Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
It’s understandable, of course. Most people don’t want to have anything to do with the mafia—and most people go through their lives without having a single dealing with the mafia. Even though Grace has a mafia boss as her father, she probably has never been involved.
Grace has been shaking since she found out about Jack flying home to my family. But now, it’s different. She’s scared of me. Not them.
I can see the fear in her eyes. I’ve seen that look too many times before not to recognize the signs.
“Sorry, that came out wrong.” I reach out to take her hand, but she flinches and takes a step back. My chest squeezes. “I’m sorry, kitten. It’s been a long day. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“What did you mean?” Accusation drips coldly from her voice. “Is someone going to try to kill me?”
“No. They’d have to kill me first before they lay a hand on a strand of your hair.”
“Then why did you say what you said?” Fair question.
“I didn’t mean you. But your family—anybody who comes close to Jack—would be in danger.” I rake fingers through my hair. “In case you’ve forgotten, our families are in the midst of a war right now. If your mom shows up and tries to wrestle Jack away from Patrick, it could lead to . . .” I bite my tongue before I can finish the sentence. “Let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty.”
“So it’s okay for you to call your family. But when I suggest I do the same, suddenly it’s going to kill someone?” Grace asks, anger burning in her eyes.
“That’s not what I mean.” I glance at the gate agents at the counter, shuffling around, getting ready. “Jack’s with my family, so it’s just an internal family matter for me at this point. If you involve your family, that’s just going to complicate the situation, possibly turning it violent. And I know you don’t want violence coming anywhere near Jack.”
Grace’s fingers play with the fabric of her yoga pants. She didn’t have any time to change, so she’s wearing an old college shirt and yoga pants, along with a jacket she grabbed from the coat rack by the front door.
She still outshines everyone else in this airport, of course. But even though she’s trying to be strong, she looks so fragile. I’d pull her into my arms and shield her from the world, but judging by the way she recoiled from my touch, that’s probably a bad idea.
An announcement blares through the audio system. I get up and stop myself from putting my arm around Grace’s shoulders. “It’s time to board. Don’t worry. My dad swore he won’t hurt Jack. We’ll see him soon.”
“Maybe it’s not such a bad thing that I’m going home.” Grace’s soft voice comes from the seat beside me.
She’s still not meeting my gaze, choosing to stare at her lap instead. But we’ve been in the air for at least half an hour, and she has spoken exactly one sentence, so it’s an improvement.
I choose my words carefully. I don’t want to upset her. “Yeah. It could be good for you. And for Jack too.”
“I’ve been thinking about it you know. Going home.”
“Yeah?” I’m sticking to brief, non-controversial responses. I want to hear what’s going on in that mind of hers.
“Maybe it will be good for Jack to have a big family looking after him.”
That’s debatable.
Sure, a good family can provide a sturdy support system. But a family like mine, that has thrown me into a world of lies and deceit, of blood and violence?
I don’t know. Maybe in an alternate world, I’m a perfectly happy corporate climber with a wife and a couple of kids. But there’s a chance I wouldn’t have met Grace, and we wouldn’t have had Jack.
Now that I’ve got Grace and Jack in my life, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Grace sighs. “His whole life, he’s only had me to rely on. God knows I was barely holding it together.”
“Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself. You were doing a great job.”
She gives me a wan smile. “I shouldn’t have left him alone. I should’ve taken him with me into the bathroom.”
I shake my head. “Give yourself a break, kitten. You’re too hard on yourself.”
“It takes a village to raise a child. That’s what they say, right? Jack will have a better life back home, with grandparents and uncles and aunts.”
When I reach for her hand in her lap, she starts in surprise but doesn’t move away. I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile when she looks up at me. “I’ll do anything for Jack. You know that, right?”
Something flickers in Grace’s eyes, but I can’t read her. “Yeah,” she says, retreating back into her mind.
Two flight attendants push a cart down the aisle and place plastic trays in front of us. The food is terrible, but somehow Grace manages to swallow down more than half of it. She seems calmer after the meal. Stronger.