Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 149338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Before I even got the last word out, his chair flew out from underneath him, crashing into the wall with a thud. His fist slammed against the desk, making me jump.
“You stupid, son of a bitch! The change in your eyes, your composure, the sudden drop of your fucking balls talking to me like that. To me. Your father. You want to bring her into this life? Then you better learn how to fucking hide those emotions, hijo. I can see straight through you. I can see her behind your eyes. I can feel her coursing through your bloodstream. It’s pouring out of you. She’s your weakness, your fucking death sentence. She would be the first thing I would use against you. Do you think she’s strong enough to handle our lifestyle? Your future.”
I didn’t falter. I couldn’t. If I did, I would lose.
Her.
“Is that why you tried to kill her?” I viciously spewed, finally saying what I had been thinking since that night.
“You think I’m capable of that? Do I need to remind you that my own daughter was there that night?”
“It was pretty convenient that Amari was barely touched. Just roughed up a little. Sophia, on the other hand, was two seconds from being raped and beaten to death. So, yes, I think you’re capable of anything.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
He casually nodded, rounding his desk to walk around the room. The silence was deafening all around us, every step he took I expected him to lash out. Yell, threaten, or punish me, but his silence was eerier than his rage. I followed his every movement, feeling as if each step brought me closer to my demise.
He spun, locking eyes with me. Placing his hands in his pockets casually. “I paid all of that girl’s medical expenses. I made sure her grandparents wouldn’t need or want for anything for the rest of their lives. Including getting them papers, did you know they were illegal immigrants? I didn’t stop them from going to the cops, the only lie I told was that someone broke in. I’m even paying for her college. She’s no longer a scholarship student. I gave another person the opportunity to get an education at the school you and your sister don’t give a shit about.”
I scoffed, “Hush money? That’s supposed to impress me? Come on, old man, you can do better than that.”
He grinned, shaking his head. “Not enough, eh? How about the two men’s bodies that I personally lit on fire, not leaving a trace of their fucking lives on this earth. This is a dangerous time for our family. I expect retaliation from Javier’s side. You think it’s the best time to bring a girlfriend into your life? If you love her so much, then you would let her go. It’s the right thing to do.”
I stood, placing my hands in my pockets, mirroring his demeanor. Getting right up in his face, I argued, “You wouldn’t know the right thing to do if it slapped you in the fucking face and said hello. You’re telling me that you had no idea who those men were? Because I know for a fact that you pretty much make your men bend over and cough before you hire them. So, you can see how I find your story hard to believe.”
I would never forget the next words that came out of my father’s mouth for the rest of my life. It was the first, but not the last, time that I witnessed…
Humanity.
His eyes glazed over with so much fucking emotion that it almost knocked me on my ass.
“I made a mistake, Alejandro,” he confessed, bowing his head in shame.
I jerked back, the impact of his words too much for me to take.
“But I took care of it, hijo. I fucking took care of it. The dead can’t talk, and I made damn sure of it.”
I was about to say something about his confession, but he cleared his throat, looking back up into my eyes. If I had blinked, I would have missed it. That was how quick his ironclad guard came back into its usual place. Once again the hard ass he always was, locking up his emotions as if they never existed to begin with.
He patted my back, turning to leave his office, not saying another word.
“You might have laid my path, but you do not tell me who I can love,” I declared, stopping him dead in his tracks. “That’s my choice. And my choice is her.”
There was nothing left to say, it was all burned to ashes.
Exactly like their bodies.
I didn’t give him a chance to respond, wanting to have the last word. I left him standing there with nothing but the truth I’d just warned.
All eyes were on me when we entered the dining room, probably shocked to see that I came back in one piece. It was as if they had all been holding their breath the entire time I was gone. My dad walked over to my mom, kissed her on the cheek before taking his seat at the head of the table.