Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“Sarah loves you. If something happens to you, my daughter would be devastated.” That was the truth.
Sarah had survived losing her mom, but I wasn’t sure she could do the same if something happened to Oakley.
Oakley nodded as if that made sense. “But who is trying to hurt you through the people you care about?” she asked.
I had already been given the permission from Blaise to tell Oakley the truth about us. He said now that her life was in danger because of her connection to me, she deserved to know. I knew she had some ideas of what our families were involved in, but she’d never been told anything. She knew the rumors the rest of the town did.
“The Kingstons, Salazars, Shephards, and Jones are connected, but you already know that. What you don’t know is how exactly—other than horse racing and friendship.” I paused and held her gaze as she stared up at me.
Her hands fisted in her lap, and her body tensed, as if she was prepared to bolt at any moment.
“Our families are part of the Southern Mafia. Have been for almost a hundred years,” I said, then stopped and let that sink in.
Her eyes widened, but she said nothing.
I decided to continue, “My degree was chosen for me because it was the best way I could help within the ranks. I’m not emotionless and lethal, like Thatcher, and I can’t charm a room, like King. But I can break into anything in the cyber world that the family needs me to. That’s what this is behind me. This is where we keep our database of enemies’ secure—or what was secure before I hacked into it—phone lines, security systems, and even financial information.”
Oakley shot up and put her hands on her stomach. “I feel like I can’t breathe,” she gasped. “This isn’t real. This can’t be real.”
“Oakley, you’re safe. This is okay. Everyone has been secured, and no one is going to be hurt. Except the bastard who is behind this.”
Her blue eyes swung back in my direction. “But what about you? Are you safe? You can’t die,” she blurted, and then her face flushed. “Sarah can’t lose you.”
I had to look away from her face. When I let those eyes lock with mine for too long, everything I knew about her didn’t seem to matter. I just wanted her.
“She won’t lose me,” I replied and started toward the kitchen area. “Are you thirsty?” I asked her.
She let out a laugh, and I turned back to her.
“You just told me that you’re in the Mafia, and now, you want to know if I’m thirsty?” she asked me, sounding amused and slightly hysterical.
“I need a drink,” I said, jerking open the fridge to get out a beer.
“Oh God,” she gasped. “Hamilton. He will be going to my house soon. The car … exploded. I assume there are police there? What about my dad? He will be notified. Do people know I’m alive?”
I closed the door to the fridge and turned back around as I opened my can. “Your car was removed from the property, taken to private and secure land, and the bomb was then detonated safely—for those handling it, not for your car. It’s gone. Your door will be fixed and closed by the time your boyfriend arrives. No one will think anything is wrong with you. Your car won’t be there. They’ll assume you went somewhere.”
“He’s not my boyfriend, and what if it’s not safe for him at my house? What if something else explodes?”
She was right, and I should give a fuck, but her concern for this guy was grating on my already-exhausted nerves. Why did she care so much? Did she have feelings for him? Had I missed that? Had she fallen in love with this guy, and I didn’t know?
“I’ll make sure he is safe,” I bit out, wishing like hell my chest didn’t burn like a bitch.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“Do you want to call your dad? Will he be looking for you?”
She shook her head and sat back down in the recliner. “No. He hasn’t called me since …” She trailed off.
The bastard was punishing her because she hadn’t fought me on taking Sarah. She took my side, and he’d shut her out for Cleo’s sake. It hurt her, and, fuck, that pissed me off. She was his daughter. Didn’t he have a heart? He was her only parent.
“How long will we be in here?” she asked me, lifting her gaze from her hands to look at me.
I took a drink, then shook my head. “I don’t know. We have to find out who this is first. Then, he has to die.”
Oakley inhaled sharply. “They’ll kill him?” she whispered.
“Yes. We will.”
“That’s hard to imagine,” she said. “At least it was. Until today. I guess it should be easier for me to picture now that I’ve seen that side of you.” A small smile touched her lips, but her eyes still looked worried. “You were kinda frightening.”