Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“Aw, Nora. Come on.” Dom let his bag thump to the ground and wrapped both arms around me. “It’s okay. I got you. You’re going to be fine.”
That made me cry harder.
“I get it, Nora. If I were stuck with this asshole, I’d be miserable too,” Dean said somewhere beside us. That made me laugh. I pulled back and wiped my tears.
“Hey. You okay?” Dom asked, searching my watery eyes. I blinked and nodded because I couldn’t trust myself to speak without losing it again.
Dean shut the door and locked it. He didn’t push the button to take us back underground like I thought he would. He must have read the question on my face because he smiled one of his lopsided smiles.
“I’m sure you could use a little sunlight.”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
Dean walked to the back room and dropped his bag at the door. “It smells good. Who cooked?”
“He did.” I jutted my chin in the direction Rocco was standing. I still couldn’t look at him. “Best french toast I’ve had ever.”
“Ever?” Dom asked, narrowing his eyes like I was exaggerating.
“I’m dead serious.”
“That’s a big compliment coming from someone who would eat french toast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” He tapped my nose and stepped away.
I glanced at Rocco, finally, and found him looking at me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher. For a millisecond, I thought I saw warmth in his cold eyes. It was gone in the next blink.
“Damn, Roc. You must have stepped your game up today,” Dom said, walking toward his friend.
He stopped just before he got to him and frowned. I looked over again. They were having a wordless conversation as they looked at each other.
“What’s going on?” Dom asked.
Rocco sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair roughly, pulling the ends when he stopped.
“Oh fuck,” Dom said. “Is someone onto us?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Then what?” Dom assessed Rocco’s face again. “Come on. Let’s take a walk.”
My brother and Rocco walked outside while Dean, who'd been in the kitchen, followed, still clutching the mango and muttering curses. They shut the door behind them, and I moved to the big window. My hands trembled as I wondered if Rocco had told him about us. I couldn't hear anything on the other side of the glass—it was soundproof, bulletproof, and probably hurricane proof too. All I could do was look for clues by watching their body language. While Dom had his arms crossed, Rocco seemed to be talking, and Dean lit a cigarette.
Rocco looked like he was in fight mode. His entire body tensed as he spoke. Whatever he was saying made my brother’s face crumple. That face told me this had nothing to do with me. He went from serious to horrified, devastated, and disbelieving as he shook his head. He got in Rocco’s face, pointing at his chest as he said something. Dean tossed his cigarette and stood between the two like a referee at a boxing match. My stomach coiled tightly. Dominic turned and walked away, kicking the pebbles and screaming so hard that the veins in his neck bulged. He looked like a fighting bull waiting for a red flag. As if it would calm them down or let me hear, I pressed my hand against the glass and leaned forward. While my brother lost it, kicking, screaming, and pacing, Rocco and Dean just stood there with matching expressions. I’d thought it was blank, but I realized they were angry — that quiet anger I was terrified of. Now I had three men to stay away from while they brewed. I sighed and went back to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes.
25
LENORA
We were in the dark again. That is, underground without sunlight. I’d been upstairs when the three of them finally walked back inside, and it was like listening to a bunch of teenagers who had been sent to their rooms. Downstairs, a door slammed. Upstairs, two slammed. Boom. Boom. I wondered if they’d fought after all. Lunch came and went. I made four sandwiches and took my time eating mine, hoping one of them would come out of their rooms. They didn’t. By dinner time, I was no longer hungry, but I was also tired of waiting, so I went to what I assumed was my brother’s room and knocked. No answer. I knocked again. No answer. I didn’t hear running water, which meant he wasn’t showering. A light was on from one of the nightstands, which meant he wasn’t sleeping.
I tested the doorknob and found it unlocked, so I peeked inside, hoping he was dressed and not doing anything. I’d have to bleach my eyes for later. I found him sitting in a leather chair in the opposite corner of the room. I shut the door and walked over, my hands getting clammier with each step I took. He remained completely unmoved. I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing, which scared the hell out of me. One of Dad’s men was found dead in his apartment; by all accounts, he looked like he was just sitting there watching television. If Dominic were dead, I wouldn’t be able to cope. When I finally reached him, I confirmed that he was breathing, but he looked completely checked out. If it were Gabe, I would wonder if he was on drugs, drunk, or both, but Dominic liked to be in control and wasn’t that guy.