He nods. “Freaked her the fuck out to think it could’ve been her sister that was in danger.”
I grunt under my breath and turn away. I’m not too fond of Starla right now, between her blabbing my history to Quinn and being an accomplice in Quinn’s escape.
“My sister is in danger, Sergio,” Eden says quietly, as she joins us. Wordlessly, she folds herself onto Sergio’s lap and helps herself to a sip from his bottle.
“I know, babe,” Sergio says, running his fingers through Eden’s long blonde hair. “But we’re doing everything we can.”
“Good,” I mutter. If you ask me, as pseudo-parents they should’ve grounded the little brat and taken her keys, her cell phone, and her internet access, but they said something about her “almost being an adult.” I don’t give a fuck.
But I let it go. I’ve been letting a lot of shit go lately.
“Speaking of Starla,” Eden says. “I’m going to leave you two to solve the problems of the world and check in on her.”
“She owes him an apology.” Timeo enters, his longish black hair casting his eyes into shadow, but even from here I can see he’s not too happy. “I heard about what happened.”
Everyone has by now. Timeo takes a bottle of beer from the mini fridge Sergio keeps here, grabs a chair, and straddles it.
Whatever. She can apologize if she wants, or she’s made to, but it doesn’t change what happened. I blow out a breath and take another sip of beer. “I wanted to tell Quinn on my terms,” I say with a shrug.
“What does she know now?” Sergio gives me a curious look.
“Everything, brother.”
“Good.”
My fingers itch to reach for my phone. I don’t like leaving her like this, but I know I have to. I can’t smother Quinn forever.
“She’s in good hands, Adriano.” This is a big step for me, letting her go. But she needs this… I need this.
“Bro,” Timeo says, after taking a huge sip of beer. “What the fuck did you do to that security team that let Quinn get away?” His eyes gleam, like he’s waiting for the gory details.
“Sorry to disappoint you, little bro,” Sergio says. “But I didn’t let him castrate, maim, or painfully torture them to death. I didn’t even let him beat the shit out of them. They’ve been demoted and I sent them out of the state.”
“He did this when I was in North Carolina,” I growl.
“Shit! Sergio, seriously?” Timeo looks crestfallen.
Sergio shrugs. “Didn’t want any unnecessary bloodshed.”
“Unnecessary like fuck. I wouldn’t let somebody get away with something like that, Serg! I’m totally gonna find these fuckers and pull their balls out through their mouths and then…”
“Timeo, shut your mouth and listen up,” Sergio barks, cutting him off. “Not every personnel problem needs to be solved by brute force. Someday, you’ll learn to appreciate the finer points of managing idiots… like what I’m doing right now with you.”
I drain the rest of my bottle. Oh, this is going to be good. I haven’t seen these two go at it like this in a while.
The rise and fall of female voices get our attention. Damn it, I was hoping I’d get to see Serg in action.
Eden steps out onto the balcony tugging a hand I can only assume is Starla’s. I bristle. Timeo sits up straighter, sobers his countenance and pretends like he wasn’t just asking for the biggest ass-whipping this side of Gloucester.
“Get out here,” Eden says, finally tugging Starla fully onto the balcony. Starla takes one look at me and blanches, then catches sight of Timeo, turns, and tries to run, but Eden stops her. “Now.”
Starla hangs her head and bites her lip. She won’t meet my eyes and says in a rush of words, “I’m sorry I gossiped about your background and I’m sorry I distracted the bodyguards so your wife could escape your overly possessive, completely obsessive, meany McMean man-pants clutches!” On that note, she turns and runs.
Timeo spits his beer all over the balcony and Sergio. Eden rolls her eyes. Sergio shakes his head, silently wiping the beer from his face and thousand-dollar custom-tailored shirt, but his lips twitch. You’d think he’d be the sterner pseudo-parent, but he’s got a soft spot for Starla.